Makeup Sales Continue to Rise, Survey Indicates

They say a woman’s best “friend” when the going gets tough is some retail therapy. Admittedly, few other things can boost her mood like some shopping for new clothes can, but, with the recession hitting pretty hard, not many can still afford to do so. A new survey conducted by Mintel and cited by the Daily Mail points out that, while ladies may forego on fashion, makeup sales continue to soar.

The explanation for that is relatively simple, says the aforementioned British publication. Shopping for clothes or accessories takes a bigger toll on the budget than shopping for stuff like lipstick and eyeshadow does, especially if the woman who does the shopping is also accustomed to wearing only designer brands. So, instead of buying clothes and handbags, women are buying more cosmetic products, Mintel has learned, because they’re seen as the lesser luxury, the one that they can still afford.

However, even if they opt for a lipstick instead of a new pair of shoes, thus learning to appreciate the little things in life, as saying goes, women still keep their standards quite high. In other words, because they spend less than what they used to, that doesn’t mean they’re also buying products of an inferior quality. Quite on the contrary, says the Mail citing the survey: precisely because they now shop less, women are buying mostly expensive brands of cosmetic products.

“Data showed that cosmetics enjoyed the highest growth in the expanding UK beauty market. Sales rose 7.4 per cent to £1,200 million between 2007 and 2008, according to market research specialists Mintel. Face and body skincare were up 6.7 per cent to £1,000 million and women’s perfume rose 4.6 per cent to £667 million over the same period,” the Daily Mail writes, citing numbers provided by Mintel.

Lipstick, it would seem, is one of the best pick-me-up purchase to make this recession season, especially if it comes in bold, daring shades of bright red or orange, hinting at a time when luxury was easily attainable. “A 25 to 34-year-old woman in the UK is carrying £71 worth of make-up in her handbag and there is no sign of her giving this up in the downturn. If anything she is buying more to cheer herself up,” George Wallace, chief executive of shopping consultants MHE Retail, says.