Cosmetics News In Brief: Henkel Caps Pro Hair-Care M&A Spree With Shiseido Deal; Revlon's Q3; More

Skin care was the fastest-growing segment of the US prestige beauty market in the fiscal 2017 third quarter (July-September), up 10% to $1.3bn, according to The NPD Group. The market researcher attributes the performance to modified approaches brands are taking to promote and sell "age specialist" products, compared with the more overt anti-aging messaging employed in years past. Such products have been declining for years, including a double-digit falloff in 2016, but sales in the segment increased 7% during the quarter, marking the "big story" in prestige beauty, according to NPD's Executive Director and Beauty Industry Analyst Larissa Jensen. “Driving this turnaround are new launches entering the market that focus less on the anti-aging benefits that are inherent in these products, and instead on creating a story around ingredients, wellness and great skin at any age," she says in the firm's Oct. 30 release. (Also see "Look Fabulous Forever Launches Stateside, Riding 'Pro-Age' Wave" - HBW Insight, 2 November, 2017.) NPD notes that sales of face masks, sunscreen products and self-tanners rose 28%, 37% and 13%, respectively.

Prestige makeup sales increased 4% for the quarter to $1.9bn, led by 6% growth in the "total face" segment, including foundations (up 7%), primers (up 16%) and tinted moisturizers (up 11%). Lip gloss sales jumped 7%, while lip color sales dipped 1%, according to NPD. Fragrance sales reached $713.6m, an increase of 3%, reflecting 2% and 5% gains across women's and men's offerings, respectively