After years of double-digit growth and a perception of being impervious to wider economic downturns, the beauty industry is finding that cash-strapped customers aren’t interested in ‘little luxuries.’

This quarter’s batch of earnings saw lacklustre performance from almost every major beauty company. Coty reported a 6 percent sales decline, cut its annual profit forecast and announced plans to lay off around 700 employees, around 5 percent of its workforce. Both LVMH’s selective retailing, which houses Sephora, and its perfumes and cosmetics division, failed to grow. Beauty’s biggest firm, L’Oréal, posted modest growth of 3.5 percent in the first quarter, a climbdown from double-digit gains it often reported in recent years. Ailing conglomerates like Estée Lauder Companies and Shiseido also saw their sales continue to slide.