U.S. makeup sales may be sliding, but skin care is showing promise.
The U.S. prestige beauty market drove $18.8 billion in sales in 2019, according to a new report from The NPD Group. Makeup remains prestige beauty's largest category, driving $7.6 billion in sales, followed by skin care, which totaled $5.9 billion in 2019.
Overall, prestige beauty sales remained flat over 2018. Makeup sales declined by 7 percent, while skin care grew by 5 percent and fragrance was up by 2 percent. Hair experienced the most growth, up 16 percent.
The decline in makeup sales stems from a general decline in makeup usage, said NPD, though vice president and beauty industry adviser Larissa Jensen predicts the category will pick up within the next couple of years.
"'Natural' is a big buzz word in many industries, especially beauty — in terms of product ingredients as well as consumers looking to achieve a more natural look. How makeup responds to this movement will be key to its revival,” said Jensen in a statement. “Historically, NPD data has detected a shift between makeup and skin care every four to five years. Based on this, and the slowdown in makeup that began to take hold in 2017, I anticipate we’ll see makeup rebound in the next one to two years."
Natural skin-care brands represented 30 percent of the prestige skin-care market, according to the report. Natural skin-care sales grew by 14 percent and were driven by cleansers, moisturizers and targeted treatments such as acne treatments, brighteners, exfoliators and lip treatments.
Perfumes and eau de parfums drove fragrance sales, which reached $4.5 billion. NPD reports that artisanal fragrances remain the fastest-growing category within fragrance, though top-ranked designers brands continue to generate the most sales.
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