Do you recall how your boyfriend comments [and complain] about you shopping too much? Men cannot understand why we have to buy bottles of women’s perfume even if we haven’t used up the ones we have at home. We find pleasure in buying stuff we definitely need or just occasionally want. Why you unconsciously spend on beauty products, we summed up four convincing reasons why women spend.

Shopping as a Form of Therapy

It’s no secret that most women’s favorite activity is shopping. Whether it’s actual spending or just window shopping and even online shopping, there’s that therapeutic effect that comes with it. Women feel happier and much relieved to treat themselves. It’s the cheering up process that makes them feel accomplished and that’s all credited to shopping. According to a study, “Retail therapy purchases were overwhelmingly beneficial, leading to mood boosts and no regrets or guilt,” [Journal of Psychology and Marketing in the U.S.]. So the next time you women's perfume from Beauty Encounter or swipe your credit card at Saks Fifth Avenue for that handbag, tell your boyfriend science has already proven shopping’s positive effects on women.

L'air du Temps by Nina Ricci for Women - 3.3 oz EDT Refill
This week: $37.90
Reg. Price: $68.00 at beautyencounter.com

Beauty Products Evolve

The under-eye cream you bought six months ago may already be obsolete with the newest products available in the market. That moisturizing cream you bought just a month doesn’t give you the expected results stated in the box. With science evolving everyday, it’s likely you’ll find some products not working their magic any longer. Shopping for beauty products has an equivalent experimentation period. You have to sift through tubes, bottles, and jars of beauty creams to find that beauty product that will work effectively on your wrinkles, your pores, or your stretch marks. You can only be your own scientist if you go shopping for your “materials”.

The Thrill of the Chase

Evolutionary psychologist Daniel Kruger of the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor finds in his theory that women find satisfaction in shopping because they need to experience things. Women need to touch and feel the fabric, how a certain garment fits them perfectly when they look at the mirror, and how the color instantly perks their mood up. "It was just the thrill of the chase” that pushes women to stride fast with their eyes focused on the goal. Nothing can top that feeling of purchasing a limited edition perfume or that last piece of handbag which everyone compliments as a great find.

Products Partnered with Freebies

Before buying any grooming product they need, men already have that specific product in mind and have sort of programmed themselves to buy what they need in 10-15 minutes. On the other hand, women will go through the best deals they can find four hours, not just the beauty product they’re eyeing for. That’s why products with freebies or discounts are attention grabbers. What’s more, women find the thrill in joining contests and winning giveaways all in the name of beauty.

Shopping is not just a physical activity but it also adds a positive emotional weight during this spending activity. So the next time you shop, there’s no need to feel guilty about rewarding yourself with these great finds.