If you’re trying to be good about keeping a budget, the week before you get your period you might want to stay away from Madewell, or J.Crew, or Gilt Groupe, or whatever store makes you want to pull out your credit card. According to a study by professor Karen Pine of the University of Hertfordshire in England, women were more likely to make impulse buys or overspend during the later stages of their menstrual cycle. Pine told the BBC that women use shopping as way of regulating their intense emotions. Besides all of the hormonal changes in our brains, it’s possible that we spend more at this particular point in our cycle because we want to dress to impress when we’re fertile. Pine’s research found that most of the purchases made were for adornment, i.e., jewelry, makeup, and high heels. This explains why I absolutely had to buy a new nail polish after work on Friday. Yes, it was an impulse buy, but it was a damn good one. Essie E-Nuff is E-Nuff is the perfect color for now: a coral-y red that is nearly fluorescent (the product photo really doesn’t do it justice). [BBC]
