Q2 Prestige Skin Care Sales Top Makeup

Driven by innovative formulas from independent brands, sales of prestige skin care products rose faster than makeup in the second quarter of 2017, according to a new study by NPD.


“Skin care’s accelerated growth is being driven by newer brands and products that are capturing greater market share. This is a continued trend as we have seen a lot of excitement and innovation in skin care coming from smaller, more limitedly distributed players, which resonate with the consumer desire for discovery and uniqueness,” said Larissa Jensen, executive director and beauty industry analyst, The NPD Group. “Makeup’s slowdown in performance has been observed since 2016, and amplified in 2017 by fewer launches, a struggling lip segment, and softening average prices. Despite this, there are areas of growth in the category, like palettes and sets, which may help fuel greater gains for the remainder of the year, as cost conscious consumers continue to seek out value.”


According to NPD, Q2 makeup sales rose 4% to $2.0 billion. Skin care sales increased 6% to $1.4 billion and fragrance sales added 1% to $868.5 million.


Taking a closer look at the numbers, NPD noted that nail care may be making a comeback of sorts. All areas of the nail market experienced sales increases in Q2: base/top coats (+13%), nail care (+6%), and color (+1%). However, NPD pointed out that total nail sales are still down -1% year-to-date (January-June), this is a notable slowdown compared to the -6% decline at this time last year.