When Ohio University graduate student Tiffany Bowden initially became interested in Mary Kay cosmetics, it was because she liked the way the brand’s foundation matched her skin tone.
However, her interests quickly changed when she realized selling cosmetics was a quick way to make money during a recession because of the demand.“You might be in a recession, but consumers don’t want it to show,†Bowden said.
During the last months of 2008, lipstick sales increased by 40 percent. During the Great Depression, cosmetic sales increased 25 percent and in the months following Sept. 11, 2001, lipstick sales doubled, according to a New York Times article on Nov. 9.
The Leading Lipstick Indicator — a term coined by Estée Lauder Chairman Leonard Lauder — states that the purchase of cosmetics, especially lipstick, is inversely related to the strength of the economy.
Charlene Kalenkoski, an economics professor at OU, said the Lipstick Indictor could be influenced simply by price.
“I opened up an Avon catalog and they are lowering prices on lipstick. When prices go down, you buy more,†Kalenkoski said.
She also said lipstick could be considered an inferior good — something that is purchased more as income decreases, because the product is less expensive.
Logo from Mary Kay.