High gloss, high gains: Beauty companies cash in

Two big players in the beauty industry just smashed Wall Street expectations in their third-quarter earnings reports, a signal that the beauty industry is continuing its impressive growth in a choppy economy. Victoria’s Secret CEO and Director Hillary Super said the lingerie retailer had a “standout” quarter, with net sales of $1.47 billion, an increase of 9% from a year ago. Sales at Ulta Beauty skyrocketed 12.9% to $2.9 billion, its second-consecutive quarter of impressive growth. A Circana report found that beauty sales at mass merchants rose 4% in the first half of the year, largely because of fragrance sales and hair products.