There’s an old saying that goes, “It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good.”  Meaning that no matter how dire a situation, there’s almost always someone who benefits.  Case in point: this seemingly bottomless economy.  Amidst layoffs, a catastrophic foreclosure rate and all the rest of the news that makes us afraid to switch the TV to CNBC, there are people who are doing well.  In the beauty sector, it’s the makers and sellers of discount beauty products.

This article from Inc. magazine tells us that while 40 percent of women say they are delaying their purchases of beauty products like moisturizers and cosmetics, one-third are switching to cheaper products, prompted not only by the economy and lower prices but by increasingly common revelations that many less costly products are just as effective as the luxury brands.  This new trend, which pundits are calling “econochic,” is paying off big for the makers of low-end beauty accoutrements: one company, Yes to Carrots, that sells via Target, Rite Aid Pharmacy and Walgreens, projects a 30 percent increase in sales in 2009 despite the terrible economy.  So we’d suggest that right after “food, water and shelter” we add “foundation” to the list of things we simply cannot live without.

But why?  We’re diagnosticians by trade, so we’re always interested in the underlying causes of things, whether it’s a skin condition, emotional trauma or a societal trend.  Why should it be that in the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression, so many women refuse to give up shopping for beauty products?  In the past, we’ve made the case that it’s about controlling what you can control and keeping self-esteem strong at a time when so much seems terrifyingly out of control.  But now we think our continued, stubborn focus on looking our best—at a time when we could easily justify going cold turkey on all beauty products—is also about something else.

It’s about competition.

Of course.  As we talk about in The Beauty Prescription, we are wired to regard attractive people more highly than plain people.  Study after study has shown that we trust beautiful people more, pay them better, treat them with more respect when we encounter them on the street, and even give them a better shake in the justice system.  Good looking men and women get a better deal out of human society, and may even live longer.  So right now, with unemployment approaching 10 percent and millions competing for the same shrinking pool of jobs, why wouldn’t women try to give themselves a competitive advantage by looking as great as possible?

We’re not talking about something as shallow as using sex appeal to get a job, though some women may do that.  No, we’re talking about leveraging our evolutionary baggage that makes us assume that attractive individuals are smarter, more socially adept, more trustworthy and more capable than people who look ordinary.  In a cutthroat economic environment where many people are struggling simply to survive, the edge in appearance gained by using some moisturizer and lip liner—even if it’s a discount brand—can literally be the difference between getting work and paying the mortgage or ending up homeless.  Beauty is part of the arsenal of weapons that we use to survive in tough times.  It always has been, all the way back to Cleopatra and Helen of Troy.

So if you’re part of that newly invigorated market for discount beauty products, don’t be embarrassed by your penny pinching.  You’re actually adapting to the current circumstances better than many women.  Because eventually this economy will recover, and it’s the women who have kept themselves looking and feeling great all along who will be on top.

Stay beautiful,

Debi & Eva