‘Lipstick index’ smeared by recession

Flawless skin is replacing the perfect pout as a woman’s answer to tough times, with liquid foundation supplanting lipstick as the essential item in make-up bags in the recession.

The “Foundation index” appears ready to overtake Leonard Lauder’s “Lipstick index” as a barometer of economic activity this year as women plump for a layer of foundation as a pick-me-up in gloomy times, rather than a dash of lipstick.

Encouraging women to look good in hard times is a tried and tested marketing device. During the second world war, the cosmetic company Tangee promoted lipstick as a product which would help women “put on a brave face”.

Mr Lauder, chairman of cosmetics group Estee Lauder, coined the term “Lipstick index” during the 2001 recession to highlight the correlation between economic downturns and upticks in lipstick sales. “When lipstick sales go up, people don’t want to buy dresses,” he said at the time. “When things get tough, women buy lipstick.”

The index may be a frivolous indicator – some researchers point out that lipstick sales have at times grown in periods of prosperity as well as downturns – but in this recession, foundation is the cosmetic to watch.

L’Oréal, the world’s largest beauty company, has found in the UK market that foundation has edged out lipstick as the “must-have” product for women, with more than one third of 18 to 19-year-olds citing it as their most essential beauty product against 8 per cent opting for lipstick.

The only age group which still appreciates the glamour of painted lips is the over-60s, with 40 per cent surveyed citing lipstick as the most treasured item.

In the UK, foundation sales rose 15 per cent last year, against 2.5 per cent for the lip market, according to market research group Nielsen. TNS Worldpanel, another consumer research body, thinks foundation sales are up 25.3 per cent in the year to February against a 5.7 per cent decline in lipstick sales.

Sales figures from the US also suggest women are moving away from lipstick to foundation, according to Kline & Company, a market research company.

Lipstick sales fell 5.8 per cent during 2008, while liquid foundation sales grew 2.5 per cent, against wider growth of 0.5 per cent across the beauty market.

However, L’Oréal says there is one clear conclusion about tough economic times: looking good remains paramount. The group points out the wider beauty market is still growing.