On FOMO and Not Buying More Glossier Balm Dotcoms
The best cure for FOMO
I’ve always been more of a JOMO person—the Joy of Missing Out. It was one of the first real “you understand me” internet jokes that my partner and I shared. As introverts, we exist in a world that makes a lot of demands and requests of us. Being able to joyfully skip whatever event is happening to stay at home is our bliss. We just had another season of Austin City Limits, the annual music festival, and while I can understand the appeal, I know it’s not for me. ACL gives me JOMO (and saves me several hundred dollars every year!).
Anyway, if you are into beauty and fashion (which I am, hence this Substack!), then you probably grapple with some amount of FOMO. Most of us have limits on how much stuff we can acquire, whether those limits are financial, physical space, mental, or practical (such as using a “clean” beauty product before it goes bad). I don’t think most people (outside of influencers) feel good about acquiring things and then not being able to use them. We recognize that we actually do need to be discerning about what we buy, even if our budget is generous.
Along those lines, Glossier just released two new limited edition Balm Dotcoms that are totally up my alley: Biscotti and Espresso. They’re being sold as a duo ($27 for two full-sized, 15-ml balms)…and I want them. I love my Cookie Butter balm, and I can imagine how delightful Biscotti might be. And as a devoted coffee-drinker, Espresso is for me. For us.
But for now, I’m not going to buy them. It’s for the usual reasons: I have enough lip balm and I’d prefer not to spend $30+ on this release. I feel like I can let this one go, but reflecting upon the decision makes me think about FOMO. It’s not just a fear of missing out; I am missing out. On purpose. Because I can’t possibly buy/do/experience everything that I might want and get the rest and downtime I truly need.
But! For me, the cure for FOMO is a belief in abundance. I believe that the future will bring more good things, and in this imagined future, I can decide to purchase some of those things. It’s not a perfect cure, of course. There are products I missed out on, like Becca blushes (RIP, Becca Cosmetics). I really did miss those blushes because I didn’t purchase them before the brand was discontinued. And while that’s a disappointment, I still have a beautiful, curated collection of blush. I still have enough.
Recently, I’ve really found a lot of peace by embracing the “no for now” mindset. It’s given me a kind of freedom that I didn’t know I needed. I don’t lock my future self into a decision, and that just makes it so much easier to say no for now.
So, Holiday Balm Dotcom Duo, it’s no for now. Maybe I’ll see you in a year.