• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, June 15, 2011

Women are spending more on most beauty categories, but a new report shows that they are continuing to criss-cross between mass and prestige brands.

Total U.S. beauty sales are up 5% in prestige products in the first quarter, and 4% in and food/drug/mass channels, according to the latest NPD/SymphonyIRI Beauty Cross Channel Monitor.

In fragrance sales, prestige brands -- those sold in department stores -- gained 6% for the quarter, while mass brands were flat. (Prestige perfume usually accounts for roughly five times the dollar sales as mass brands.) In makeup, though, food/drug/mass channel faring better than prestige, "due in part to the double-digit sales in the $127 million nail segment," the report says.

"Despite the current economic situation, the beauty industry continues to trend upward showing growth for the fourth consecutive quarter in both the food/drug/mass and prestige channels," Diane Nicholson, president of beauty for the Port Washington, N.Y.-based NPD Group, writes in the release. "After a positive, yet cautious 2010, it's encouraging to see consumers continue to embrace newness and innovation in the beauty space."

And there are indications women will continue to beef up their beauty bags in the months ahead. NPD's Economy Tracker finds that 35% of those it surveyed intend to either maintain or increase their spending in cosmetics and fragrances, up 2% from last year at this time -- even given increases in gas and grocery prices.

While the mass skincare market is typically three times the size of prestige skincare, higher-end products grew by 6%, versus 3% for mass. The report says that increase, driven by suncare, giftsets and face products, that the beauty consumer is doing more channel shifting. "Capitalizing on the dynamics between these channels is a critical component to maximizing brand strategies."