meeting to Covent Garden to meet my husfriend at the Apple store where he was
attempting to charm an Appleite into giving him a new keyboard.
his third customer. He knew not the secrets of London mid-day traffic yet, and
despite his loveliness, we weren’t moving. He was awesome. But I was rushed. So
I thanked him, and tipped him more generously than I could realistically afford
(he was saving up for an electric car to
uber people around in) and rushed off down the street towards Covent Garden
on foot.
my care of a good 9 months, needed replacing. My mantra of only making
purchases when I “need” to and my commitment to making all my purchases as eco,
ethical and earth friendly as possible, had lead me to commit a good week of
research to eco mascaras.
had lead me to the decision that Neal’s Yard would be would be the first
eco/ethical brand I’d try.
Garden, so I figured as I had now missed meeting up with my guy, it was time
for me to make that mascara mine.
I entered the store a young girl dressed as a rodent
bounded up to me with Disneyland-esc energy asking me how it was that she could
help me on this “beaut-eh-full day”
I felt my stomach tighten with anxiety.
of ten – let alone grown humans in those animal onzies you see wandering around
festivals like drunken toddlers with their saggy bums and superior height. I
can adjust my adverse reactions after a few whiskeys, but I need fair warning
and a self-imposed pep talk in advance.
I looked behind me, it was still raining, and the
faded feeling that comes with non-sensical dream states caused by questionable versions
of reality had set in. And I realized I had been staring blankly and
unemotionally at the creature who stood before me for a good few minutes.
She was smiling from ear to ear with the look of
a crazed Cheshire cat, and had likely asked me a few questions since I’d
regressed into reflection.
“Why are you dressed like a rat?” I asked abruptly,
having already decided it must have something to do with animal testing or lack
there of. “It’s Halloween!” she exclaimed
with the same glee my 2-year-old nephew exudes when Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk
sneaks out of some speakers somewhere. “LOLLY!!!!” he’ll shout, pointing at his
ears, before he breaks into an extreme form of stroller dancing with a
Rat asks me. I cock my head slightly, marginally insulted but mostly interested,
my expression quite obviously betrays me and she quickly back peddles into a
frenzied “ohhh nooooo, I wasn’t saying YOU look OLD, we have a deal on,
you buy the cream and you get the mascara free.”
become far too comical not to. How often will I have the chance to buy
mascara from a grown women dressed as a rat anyway?
I calculate the offer, the mascara is cheaper on
its own, and I already have an eye cream I’m quite pleased with. I reel in my gleeful
consumer demon and buy only what I came in for, thanking the girl for her help
with as much genuine Love as I can muster. She gives me a hug.
I should go to Aveda and get some deep conditioner for my hair.
door and into the rain. Quickly injecting myself with caffeine and food to
shake off the weirdness that was.
One month later, despite the strange encounter,
I find myself both pleased with the memory and the purchase itself. Sure enough
my haggard lashes have grown and curled as promised and the mascara does
exactly what mascara should do: lengthens, darkens and curls.
top it off, this particular mascara is soil association certified, organic,
antioxidant, nickel tested, ophthalmological tested, allergen free,
preservative free, dermatologically tested and tested on contact lenses
wearers, vegan, and not tested on animals.
And
thus, I can recommend it highly to you for your next
mascara purchase.
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