In the second quarter of 2018, sales of U.S. prestige beauty products were $4.3 billion, a 6 percent increase versus a comparative period last year.

Breaking that down, makeup, which represents the largest share of prestige beauty, remained flat at $1.9 billion. Skin care saw a 12 percent increase to $1.3 billion. Fragrance realized a 7 percent bump to $910.8 million. And, Hair jumped 24 percent to $178.4 million.

Although prestige makeup sales remained flat over Q2 2017, face makeup emerged as the best-performing segment of the market driven by dollar gains in concealer, and smaller subsegments including powder and tinted moisturizer. Lip gloss sales grew by 10 percent in Q2 2018 (compared to a double-digit decline in Q2 2017), and lip color sales were down by 10 percent (compared to flat Q2 performance last year). Eye shadow sales were down, while sales of eye brow makeup, mascara and false eyelashes grew, though at a slower rate compared to last year.

“Despite the slowdown in makeup’s performance, NPD’s 2018 Makeup Consumer Report highlights that more women are wearing makeup today than two years ago, indicating that the makeup category remains highly impacted by the increasing fragmentation of the market and the continued rise of digitally native brands,” said Larissa Jensen, Executive Director and Beauty Industry Analyst, The NPD Group.

Notably, prestige skin care growth continues to outpace makeup, with sets & kits, facial moisturizers, age specialists, and sunscreen among the facets of the market contributing the most dollars gained to the skin care category in Q2. NPD noted that the biggest driver for the segment remains the consumer interest in wellness, clean ingredients and natural brands, which are motivating both retailers and consumers across the brick & mortar and online channels.

Fragrance juice sales grew by 10 percent, an increase of 8 percentage points compared to Q2 of last year, while sales of home scents grew by 11 percent. The success of the quarter is due to key holiday selling periods, which include Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, both of which Larissa says experienced a surge in sales in the three weeks leading up to each holiday, growing by 8 percent and 9 percent, respectively, during those times.

Hair, beauty’s smallest category, is also its fastest-growing, with sales increases across all aspects of the market including hair care (which includes masks and dry shampoo), color, sets, and styling. “I expect hair will remain the strongest performing beauty category this year as salon based brands continue their expansion into the prestige market,” said Larissa.