Prestige beauty sales nosedived worldwide last year, particularly colour cosmetics. But the US beauty market, the largest in the world, has enjoyed a strong resurgence of high end brands.
According to the NPD Group, sales of prestige beauty products in the US soared to US$4.2 billion in Q1 2021 – an 11 per cent gain by contrast to the same period in 2020.
Sales of upmarket hair products increased 48 per cent to US$300 million. The fragrance sector also staged a major comeback, growing 45 per cent to US$953 million.
Makeup sales slumped 9 per cent to US$1.5 billion, but the category is enjoying several green shoots. Highlighters reported a 12 per cent hike in revenues year-on-year. While eye products – mascara, eyebrow makeup, false eyelashes – outperformed the category as consumers focused on the top half of their faces peeping above masks.
Online sales of prestige beauty continued their amazing run, increasing 33 per cent in Q1. Valentine’s Day was a strong driver of fragrance sales in the first three months of the year, notably gift sets, candles and perfumes where revenues rose in triple-digits.
Skincare was again a standout performer, with prestige sales up 12 per cent to US$1.4 billion by contrast to the same period last year. Key movers were serums, body and face exfoliators and suncare.
The positive news is that fragrance, skincare and hair pushed growth against 2019, a more accurate representation of industry sales, notes Larissa Jensen, Vice President, Industry Advisor, at NPD.
She believes that a re-energised beauty consumer fueled by greater optimism promises a return to normalcy in the near future.