7 Days: Day 3 - The Lipstick Effect

Prepare for the most shallow blog post ever. The most shallow, glossy, pink, sparkly blog post is all I could handle on this long Monday. I went from meeting to meeting today. Dragging my energy along, fueled by caffeine and a pear and will power. I participated through conference calls and committee meetings and brainstorming sessions. And by the end of the day, tired and ready to collapse at home, my brain drained of all knowledge, with simply the desire to lay on the couch and watch Mad Men with my husband, I first had to make a quick stop at CVS to pick up some shampoo and a prescription. And what other little mood enhancer did I browse for? What is the one calorie free item guaranteed to make me smiley and contented? A new lip gloss.

I have a small addiction. I like every fruity flavored glossy sticky pink red bronze sparkly lip gloss. I like lip balms. I like lipstick. I like lip stains. I like make up in general. But I really love lip gloss. And I'm not alone.

The Lipstick effect is an actual economic indicator that states that in times of economic stress and crisis, you know, like now, people tend to buy smaller less costly luxury items, like lipsticks. People still need a pick me up. People still want to treat themselves occasionally. After 9/11 and the economic crisis that year, lipstick sales doubled. We just treat ourselves on a much more conservative scale when money is tight, but we still need our small indulgences. So when I'm feeling low or tired or of course when I run out of my favorite color, I buy lip gloss.  I don't buy that yacht or that fur coat I've had my eye on, ok, seriously, more like I don't buy Clinique, I buy Maybelline, but I long to break open the package and feel the little boost I get when applying that new shiny coat of gloss. Some people buy beer or $2 buck chuck, I buy make up.

So today I'm wearing a new L'Oreal Infalliable lip gloss in Scarlet. And I feel pretty. Here's my 7 Days shot to prove it:

What's your little treat? What do you buy to perk yourself up when your day, week, month has sucked? Or do you do something much deeper and meaningful like meditate or community service or hugs? Come on, you buy something, what is it?