The Lipstick Index

Buying a lipstick is a lot like buying a book. A new book with its crisp new pages, shiny cover and the fresh new smell straight off the shelves of a book shop, gives you a strange high – a feeling I find hard to describe. I usually flirt with my brand new book by teasingly flipping through the first few pages, absorbing the sharp swish of each new page while carefully trying not to crease each one. By the time I get to chapter three, the book tends to have a more lived in look and I’ve developed a comfortable enough relationship with it so as not to really bother with its slowly weathering look.

It’s the same with a brand new lipstick. The first turn of the cap, the slight twist of the tube and the seductive contours of the lipstick as it tapers gently to a point – all give me goose bumps. Then, as I glide it gently over my lips, I take in the new smell, the creamy texture and the perfect pout that a new lipstick always gives me before slowly wearing down to a stump.

Books and lipsticks are instant mood lifters. They give you that momentary feeling of self indulgence. So it didn’t surprise me when I read an article on how recession (or an economic slowdown) results in a surge in lipstick sales. The lipstick theory came to light in 2001 when the Chairman of Estee Lauder noticed that his company was selling more lipsticks than usual after 9/11. People were feeling low and women in particular found that lipsticks were mood boosters that helped them in some way feel better.

A slowdown in the economy also seems to have an effect on marriages. Divorce rates are seen to drop during this time. No, not because women are all puckered up in new shades of lipsticks. It’s because people have more time to spend with their families. Needless to say, condom sales go up as well.

All this brings me to ask one question – what the hell are we complaining about? The slowdown forces one to appreciate the smaller and simpler delights of life. Everyone seems to have more time to do things that make them feel good and perhaps life is a little less complicated. So while everyone moans and reminisces the good ol’ economic boom days, I’m going to instead view it like a glass half full. Excuse me while I pucker up in my new fuchsia lipstick and browse through a bookstore on lazy Wednesday afternoon with my husband who suddenly seems to have more time to spend with me.