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Hard times, ‘Treat Culture’, and the Lipstick Effect

  • Jun 8
  • 2 min read

The apocalypse, apparently, might just come in bubble mailers. Not with fire and brimstone, but 11.11 flash sales, discounted earbuds, and Twinkle Twinkle blind boxes. In an age where a single thumb-scroll can summon a dopamine hit, overconsumption no longer arrives dressed in extravagance. It comes masqueraded as a “little treat”. 


Economists have coined a name for this phenomenon: the lipstick effect (Investopedia, 2026). It manifests during economic downturns as incomes decline and financial anxiety surges, with consumers forgoing major luxuries for more attainable pleasures. This is rooted in psychological compensation. Humans seek comfort and novelty, especially in uncertainty. Lipstick, historically, thus became the emblem of affordable decadence — if you cannot buy the entire look, you buy the supplement. 


Today’s lipstick effect has mutated into something far more algorithmic. Welcome to the era of “treat culture”, or “treatonomics” (CNBC, 2025), where economic uncertainty engenders splurges from small pick-me-ups to larger experiences. Previous generations had department stores. Now? We have infinite scrolling. Ultra-fast platforms like Temu, Shopee and SHEIN have capitalised on boredom into something so normal. 


Yet the real bill arrives only later. Globally, the fashion industry alone accounts for 2-8% of carbon emissions (UNEP, 2023), whereas locally, more than 200,000 tonnes of domestic waste generated since 2000 comprises disposable items — equivalent to 400 Olympic-sized swimming pools (NEA, n.d.). Oceans are saturated with microplastics, wardrobes stuffed with synthetic regret, bodies overstimulated with chronic dopamine grazing, and bank accounts hemorrhagic. 


You do deserve nice things. Perhaps, the more radical question is this: why has an entire economy convinced us that relief can only be bought? Every impulse buy is a ballot cast for the kind of world we normalise, a civilisation that self-medicates existential dread with tiny luxuries. 


So before the next “little treat”, ask yourself: is this nourishing me, or merely distracting me? If millions of us consume this way every day, what kind of future are we collectively purchasing? The most rebellious thing we can do in this economy is to refuse to let it manipulate us.


Writer: Joy

Published: 08/06/2026


References:

Investopedia (2026, February 26). Understanding the Lipstick Effect: A Key Economic Indicator Explained. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/lipstick-effect.asp

CNBC (2025, August 8). From lipsticks and Labubu dolls to concerts, the ‘treatonomics’ trend is booming in uncertain times. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/09/from-lipsticks-to-concerts-the-treatonomics-trend-is-booming.html

National Environment Agency (n.d.). 3R Programmes and Resources: Reducing our Use of Disposables. https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/waste-management/3r-programmes-and-resources/reducing-our-use-of-disposables


 
 
 

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