Recession Mauve

I had an Econ201 flashback in the drugstore on my lunch break today, having decided to treat myself to a new lipstick (or, more accurately, the experience of buying a new lipstick, since the cosmetic aisle of the drugstore remains among my ultimate guilty pleasures) and remembering Professor Elzinga's example of lipstick as an "inferior good." As in, consumption goes up when the economy goes south, and consumers are looking to substitute cheap pleasures for bigger luxuries.

At the (boom)time of my class, it seemed like a quirky Econ tidbit, but it's apparently playing out - to some degree - in today's miserable financial climate.

Turns out that the NYT did a story on the phenomenon at the beginning of the summer, and while the Lipstick Theory is a little less Market Economics and a little more Marketing Cosmetics, plenty of anecdotal and sales evidence suggests that its alive and well in the 2008 slowdown.

Also something of a personal mile marker, as I've started realizing in recent weeks that the economic slump/recession (depending on where you get your news), seems to have finally trickled down to my humble bank account, and my climbing gas and grocery bills have made it increasingly difficult to sock away any significant part of my paycheck.

Anyway, my $8.99 Color Riche in Gilded Pink is an excellent barely-there late summer shade.