• December 1, 2011

Women may be worried about the economy, but they are certainly splurging on their fingernails. The NPD Group reports that in the first 10 months of the year, total prestige makeup sales are up 8% to $2.8 million. And high-end nail products, those sold in department stores, are up a whopping 59%. Total eye and other color products gained 10%, lip products rose 8%, and total face products advanced 7%. The strongest trend, overall, was bright color. 

“In makeup, while neutral tones and face products led in the past, across countries we see strong gains in color categories of lip and nail color and a new focus on eye shadow,” Karen Grant, VP/global industry analyst of the Port Washington, N.Y.-based market researcher, says in its report.

“In makeup, the joy of color is seen with more than half of the top 25 new products.”