Prestige beauty takes a leap in all categories.

With consumers continuing their love for small luxuries, prestige beauty is on a roll. In fact, all prestige beauty categories surpassed 2008 pre-recession levels, according to recently released market research from The NPD Group, Inc. In 2011, total U.S. prestige beauty generated $9.5 billion, an increase of 11% in dollars, compared to $8.6 billion in 2010. In addition, the outstanding dollar results were achieved with all beauty categories surpassing pre-recession levels. Total fragrance earned $2.8 billion, also up 11% over 2010; total skin care hit $3.1 billion, a gain of 14% over the previous year; and total makeup rang up $3.6 billion, up 9%.

“In the 15 years that NPD has been tracking the prestige beauty industry, we have never seen growth like this—especially across all categories,” said Karen Grant, vice president and senior global industry analyst, The NPD Group—and a member of Beauty Packaging’s Board of Advisors. Grant also noted, “It is the high-end, premium price points that experienced the strongest gains.” (For more on Grant’s predictions for 2012, please see nitesh_bp.rodpub.com.)