Makeup makes a comeback, as the fastest-growing beauty category of the year  

Toronto, ON, February 3, 2023 – In line with the U.S. sales trends, the prestige beauty industry in Canada ended 2022 as one of Canada’s top-performing industries, according to The NPD Group. Sales reached $3.4 billion for the year, growing 25%, compared to 2021.

The makeup category made a strong and highly anticipated comeback, with sales revenue growing 38%, year over year, which is the highest growth of any prestige beauty category. Fragrance sales increased by 24%, and skincare was up 17%. The hair category continued to show strong growth of 27%. With overall market prices continuing to rise, the average price of beauty products rose by 1%, inclusive of promotions.

“With a highly anticipated recovery, the Canadian beauty industry performed impressively last year,” said Alecsandra Hancas, Canadian beauty industry analyst at NPD. “Even in the face of higher prices and overall economic uncertainties, consumers were unfaltering. Consumer demand for prestige beauty products remained high. These results are a testament to the importance of beauty products and their important role in making consumers feel good.”

The fastest-growing segments were fragrance eau de parfums – marking yet another year of strong consecutive growth as consumers invested in more potent fragrance concentrations – as well as hair products and makeup foundation. Combined, these three segments contributed close to one-quarter of total beauty industry sales revenue gains in 2022. When it came to their makeup purchases, Canadian’s were skin-focused: luminous and natural foundation finishes were among the top share gainers in the makeup category.

At the channel level, year-over-year online sales continued to grow in 2022, but brick-and-mortar store sales was the big story. Canadians’ return to in-store shopping was clear, as store sales grew by 34% and accounted for most of the industry’s gains last year.

“Looking ahead, we anticipate another year of growth for the Canadian beauty market in 2023, led by increased demand, product innovation, and experiential retail,” said Hancas. “Canadians are excited to get back into stores to interact with brands and touch, feel, and test products. They are also getting out more again, which means putting their best face forward.”