Top Performing Beauty Brands of 2009

WWD Beauty Biz ranked up the Beauty's Top 100 largest beauty movers and shakers of 2009, which is also a glimps into how brands are performing in 2010, seeing as the year is not over yet. Overall, sales in 2009 declined but generated $140.78 Billion in total. That's a whole lot of products (defined in categories of Fragrance, Makeup, Haircare, Deoderant, Suncare, Cellulite and Shaving ).

Mass market certainly dominates the beauty market share as luxury brands have been on a decline, but not as much of a decline to stop future sales- standout products, re-formulations and re-newed consumer focus has helped luxe brands stay a float in a time of limited spending and skincare has rapidly increased in sales while makeup has had slow gains.

So who are the top performing beauty brands that we love, covet and spend our hard earned money engaging Makeup Artists on new products, searching forums, blogs and YouTube for reviews, swatches and support?

#1 L'Oreal ( $24.36 Billion) - Brands:L'Oreal Paris, Lancome, YSL Beauty, Maybelline, Shu Uemura

In 2009, L'Oreal's sales declined for the first time in seven years, however the brand is number one in beauty with consumer products such as L'Oreal Paris, Maybelline and Garnier. With $10.8 billion in strong sales, key performing brands are Maybelline and Garnier. Maybelline has garnered quite the mascara collection in the past few years and Garnier's skincare.

Western Europe is L'Oreal's leading market while sales in North America have declined.

#2 Proctor & Gamble Co.( $18.6 Billion)- Brands: Covergirl, Pantene, Dolce & Gabbana, Olay, Old Spice

When I think "Blue Chip" Beauty, I think of P&G. Pantene for haircare, CG for makeup and Old Spice for men's grooming. Sales fell for P&G but Covergir; and Olay's simply ageless succeeded in generating $1 billion in sales. Pantene products were introduced to new packaging and new ingredients this year and Cover Girl has a heavy roster of diverse spokeswomen ( Ellen DeGeneres, Queen Latifah, Drew Berrymore) , consumer favorites- Lash Blast series and Cover Girl Queen Collection and Pat McGrath at the helm as Executive Design director for the brand.

#4 Estee Lauder ( $7.8 Billion)- Brands: Estee Lauder, MAC, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Bumble Bumble, Aveda

Skincare accounted for 40% of Estee Lauder brand's sales with 39% in makeup and 15% in fragrance, respectively. Estee also acquired the Smashbox studios which is key for photo shoots and LA fashion week. Clinique up'ed their anti aging game with Even Better, Tom Ford Beauty held strong and MAC teamed with Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper for a campaign. Estee Lauder currently has Tom Pecheux is the Creative Makeup Director for the brand.

#6 Shiseido ( $6.83 Billion)- Brands: Shisedo, NARS, Cle´ de Peau Beaute´

Shiseido's key markets are Japan, China and Europe. While sales in North America took a dive, the brand strategically snapped up Bare Essentual which positions Shiseido for expansion in the US. Unfortunately, sales information for NARS cosmetics was not available at the time of the WWD Beauty Biz report.

#10 Chanel ( $3.95 Billion)

Chanel's makeup revenues declined 10% due to the economies of the brands major markets- the US and Japan. The US is Chanel's largest beauty market with France and Japan following. Women's fragrance is number one worldwide with Chanel Beauty at number four and skincare is in ninth place. Key product launches this year include Rouge Coco Hydrating Creme Lipstick, Chanel Bleu Fragrance for men and Asia exclusives- Vitalumiere Eclat Compact powder foundation and Mascara Sublime WP.

#11 LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton ( $3.82 Billion)- Christian Dior Parfumes, Givenchy, Guerlain.

Strong performers under LVMH were Givenchy's fragrances and Christian Dior's mascarsa. Cosmetics generated 28%, unchanges since last year while fragrances were strong with 53% of sales. Key products include Givenchy Play with Justin Timberlake as the brand's face and Diorshow mascara with Monica Bellucci as the spokes woman.

Photos: Google Images

Brand revenue and sales information was gathered from WWD Beauty Biz.