Quartz: Jonathan Ernest, associate professor at Weatherhead School of Management, cautioned that it is challenging to apply a clear cause-and-effect mechanism to something as specific as lipstick sales, but what they do see is a pattern that tends to emerge either soon before or immediately after the economy dips. “It’s kind of a strange thing that defies the usual rules,” he said. “But in this case, it seems to be that [consumers are] kind of offsetting” big ticket items with small indulgences.
