Retail Therapy 101

My sister Jennie frequently sends me out on assignment after a stressful day or days at work. She calls it “retail therapy” -- she claims that shopping will take my mind off whatever was causing me stress.

When she first recommended this as a way to de-stress, I would simply laugh and do nothing about it. What changed me was actually going on a few shopping trips with her and another of my sisters, Marnie. I started to buy into this kind of therapy, and found that Jennie was on to something. It was as if when I went shopping, my brain was releasing a soothing, destressing chemical. I thought, how can this feel so good!?

I now engage in retail therapy on occasion. As long as I limit myself to a small budget, I can usually come up with at least one fun thing to try on and buy. Yes, I usually shop for clothes, shoes, or something else I can wear. Perfume, earrings, purses, makeup… lots of things seem to do the trick. I try to find something I really like, so I don’t just blow money and regret it when I get home.

I thought I would put together a list of some of my favorite Retail Therapy locations – feel free to try these out, or add a few of your own, so I can try them!

• The Bobbi Brown makeup counter – I can only find these counters in the bigger cities, the quality of this skincare & makeup line is hard to match.
• Macy’s Department Store – I like just going and looking, smelling the perfumes, etc.
• Sephora – I usually go to this one if I am in Saint Louis, or another bigger city. My sister Bitz got me into this one with a gift card one Christmas. Tons of makeup & skincare picks. Mostly affordable.
• Banana Republic – I like a lot of the styles from this place; usually I shop the sale racks here.
• Charlotte Russe – This store is especially nice because the clothes fit, and they are well-priced to boot!