Survey: No 'Lipstick Effect' for Premium Fragrance

Lipstick sales increased significantly during both the Great Depression and the 2001 recession, an effect Estee Lauder’s Leonard Lauder captured in his “lipstick index.” The phenomenon is widely attributed to consumers’ desire for affordable luxury. Unfortunately, according to a recent Datamonitor (www.datamonitor.com) survey in the United Kingdom, what benefits personal care does not extend to premium fragrance. Only 2% of respondents intend to increase spending on premium fragrance, while 19% intend to keep spending flat; 55% intend to cut back or eliminate spending altogether. “This,” the report concludes, “seems to suggest that, for most consumers, affordable luxury does not extend to the premium fragrance … market.”