• January 31, 2012

Affluent women may have been cutting corners elsewhere in 2011, but it wasn’t on beauty products. NPD Group says sales of prestige skincare, makeup, and fragrance (those brands sold in department stores, rather than mass merchandisers) jumped 11% in the U.S. last year, in dollar terms. In 2011, skincare and fragrance sold in U.S. department stores both posted double-digit dollar growths of 14 and 11%; makeup sales registered a 9% rise compared to prior-year figures.

In the U.K., total prestige product sales climbed 9%, while other European countries saw gains in the low single digits. Mexico’s high-end sales jumped 15% jump in sales, China 22% and Argentina a heady 35%.

“In the U.S., U.K., and China, prestige beauty is enjoying one of the most robust sales periods ever,” says the Port Washington, N.Y.-based market researcher in its report.  Sales in mass channels also gained, it says, with an overall 4% growth rate for the year, as tracked by IRISymphony.