Even with a slew of innovative rollouts for the summer season, the U.S. mass color cosmetics category has slowed down considerably due to the economy—even at the leading companies. Revlon, Inc. posted a 12.2% drop in net sales of $321.8 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2009. The decline in net sales was driven by lower net sales of Revlon and Almay color cosmetics, and Revlon Beauty Tools, partially offset by higher net sales of Revlon ColorSilk hair color, according to the company.

In the U.S., net sales in the second quarter of 2009 slipped 14% to $186.2 million, driven primarily by lower net sales of Revlon and Almay color cosmetics.

In the company’s international operations, net sales in the second quarter of 2009 fell 14.5% to $135.6 million.

Net sales in the first six months of 2009 decreased 7.8% to $625.1 million. In the U.S., net sales dropped 4.2% to $377.2 million; while in the company’s international operations, net sales fell 12.9% to $247.9 million.

Revlon President and Chief Executive Officer Alan T. Ennis commented, “We continue to focus on building our strong brands and are pleased with the performance of our key innovative new product launches, which we supported with appropriate levels of advertising and promotion. In the second quarter of 2009, while the mass color cosmetics category in the U.S., according to ACNielsen, continued to grow, the rate of growth slowed and certain retailers reduced inventory levels versus the year-ago period. These factors, along with the unfavorable effect of foreign currency fluctuations, impacted our second quarter results.”

In May, Revlon announced a worldwide organizational restructuring, rightsizing the organization to reflect the more efficient workflows and processes that have been implemented over the last two years.