Yawn, Yet MORE 'Beauty Research for de Recession'

Divil a bit of a day goes past that I don't get 400 press releases in my inbox screaming about women's buying habits during the current global economic downturn. Leonard Lauder's Lipstick Indicator has fallen out of favour this time round, with foundation jumping to the fore, and companies - who are apparently unable to fathom the fact that BUYING HABITS CAN CHANGE - have responded to this head-scratching fact by ... commissioning tons of research into what us gals are actually spending our hard earned on.

Last week, L'Oreal trumped the fact that, "in an ongoing effort to better understand women's beauty routines, L'Oreal, in its 100th year, commissioned an international usage survey. The research featured some unexpected findings about how women's makeup habits are adapting in response to the recession, including how women are using makeup to get ahead at work." Yawn.

The following sit-down-or-you-might-fall-down revelations were culled from 4,000 women in the U.S. and four European countries:

• Nearly half of U.S. women surveyed believe wearing makeup gives them an advantage at work and makes them feel more in control
• Four out of 10 U.S. women are wearing more neutral shades and a more natural makeup style than before the recession
• The majority of women surveyed believe wearing makeup makes them feel more self confident, and even more believe that wearing makeup improves their self image (82 percent and 86 percent respectively)
• Proving that beauty is recession-proof, nine out of 10 women in the United States and Europe reported no change in makeup usage despite the economic crisis.
• Women won't compromise on their hair either - when it comes to saving money, most U.S. women surveyed (63 percent) have not cut their hair to make it less expensive to maintain.

ZzzzZZZ.

Cosmetic company guys. Here's a little sobering thought for you all. If you're so concerned about our buying habits, think on this: women are now shopping time-poor because every chance they get to leave the gaff to buy some blusher, a new 'report' on cosmetic spending habits pops up that they need to read, and by the time they've gotten to the salient points, it's 6pm and the shops are closed.

A classic case of talking yourself into a downturn, beauty peeps. So quit the poxy, endless, research and let us all go out and drop our cash on some of your lovely bits instead, eh?