oh thank you! I’ll give that a go 🙂

We are definitely over-consumers, that’s for sure. Years ago I asked a formulator friend to do a cost break down of a medium quality lipstick (barring packaging) and he sent me a number that was so tiny I didn’t understand it – fractions of a penny. And yet – £15-20 to buy. So, there is a lot of slack in the profit margin – it’s standard for e-commerce sites to buy brand products for half the price (or less, depending on bulk) consumers see, so if you then build in profit for the brand, commercial costs, shipping, labour and you end up drilling down to such a small amount. However, build back into that the salaries and wages across that board which will include factory workers, pickers and packers, maintenance, cleaners, formulators, sales teams, distribution workers, drivers – the bits we don’t see on Instagram or TikTok – and it’s a huge employment industry. So, it’s all checks and balances.

Yes to long birthdays!

I love your idea of a birthday calendar! I am firmly of the opinion that you can celebrate your birthday all month long.
I look forward to reading your review of LE’s new palettes.

You’re quite right – that’s a very nice idea. Or even birthday calendars which could be a selection of treats for your birthday month. I’d love to put together something like that. There’s a machine in Canary Wharf that gives a free printed poem… oh I have loads of ideas now! Yes, I have a palette or two on the way and can’t wait to get swatching x

I was reading somewhere about the idea of “doldrums calendars,” which are (often DIY) series calendars like Advents ones, where each day you open a new little gift. They are intended for deep winter, when many of us are feeling S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder) and could use a wee daily treat. The 12 day calendars that you describe could fit that bill, especially if you open them later in the winter season.