'Panic': The popular cosmetic item that's quietly vanished from shelves in Australian stores

It's hard to describe the panic I felt when I was told one of my favourite cosmetics had been discontinued.

This has happened so many time before and it can be absolutely devastating, particularly when it is a product you have come to rely on.

For me that was Revlon Colorstay Creme Eye Shadow.

I had taken to using the Praline 705 every single morning as an eyeshadow base. It was the perfect combination of shimmer, sheer and creamy blend.

I've been trying to use up as much of my cosmetics as possible before buying more, in an effort to save but this time, it really bit me hard.

By the time I went to buy another one of these, they were gone.

I usually buy them at Chemist Warehouse, but when I couldn't find them there I went to the Revlon counter at Myer and that's when I was told they were no more.

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I think I must have looked visibly distressed, because the lovely Myer lady said she'd take a look in the back to see if there were any she could give me, but there weren't any.

Panicked, I spent the entire trip home on the metro trying to find some online.

I found two websites claiming to sell them and placed orders in, but a couple of days later I received emails saying they were out of stock and my money was being refunded.

I didn't even get to slowly wean myself off of it, as I had used the very last of it before trying to replace it.

And I didn't have any good alternatives to use as an eyeshadow base.

I reached out to Revlon to confirm the sad news.

Nica Marcello, Revlon's National Education Manager confirmed: "Revlon Creme Shadows have been discontinued as part of our commitment to modernising our range and introducing more innovative beauty solutions.

"While we're losing an old faithful, we're excited to bring in the new Glimmer Liquid Shadow to offer buildable, blendable colour across a more diverse range of shades just in time for party season."

As soon as I saw the word "modernising" I felt pretty deflated. I don't want to modernise my products or makeup routine. I want to do the exact same thing every singe day.

And now I can't.

I've been through this situation before. There was hair colour product my mum and I loved to use and it was discontinued, and it took as most of the year to find another hair colour product we liked just as much.

As result of that experience, we stock up on it when it is on sale. I never have less than 10 boxes of it. And actually, its another Revlon product. It's Revlon Colorsilk Light Brown.

I'd better keep stocking up.

I understand that brands have to make difficult choices to discontinue products, but can't they give us a heads up so those of us who are fans can stock up? And then we have some time to prepare for life without it and look for alternatives?

I turned to Gavin Northey, Associate Professor at the Department of Marketing at Griffith University, to try and unpack my personal devastation about the discontinuation of my favourite eyeshadow base and, more broadly, the psychology behind customer reactions to their favourite products being discontinued.

He described it as "actually a fascinating phenomenon in consumer behaviour".

"Your own reaction is totally normal (in fact, almost everyone I know has mentioned this at some stage), but there are a range of psychological mechanisms at play," the said.

"The first mechanism at play here comes from the seminal research by Kahneman & Tversky (1979) on loss aversion.

"For some people, losses can seem far more amplified than any potential gains. In your case, losing access to your favorite eyeshadow feels more painful than discovering it in the first place."

He said this leads to a form of "psychological reactance" because experiencing the discontinuation of a favourite product makes me feel "under threat".

Which is when I start stocking up on other favourite products, just in case they too are discontinued. Like my 10 packets of hair colour.

"So, to minimise or eliminate the negative arousal (and gain some form of 'control' over the situation), you want to stockpile whatever you can."

He said the trauma behind the discontinuation of a beauty product can be even worse.

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"Eyeshadow is a very personal product, so the product not only helps you form your identity, it can be a central part of your identity and personal routines," he said.

"Because of this, you develop an incredibly strong 'self-brand connection'."

Gavin's words make me feel seen and heard and most importantly, validated. But still don't solve my problem of what to do about an eyeshadow base.

I expect it to take several months to land on one that I love just and much and you can rest assured I'll be buying a lot of it once it become part of my daily routine.

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