I love it, but I know every “clean girl” aesthetic, every dewy no-makeup makeup routine and every “morning shed” ritual is just another layer of consumerism dressed up as self-care. But knowing doesn’t stop me. If anything, it makes me more fascinated. I don’t just want to use these products — I want to understand why we want them so badly in the first place.

Once a trend is out of style, our minds are clear, and we can see its imperfections, but in an environment that thrives on conformity, it is difficult to imagine a life without a fleeting emblem.

The more I thought about my collection of water bottles, the more I realized the collection of each bottle had very little to do with an effort to combat single use plastic, and had more to do with the desire I have to keep up with current trends.