While the mass market for beauty has remained somewhat flat, the U.S. prestige beauty industry continues to grow. According to The NPD Group, sales reached $11.2 billion and grew 3% in dollar sales in 2014, compared to 2013. Makeup remained on top, with a 6% gain, while fragrance grew 2% and skin care increased by 1%.  The lip segment was key to makeup’s growth, driven by lip color. Pink surpassed red as the leading color, bringing in 23% more dollars.

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These findings were offered as part of The NPD Group’s 18th annual “Hot Off The Press” event on January 29, co-hosted by Cosmetic Executive Women Inc. (CEW).

“The beauty industry had a solid annual performance in a somewhat difficult retail environment, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement and development,” said Karen Grant, global beauty industry analyst, The NPD Group—and a member of ’s Board of Advisors. “We saw that fewer consumers, especially beauty shoppers, cut spending in 2014. At the same time, 2014 reported the fewest number shopping for beauty in six years. This tells me that beauty shoppers are happy, but some may be seeking happiness elsewhere. This ‘elsewhere’ is in other products and services, as well as experiences; consumers today are not just pursuing ‘products for me,’ so much as they are seeking ‘experiences for us.’ The challenge for the beauty industry, therefore, doesn’t lie solely in the products, but in fulfilling this sense of experience, and having both play together in harmony.”

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