I used to write a lot on my personal blog about my love for Ulta. It was so bad that no one could pass an Ulta without thinking of me and telling me so later. For those who don’t know, Ulta is this amazing store full of makeup and nail polish and hair products; what makes them different from a drug store or Sephora is that they have both the drugstore brands and high end brands. Basically, it’s everything good in this world under one roof.
Something about the feel of the store and all the rows of makeup calms me and brings me joy. I actually hear choir bells as I walk toward the store.
But, I haven’t been to Ulta in months. Even before I got serious about getting out of debt, I thought it was a good idea to avoid Ulta where it is too easy for me to drop $100 and walk out with a small bag full of items. The number of times I did do that is embarrassing. Though most of the money I’ve spent at Ulta in the last year or two was actually money I had in my bank account and not credit, that was money I should have been putting toward my debt. I spent enough to keep myself exactly where I was.
I have plenty of makeup and an entire drawer full of nail polish (a big drawer), so I don’t generally feel deprived not to be spending a bunch of money shopping every week. Sometimes I even enjoy shopping among the items I already own. On top of which, I don’t have the time to go shopping, so it’s not a regular temptation for me.
Oh, but sometimes I still think of Ulta and it calls to me. I think of just stopping in to get the Ulta experience, but not walking out with more than $10 in makeup/nail polish. That would be reasonable and well within my budget. I will do this at some point, I’m sure, but there’s something to be said about avoiding it completely. It’s easier not to shop when you don’t know what you’re missing. Also, my past experience suggests that the lights and smell of Ulta have a direct effect on my decision-making abilities. Makes it easier for me to rationalize ridiculous purchases.
So, for now I will keep resisting. It’s better for morale that I avoid the store that represents the worst of my association of personal well being to materialism. But, Ulta cannot be denied forever and I hope we can one day have a healthy relationship.
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