Lipstick sales in South Korea have skyrocketed this year with local cosmetics manufacturers seeing a double-digit growth in their lipstick sales on average from a year earlier, suggesting a protracted slump in the Korean economy forcing consumers to treat themselves with low-cost luxuries, a move often dubbed as “Lipstick Effect.”

According to cosmetics and personal care products maker LG Household & Health Care Ltd. Wednesday, its cosmetics brand “the FACE SHOP” saw sales of its lip products soar 61.4 percent in the first 11 months of this year from a year ago. Its other beauty brand “VDL” also enjoyed an on-year 81.8 percent surge in its best-selling lip item “Lip cube.”

Among budget brands, Tonymoly was the biggest winner with its lip care product sales spiking 89.9 percent over the same period. Missha, which is well known for its skin care products, also achieved a 38.5 percent jump in sales of its lipsticks and lip glosses, while Clio’s lip brand “Peri Pera” sales have nearly doubled.

Sales of makeup products across the nation’s department stores have also climbed. The country’s leading retailer Lotte Department Store said sales of makeup products across its stores nationwide have risen 18.1 percent on average from a year ago.

Such brisk sales are partly attributable to wider options in color cosmetics available from local cosmetics companies than before, market analysts said.

Industry observers also attribute “Lipstick effect,” a theory that consumers usually cut back their spending during an economic downturn while treating themselves with rather lower-cost luxury items like lipsticks and lingerie, to the latest surge in local lipstick sales. The term was coined by Leonard Lauder, the chairman of Estée Lauder, U.S. cosmetics firm, after witnessing a spike in lipstick sales during the following months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Domestic consumption in Korea has plunged with the economy dragged down by massive restructuring across the country’s backbone industries like shipping and shipbuilding sectors and sagging exports, a major driver for the growth of the Korean economy.

By Kang Da-young

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]