• October 19, 2010

Looks like women are back to pricier face paint: The NPD Group says sales of prestige makeup in U.S. department stores gained in August, the fourth consecutive month of positive sales, with year-to-date dollar sales up 2% to $2 billion, through August.

And while 2% might not sound like much, the Port Washington, N.Y.-based market research firm says it's an impressive comeback for an industry that was down 7% at this time last year.

"Women continue to tell us that they want to enhance the way they look and to feel more confident and feminine," it says in its report. "Experimenting with color is one of the ways they do that without spending a fortune." Face and nails were the strongest categories.