---
title: Inflation who? The beauty industry is boomin’
description: The beauty industry is flush with cash despite economic hardships.
---

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# [Inflation who? The beauty industry is boomin’](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/inflation-who-the-beauty-industry-is-boomin)

 Written by [Sara Friedman](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/sara-friedman) | Apr 20, 2023 9:44:34 AM

Maybe she’s born with it… or maybe she’s spending all of her disposable income on makeup.

Per [*The Washington Post*](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/04/17/beauty-industry-inflation/), it’s the latter, and the beauty industry is flush with cash despite broader economic hardships:

- Sales for US mass market beauty products — sold in drug and grocery stores — reached $30B last year, up 4% from 2021.
- Prestige beauty brands — sold in department and specialty stores — raked in nearly as much with $27B in sales and 15% YoY growth.

#### **With the inflation rate at 5% in March…**

… many Americans felt the squeeze everywhere from grocery stores to clothing stores, and retail sales fell 1%.

But the beauty industry remains resilient, and it’s not the first time:

- Estée Lauder chairman Leonard Lauder coined the [term](https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-lipstick-index-is-back-11669256641) “lipstick index” in 2001 when he noticed makeup sales climbing despite the recession.
- The trend goes all the way back to 1929 during the [Great Depression](https://www.washingtonpost.com/photography/interactive/2022/how-lipstick-underwear-can-predict-economy/?itid=lk_inline_manual_26).

And beauty is showing no signs of slowing down: LVMH, the luxury group that owns Sephora and other brands, [reported](https://www.lvmh.com/news-documents/press-releases/excellent-start-to-the-year-for-lvmh/) an 11% rise in perfume and cosmetics sales in its first quarter.

Whether customers are scouring shelves for cheap self-care antidotes or luxury pick-me-ups, it’s likely they’ve gotten a recommendation or two from social media.

The #beauty hashtag on TikTok has amassed 175B views and counting, with [89%](https://www.gcimagazine.com/consumers-markets/news/22525812/89-of-tik-tok-users-bought-beauty-products-seen-on-app) of users reporting they’ve purchased beauty products after seeing them on the app.

That’s a lot of lip gloss.

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/inflation-who-the-beauty-industry-is-boomin)

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