We Had a Plan Before We Walked Into Olive Young
How two people buying three things each end up comparing baskets.
“Just three things.”
Before entering Olive Young, this sounds entirely believable. The cleanser you have finished, the lip product somebody requested, the cream you wanted to try. A short list. A clear mission.
At the first display, your friend calls you over. “Have you seen this?” At the second, a colour catches your eye. Somewhere along the way, a small basket has appeared in your hand. The plan has not disappeared. A few uninvited candidates have simply started interviewing for a place.
Your basket needs a little direction, not a lecture
There is no need to police the fun out of shopping. Just separate two things in your mind: what you will keep using at home, and what you would like to try because you are here.
Choose familiar favourites carefully, and give one or two new ideas a reason to come along. Found a lip colour outside your usual range? It does not automatically need four nearly identical companions. And when nothing feels quite right, leaving empty-handed is allowed. You do not have to return the time you enjoyed browsing.
When a promotion makes you hurry, put the product down and ask: “Would I still be curious without the discount?” A yes is worth exploring. An answer that begins “But when you buy two…” may deserve another minute.
Your friend’s favourite is not automatically yours
Shopping together brings useful opinions. “People love this.” “You always wear that sort of colour.” But even a cream your friend has bought three times is a new product to you. Popularity can help you browse; remember who will actually be using it.
There is also no need to open every new skincare purchase on the first night. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends testing a new product on a small area for seven to ten days before adding it to your routine. Liking a texture in a shop and knowing whether your skin tolerates it are different questions. [1]
The same care helps with gifts. For a familiar favourite, check the shade, size and version as well as the name. “The one you use” and “Something quite similar to the one you use” can turn out to be very different presents.
The last stop is a café
Put your choices on the table and a miniature personality study begins. One friend bought exactly her usual products. Another chose a colour she loves. Someone else needs an unusually long explanation of why a particular item made it into the basket.
Listening to those explanations is part of the shopping. “I thought this shade would be nice for dinner.” Which raises a useful new question: where are you going tonight?
A good purchase can finish one activity and start another. A lipstick discovered on holiday becomes part of an evening with your friends.
By then, whether you obeyed the original three-item plan may not matter very much. Having a few good reasons to reach for those things back home would be a nicer result anyway.
Sources
Some images are AI-generated editorial illustrations and others are editorial photographs from Unsplash; none are guest photographs or verified depictions of named venues or products. Photos: Juliana Malta, Le Tran Hoang Oanh on Unsplash.