L’Oréal’s Chief Executive has said that the rise in inflation is not hampering purchases of cosmetics.
Speaking to Reuters, Nicolas Hieronimus, who replaced L’Oréal’s long-standing CEO Jean-Paul Agon in 2020, said: “So far, we see no impact of inflation and price impacts on consumers’ beauty consumption.”
The beauty boss’ encouraging words mirror that of other surveys, which have found the cosmetics market to be buoyant.
According to findings by bank Barclaycard, consumers are still willing to splash cash on beauty items, including make-up and fake tan.
And spending on luxury beauty items is up more than pre-pandemic levels.
The findings showed a 13% increase in spending on beauty, compared with 2019.
Prestige beauty is also having a crowning moment.
Coty reported another successful quarter for its business, led by its premium beauty category.
For the three month period, ended 31 March, the heavyweight’s sales increased 19%, beating initial predictions for the quarter.
Premium sales growth was up 25% compared with the previous year, led by its fragrance sector, which includes Gucci Beauty and Chloé.
Meanwhile, Unilever and P&G are investing in the category with a spree of fresh acquisitions.
In three weeks, P&G had snapped up two major indie brands from the premium market: Ouai and Farmacy Beauty.
The business also revealed its Speciality Beauty division to keep up with its budding portfolio.
Investing in prestige is no new phenomenon for Unilever, however.
The group has committed to growing its premium portfolio into a €3bn business in the coming years.