When the economy tanks, life becomes challenging for those of us who depend on retail therapy to maintain balance. You need to cut your spending, but what do you tell your inner shopper?

If you’ve been struggling to suppress your urge to shop (UTS) while your 401K is gasping for breath, last week’s New York Times had this suggestion: buy a lipstick. For the small price of, say, “Sweet Honey” by YSL or “Casual Beige” by Dior, you can satisfy that UTS with minimal damage, and lively up yourself for the duration of the lipstick’s life.

The purchase might even polish up your audacity of hope, which may have gotten a little tarnished since the post-election nightly news became a depress-a-rama.

This trick won’t work for everyone; I don’t know too many dudes who buy lipstick. But I tried it, and I’m here to testify. I bought Bobby Brown’s “Brown,” which I know sounds a little dreary but it was an excellent pick-me-up and satisfied my UTS so I could ignore higher ticket items like the boots that are on sale at Bloomingdale’s.

The effect lasted, oh, a good thirty-six hours. Now I’m pondering other choices. There’s Chanel’s “Enigma,” which looks promising, and also a good one from CVS (by Rimmel) called “Coffee Shimmer” that’s only $4.99. (I wonder if you get as much UTS suppression from a cheaper lipstick. Can’t wait to find out.)

Of course, the way things are going in retail, I figure if I wait a few weeks, those boots at Bloomingdale’s might be going for less than “Enigma.”