C: DH, DH see what I got from Bournemouth? XYZ skincare range
DH: Never heard of it
C: You know it costs £95 a piece at Harrods and I got it all for just £2 a piece.
DH: Really?
C: Yeah, why don’t you try the Moisturiser with SPF?
DH: Great
C: Lucky you….you get to use such expensive stuff because of me.
DH: With Sarcasm dripping….Hey you telling me that you would have actually gone close to a 95 pound cream if you had seen it in a shop? My dear the value of this cream is £2.00 and that’s precisely the reason why you bought it!!
C sulks….so much for people being grateful…
No really, I am a middle-class person with a very middle-class mentality. Fortunately or unfortunately God saw it fit that I work in the luxury fragrances / cosmetics industry. So, despite all my middle-class hang ups, at work I am supposed to dress up classy, smell uber nice and wear expensive stuff. Till around two years back my company did provide me with many designer items free of charge and it was easy to fool people, including myself. Even now, I am eligible to go to any duty free shops in the UK and buy things for half the price. While I don’t believe that anyone should spend such exorbitant money on fashion or fragrance, I somehow believe that I am owed all these.
And now I am a hypocrite. That’s right a hypocrite and a big one at that. Oh no..not for me this cheap item. Oh what would people say if they see this on me? etc etc.
DH constantly tries to keep me in check, bless him. He tells me that I am in this mirage and it would all shatter one day. If I move on to the mass-market industry (which is a natural transition for people in my department), I would lose all my perks and find that I don’t fit in the real world anymore. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it would be heartbreaking for me to get back into being normal and ordinary.
Verdict: as DH puts it - Enjoy it while it lasts, but don’t get used to it. Today it is XYZ skincare, tomorrow be prepared to use Boots house brand if need be. Amen to that.
1 comment:
yea, consumerism. it sucks. i find that there is no in between when it comes to buying new things. i feel guilty buying expensive/quality things or i feel like i am undervaluing myself when i shop at thrift shops. its just way more complicated than it needs to be. why cant i just buy what i need? i guess im all screwed up. thanks, advertising and marketing companies!
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