learning to say no to the things I used to love
Choosing intentional joy over fleeting dopamine—one small shift at a time.
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I'm no stranger to getting swept up in trends. For a brief stint last year, I fell hard for the viral obsession with blind boxes. I’ll admit, the dopamine rush from unboxing was real—though fleeting. Now, I’m left with a small army of plushies scattered around my room or clipped onto my bags.
This year, though, I’ve made a conscious effort to adopt a low-buy mindset. I’ve written several posts about cutting back on impulse purchases, and yes, that includes blind boxes.
What’s fascinating is that this pattern of behaviour—seeking comfort in little treats—isn’t just personal. It’s something people around the world are doing, especially in light of the current economic climate. With grocery prices climbing and many Australians juggling multiple jobs to stay afloat, people are understandably looking for small, affordable ways to spark a little joy.
Enter the “lipstick effect”—an economic phenomenon where, during tough times, people turn to inexpensive luxuries (like a new lipstick) instead of splurging on bigger purchases. Estée Lauder’s chairman famously observed this during the 2001 recession, when lipstick sales unexpectedly surged.
Fast forward to today, and we have a new recession-era comfort buy: blind box toys. These collectible surprises, championed by brands like Pop Mart, have taken the world by storm. Just one series, Pop Mart’s “Labubu,” raked in over $400 million in 2024. In the UK, the craze even got so intense that sales had to be paused over crowd safety concerns.
Whether it's a bold lipstick or a tiny mystery toy, these little indulgences tap into a very human need: finding joy when everything feels a bit too much. So in the spirit of balance, this post is all about helping you spend smarter while still carving out space for the small things that make you happy.
If you missed out, here are a few of my popular posts from my deinfluencing series about navigating my twenties:
The rest of this post is for paid subscribers, and here’s what you can expect:
tips on how I save money as someone who has expensive tastes
resources I wish I knew about earlier to save me money in my twenties