Beauty gift sets are an $871 million industry, and sales are up according to the NPD Group. Although fragrance gift sets remain popular, sales of makeup and skincare sets are growing at an even faster rate.

The NPD Group’s latest research indicates overall gift set sales in the U.S. that are sold within prestige department stores posted a +16 percent increase in dollar sales, from January through October 2012, versus the same time last year. Gift sets include both women’s and men’s fragrance, as well as skincare and makeup.

Fragrance sets remain extremely popular, representing over one third (34%) of total prestige fragrance sales annually. While men’s and women’s fragrance gift sets both posted healthy growth, the category was strongly driven by men’s fragrance gift sets (+14%), double the dollar growth of women’s (7%) during year-to-date 2012.

“Gift sets have often provided a somewhat stress-free purchase for the shopper to get in and out of the madness that surrounds shopping during the holiday season,” said Karen Grant, vice president and senior global industry analyst, The NPD Group—and a member of Beauty Packaging’s Board of Advisors. “And it’s not just fragrance anymore, sets are now among the hottest areas in makeup and skincare too,” added Grant.

Sales of makeup and skincare gift sets this holiday season have already outpaced the overall gift set market in the first ten months of the year. “High-priced, anti-aging skincare gift sets are not the only option anymore, consumers today are looking to treat themselves with innovative forms of skincare more so than in recent years. This season the skincare gift set arena is again being dominated by new sonic technology,” said Grant.