At NPD's "Hot Off the Press" event, it shared that the U.S. prestige beauty industry reached $11.2 billion and grew 3% in dollar sales in 2014, compared to 2013. Makeup experienced the healthiest gain at 6%, while fragrance dollars grew 2% and skin care increased by 1%.
Prestige makeup, skin care and fragrance in the United States all experienced 2 to 4% growth in average price. The lip segment was key to makeup’s growth, driven by lip color. Of the top 100 new shades on counter in 2014, pink surpassed red as the leading color, bringing in 23% more dollars. Sets and kits drove the growth for skin care, with anti-aging sets serving as the catalyst. Fine fragrance experienced the largest increase for women’s fragrance, while it was fragrance gift sets posting the largest growth for men.
The prestige market outpaced the U.S. mass channel, where sales remained flat for total beauty in 2014, versus 2013, as per Nielsen. The skin care category, with 2% growth, buoyed the overall market, while fragrance and makeup experienced dollar declines, by 4% and 1%, respectively.
