Rhiannon Harries: The ugly side of the beauty business - who'd pay £35 for a lippy?

The lipstick theory has it that certain products – its namesake among them – are not just recession-proof, but actually sell more during shaky economic times. The man who coined that phrase, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, was Leonard Lauder, the chairman of cosmetics giant Estée Lauder, so it's not surprising that his world picture is seen in terms of tubes of coloured grease. As yet it's ...