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.