Have you ever read a glowing review about a fantastic new product and been struck by this instant need to buy it/ put it on your wishlist/ tell your significant other about it so that s/he will know what present to get you? Maybe it is a top ten list or a compilation of the greatest in the industry

You know that feeling of “OMG that sounds so awesome, I want, no, need it now!”?

That is a lemming!

What do the bloggers mean when they refer to “lemmings”?

“Choose or Lose: Do you keep a lemming list?” – Temptalia

“Lemming: lemmings are small rodents, said to look like fat furry hamsters. They are believed to blindly follow their crowd, even to the point of throwing themselves off a cliff if everyone else is doing it. This behavioral pattern is mythical, but the word is used on many fragrance forums and blogs to describe the feeling of intense longing generated by reading posts about a product or fragrance; in more simple terms, it just means to want a perfume. Sometimes converted to the verb form, ‘to lemm’.” – Now Smell This

The most ouch-worthy definition comes from Urban Dictionary:

“a lemming refers to a purchase/wished-for-item which results from reading an enthusiastic post about a new fabulous product. Overcome by compulsion, readers follow like lemmings diving off a cliff.”

For our purposes, a lemming is desire to purchase something, be it a new beauty product, new tech gadget, new clothes, new shoes, etc.

a lemming is an induced desire to purchase something