Why do we always buy a beauty product on vacation? Perfumes and skincare products often become the most meaningful memories of a trip
Sometimes we’re not buying a cream, we’re buying the memory of how we felt in the place where we found it. Every trip comes with its own souvenir. Some people come home with a magnet, others with a mug or a book from an independent bookstore. I almost always come back with a beauty product. It’s not because I actually need one. It happens because, whenever I’m traveling, I convince myself that the face cream I spot in a French pharmacy, the body oil I discover at the airport, or the perfume I try while strolling by the sea has something special about it. And in a way, it does. Just not because of the formula. A few weeks ago, I was in Capri. As soon as I stepped into the Carthusia boutique, I tried the island’s signature perfume, and for a few seconds, it felt as though that fragrance captured Capri perfectly: the sunshine, the sea, the white alleyways, and that sense of lightness we only experience when we’re far away from our daily routine. I bought it almost without thinking. Not because I needed another fragrance, but because I wanted to take a piece of that day home with me. That’s when I realized something: beauty products are probably the souvenirs we buy most often because they’re also the ones that bring us back to a place most easily.
@sarahlthompson11 On your next trip to the island of Capri, make sure the Carthusia Laboratory in on the top of your list! Located just before the Augustus Gardens, you can experience the essence of Capri with Carthusia – a fragrance journey you don't want to miss! And maybe bring some home with you too #carthusia #carthusialaboratory #capri #capriisland #thingstodocapri #carthusiaprofumi #carthusiaperfume #perfume #capriitaly #caprigardens #caprifragrance #fragrance Focus on Success - ALEKSANDAR KIPROV
Beauty products have a memory
Some objects end up forgotten in a drawer once we get home. Others continue to live with us. A perfume, a night cream, or a body oil naturally becomes part of our daily routine, and without even realizing it, every application brings a memory back to life. That’s why certain beauty products seem to last much longer than what’s actually inside the bottle. I often think about the Patyka Pro-Hyaluronic Plumping Mask I bought in a French pharmacy. I could have easily ordered it online once I got home, but seeing it on that shelf in Paris made it feel completely different. The truth is, I wasn’t just buying a skincare treatment, I was taking home that slow afternoon and that carefree version of myself wandering through Parisian pharmacy aisles. The personalized Rouge G lipstick by Guerlain, complete with its custom mirror, is another perfect example. Every time you use it, it’s impossible not to think of the Eiffel Tower.
@gisellehonorato getting a personalized @Guerlain original sound - amorefilm
The best souvenirs are the ones we never planned to buy
Then there are the purchases that happen almost by accident, the ones caused by forgetting something. For me, it’s almost always a hair brush or a toothbrush. I leave home convinced I’ve packed everything, and without fail, as soon as I arrive at the train station or my hotel, I realize I’ve left one behind. That’s how a Wet Brush Go Green Mini Detangler, picked up in a hurry before departure, stops being an emergency purchase and becomes the hair brush that stays in my handbag or travel beauty case for months. Every time I find it again, I immediately think about that trip. It’s funny how the purchases we never planned often become the ones we grow most attached to.
@thewetbrush Never leave home without it #bestiebrush #travel #traveltok #healthyhair Summer - Croquet Club
Even a body oil can tell the story of a journey
On my way back from Greece, I bought Korres Pure Greek Olive, a multi-purpose body oil made with olive oil, at the airport duty free. I could have left it on the shelf, but somehow it felt like the easiest way to take one last piece of that trip home with me. Even today, every time I apply it after a shower, its scent instantly transports me back to those days, to the sunshine, the sea, and that feeling of freedom we often experience only when we’re away from everyday life. That’s the real difference between a beauty product bought at home and one purchased while traveling. The first is chosen for what it promises to do for your skin. The second is chosen for what it will help you remember.
Maybe we’re not really buying a beauty product
I’ve often wondered why this happens. Why do we allow ourselves purchases on vacation that we’d easily postpone the rest of the year? The answer is probably very simple: we’re not buying a product, we’re trying to hold on to an emotion. We’re buying slower days, schedules that don’t exist, the light of a different city, and above all, the version of ourselves that only exists when we’re far away from notifications, meetings, and endless to-do lists. That’s probably why beauty souvenirs work so well. Unlike a magnet or a postcard, they become part of our everyday lives after the trip is over. A perfume, a face cream, or even a small hair brush continues to live with us, becoming a gentle reminder of how we felt in that place. Sometimes we’re not really buying a cosmetic product at all. We’re buying the memory of the person we were when we chose it. And every time we use it, for just a moment, we find ourselves back there again.