When an economy enters troubled waters, this does not spell bad news for all categories. “Affordable luxury”, for example, tends to perform
well in a recessionary environment. This trend became known as the “lipstick effect”, a term coined by Leonard Lauder, Chairman of Estée
Lauder, at the beginning of 2001 when he observed that lipstick sales tend to be inversely correlated to economic health. While lipstick sales
did not withstand the recent recession, there is some evidence that the “affordable luxury” effect is still present, but manifesting itself in
different categories over time. Nail polish, for instance, could be considered the new “lipstick”, but the “lipstick of choice” varies with
time and geography.