She tried to embarrass her daughter-in-law at a beauty counter — one comeback wiped the smile off her face

Not everyone is lucky enough to have a kind and understanding mother-in-law (MIL). Some MILs don't even bother to hide their disdain and make life difficult for their children and their spouses. A person with a deleted Reddit account shared the story about how they got their mother-in-law to quit harassing them. The anonymous individual and their husband were out shopping when the MIL spotted them at the makeup section and tried to shame them for liking makeup. Instead of taking the insult quietly, the author used the MIL's own words against her. To date, the post has received over 9,000 upvotes and 243 comments.

'I felt someone watching me'

Before the shopping trip, the author, a teacher by profession, had been buying all of their makeup products online. "... so this was exciting to me to get to be at the actual counter and do a whole lot of swatches and drool over makeup in person," they recalled. While the husband went his separate way to avoid spending time at the beauty counter, the author had a great time trying out the products. As they browsed the store, deeply engaged in shopping, the author suddenly felt a continuous gaze on her. "I felt someone watching me, and I felt this shift in energy. I was very much aware of being alone and that there were no store attendants close by," they explained. The author knew their MIL didn't like them. In fact, she disliked several things about the author, including their job, and often looked down upon them for wearing makeup. "She thinks I'm a troublemaker. She's called me a makeup-wearing hussy (which, tbh, I kind of own. I dig it in a weird way)," they wrote.

A well-deserved comeback 

When the MIL walked over to the makeup section, she had a "huge sh*t-eating grin on her face." Seeing her son's partner in that section just confirmed the negative assumptions she had about the author. She put on a surprised tone and asked if they were buying more makeup. The quick-witted author replied, "Yes, apparently I have a reputation as a h*ssy to uphold." At the mention of that insult, the MIL's smile immediately dropped. She understood that someone in her circle had been snitching on her, revealing all the mean things she had said about the author.

Mothers-in-law: friend or foe?

Contrary to popular belief that mothers often have an ugly relationship with their son's partner, a 2020 survey conducted by Geoffrey L. Greif and Michael E. Woolley for their book, ''In-Law Relationships: Mothers, Daughters, Fathers, and Sons,'' revealed the opposite. The results found that only 15% of the respondents had a difficult relationship with their in-laws. On the other hand, 33% of mothers-in-law said that they have a close relationship with their daughters-in-law. However, only 18% of younger women felt the same about their MILs.

Readers share their thoughts

Meanwhile, people in the comments congratulated the woman for standing up to her mother-in-law. For instance, u/guineapigsrb commented, "This is great; I love it. It reminds me of the time when I bumped into my stepmother and a friend of hers on a night out. She introduced me as her eldest SD (I have 2 younger sisters). He was quite drunk and said to her, "Is this the one you don’t like?” and she went scarlet. I said, 'Why, yes, I am. Nice to meet you.' I shook his hand and left, laughing my head off. It was perfect." Similarly, u/excalibur-28 shared, "This is so empowering. It gives me a little bit more courage to stand up to my mom every time she deliberately humiliates me and puts me down. Thank you for sharing!"

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