Another month, another TikTok trend that has plagued the Beauty Community.

If you’re not on TikTok I’ll fill you in on the latest. Like many trends, they appear out of nowhere and quickly take over. Often fun, harmless trends and others, like this, in my opinion that do nothing but shame the every day person. Essentially, underconsumption is “Hey great, you only buy 1-2 products per category you are truly the epitome of frugal” and overconsumption is very much “How dare you spend your hard earn money on things that bring you joy!!”

If it’s not already glaringly obvious; I have an issue with the underconsumption brigade.

Don’t get me wrong, I get it. We see certain influencers receive an unimaginable amount of gifting where they can have if not hundreds but thousands of products to get through. But this is also their career. The career YOU (okay, maybe not you, reader) helped them build. I find it fascinating how people will consume the content of others, build them up and watch them grow but as soon as they get ‘too big’ the influencer receives endless hate and ‘un-relatable’ remarks.

Underconsumption, by definition, is “the purchase of goods and services at a lower level than that of their supply” and overconsumption is “the excessive use of good and services, or natural resources, to the point where they can’t or aren’t replenished or reused”.

Without counting I know for a fact I have over 10 blushers. Maybe 20. I use every single one. Not all at once, I love blusher c’mon but not that much. My point is, they get used. They are enjoyed and they are kept until finished and if not? They are passed onto family and friends to enjoy.

I have been wrapped up in the beauty world since I was a little girl. The beauty industry is my passion, a hobby, hopefully a future business and my job! It’s natural I would invest in this. Excessive at times? Maybe. I’m not delusional here but overconsumption? I just can’t get on board with. Some people spend their hard earned money on booze and nights out every weekend and no one bats an eye but for me, I’m being shamed by the ‘underconsumption core’ group (yes, they actually call themselves this) for my Cult Beauty and Space NK scroll-a-thons.

I’m all for influencing others to use their products up and not be wasteful so inspire others by encouraging rotation of products, share your tips for application, let us know easy ways we can be more sustainable, show how versatile products can be but don’t shame people. Life is tough enough. Let people enjoy their beauty products. If it’s not harming anyone, who cares?

Beauty products whether that’s skincare, makeup, haircare or fragrance make me feel like me. They empower me. They make me feel confident, happy and every other positive emotion in between! So, yes, you may rock a makeup bag you’ve had for years with one concealer, one blush and a single mascara you definitely should have thrown away over a year ago but I will never shame you for that. If beauty isn’t where you want to put your money, that’s okay. If beauty is where I want to put my money, that’s also okay. You can be one thing without shaming another. Maybe next time think before jumping on a trend just because you know it will get you a few extra likes.

Until next time…