We may have a lipstick addiction, but most of us will probably never cross the line as far as one woman from Zhejiang, China.
The 26-year-old woman worked as a financial controller, and managed all of her former company’s finances, according to reports by Qianjiang Evening News. Realising how lax the company was with their financial management, the woman started stealing from them. Whenever questions were raised about the missing money, the woman lied that it has been withdrawn by the boss.
With more than two million yuan (or SGD406,000) that she has stolen from her employer, the woman bought almost 1,000 tubes of lipstick, as well as many bottles of perfume, clothes, and designer’s handbags. Most of the products were from luxury brands, and she would post photos of her new buys on social media sites, making many of her friends believe she was from a well-to-do family.
But she doesn’t use the products
She turned herself in on 31 March, and when police searched her house, they noticed that most of the products were almost untouched. The massive collection of lipsticks were only used twice or less, and perfume bottles were still in their boxes.
The reason why she doesn’t use them? She was only attracted by the packaging, she told police. In fact, she also told them that she doesn’t enjoy the smell of perfume, and doesn’t usually wear makeup, which were the reasons why these products were largely unused.
Psychology experts who were interviewed said that the woman’s behaviour may be indicative of a compulsive buying disorder. This is when an individual is unable to control their urge to shop, and make impulsive purchases without considering possible consequences. This psychological disorder can be caused by several factors, including anxiety, social isolation and escapism.
