New research from NPD shows that in the first quarter of 2015, sales of U.S. prestige beauty products reached $2.6 billion, a 5% increase from the same period last year. This was driven by makeup and fragrance, while skin care sales remained flat after experiencing growth for the past three consecutive quarters.  
Makeup outperformed the overall prestige market and experienced double-digit growth across many segments, including lip liner, eye brow makeup, and face applicators. Sales reached $1.1 billion. Within skin care, although the market overall appeared to remain stagnant, there was notable movement happening on a segment-level; sales here reached $899.6 million for the quarter. As with makeup, lip and facial products were bright spots for the category, particularly skin care masks, face supplements, and lip treatment, which all grew double-digits. Fragrance also saw healthy growth (up 5% over first quarter 2014, to $547.4 million) and candles, fresheners, and other home fragrance ancillaries were key drivers during the period studied
 
Karen Grant, global beauty analyst NPD—and a member of Beauty Packaging’s Board of Advisors— said, “In beauty it is becoming increasingly important to dig deeper and see what’s happening underneath. Today, the topline trends reveal but a fraction of the prestige beauty story. Less traditional and often smaller categories continue to emerge as the big winners of growth. The trends are more diverse and moving faster. Looking closer at these elements driving the market are essential for the industry to respond in step with the quickening pulse of today’s consumer trends.”