I recently overheard someone talking about the Lipstick Effect – people buying small affordable luxuries to treat themselves when times are tough. A new lipstick can make you feel a little more glamourous at the fraction of the cost of a new dress.
Food is definitely one of those things that allows you to spoil yourself on a modest scale. We’ll have suggestions for those kind of treats here on CheapEats, and would love to hear from our readers – what are your small luxuries? One of mine, which in fact I just picked up yesterday, is fresh anchovies to have with a glass of wine. Oh boy.
The always lovely and fascinating Ice Cream Ireland blog has an interesting post defending the price of premium Irish produce:
The reason I’m writing this post is that tonight, at the checkout of my local supermarket, I was given a snide comment about the price I was paying for a piece of Gubbeen cheese, and it made me very angry. Are we all expected to buy the cheapest cheddar on the market? I hardly drink, and I don’t own a nice car or a holiday home. I don’t even own my house. Why shouldn’t I spend money on a good Irish cheese if I want to? I love cheese, I’m supporting an Irish producer making a quality product, and the truth is I’d pay even more.