Several surprises in prestige beauty emerged in the second quarter, including a reversal in nail sales and the rise of skin care as the dominant category in growth for the quarter.

In the second quarter of 2017, sales of U.S. prestige beauty products were $4.2 billion, a 4 percent increase from the same period last year.

Breaking that down, makeup, which represents the largest share of prestige beauty, grew 4 percent to $2 billion. Skin care saw a 6 percent increase to $1.4 billion. Fragrance realized a 1 percent bump to $868.5 million.

Interestingly, prestige skin care growth outpaced makeup, making this the headline story for the quarter. Every major segment in skin care grew, and at a higher rate than last year, while makeup’s growth has slowed.

“Skin care’s accelerated growth is being driven by newer brands and products that are capturing greater market share. This is a continued trend as we have seen a lot of excitement and innovation in skin care coming from smaller, more limitedly distributed players, which resonate with the consumer desire for discovery and uniqueness,” said Larissa Jensen, Executive Director and Beauty Industry Analyst, The NPD Group.

Makeup, while making positive strides, has slowed in growth.

“Makeup’s slowdown in performance has been observed since 2016, and amplified in 2017 by fewer launches, a struggling lip segment and softening average prices. Despite this, there are areas of growth in the category, like palettes and sets, which may help fuel greater gains for the remainder of the year, as cost-conscious consumers continue to seek out value,” Larissa said.

NPD also called out a “hint of a comeback starting to be seen in the nail market” with a reversal of the negative trend seen in all areas of the category. Sales of base/top coats climbed 13 percent; nail care jumped 6 percent and color grew 1 percent. While total nail sales are still down 1 percent year-to-date for the first half of 2017, the current growth “is a notable slowdown compared to the 6 percent decline at this time last year,” Larissa.

In scent, men’s fragrance juice sales grew faster than women’s. Men’s, comprising just over one-third of the total market, grew by 4 percent, while women’s sales increased by 1 percent for the quarter.