According to research from The NPD Group, sales of U.S. prestige beauty products were nearly $4.2 billion in the first quarter of 2021, an 11% increase over Q1 2020.
 
As U.S. consumers hit the one-year anniversary mark of retail shutdowns due to Covid-19, online sales within the prestige beauty segment remain strong, up 33% in Q1 2021 vs. 2020. At the same time, brick-and-mortar sales are making up ground, up 3% YoY, driven in large part by double-digit growth in fragrance and hair sales.
 
One of the primary takeaways for the prestige beauty industry during the past year has been the consumer’s shift to self-care at home. Even as the vaccine rollout gained momentum in the first quarter of 2021, many consumers continued to prioritize self-care, as evidenced by double and triple-digit gains of hair masks, both facial and body serums, nail care, and candles.
 
Categories
 
Makeup sales were $1.5 billion, a decrease of 9%, but the category is making up ground as consumers begin to return to social settings. Makeup highlighters were up 12% YoY and bronzer was up 2%. Eye products continue to outperform the category, as they are not covered by protective face masks, with gains in mascara, eyebrow makeup, false eyelashes, and eye applicators.
 
Skincare sales were $1.4 billion, up 12%. Consumers appear to be readying their skin for more time outside, as facial exfoliators, body exfoliators, and sun care are all up year-over-year.
 
Not surprisingly, as most consumers have been conditioned to wash their hands thoroughly at many points throughout the day, hand soaps also continue to be a popular seller in the skincare segment with sales more than doubling year over year.
 
Fragrance sales were $953 million, an increase of 45% versus Q1 2020. Valentine’s Day drove strong performance in the fragrance segment: fragrance sets with a free gift and perfumes were both up triple-digits, with sales for both increasing sharply in the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day.
 
Lastly, hair sales were $300 million, a whopping increase of 48% versus the prior year period.
 
“Strong growth across most categories is being fueled by the anniversary of sales during a period of lockdown in March. This will accelerate over the next quarter before somewhat stabilizing over the latter half of the year. The positive news is that fragrance, skincare and hair posted growth against 2019, a more accurate representation of industry sales,” said Larissa Jensen, beauty industry advisor, The NPD Group. “A reenergized consumer has emerged, fueled by the optimism of warming temperatures, lower case counts, and widespread vaccinations providing the promise of a return to normalcy.”