In China , cosmetics now replaces groceries as the biggest selling item in its department stores . `` There 's a certain cachet with French brands , however , and it 's amusing to see Chinese brands creating names in Chinese that , when pronounced phonetically , sound very much like French names , '' Rudd said . In 2013 , Chinese women , and increasingly men , spent 162.5 billion yuan ( $ 30 billion ) on cosmetics . Japan 's annual beauty and personal care market is still the largest in the world at about $ 50bn . But China 's 150 million - strong middle class is closing the gap fast and its market is increasingly South Asian .
In China , cosmetics now replaces groceries as the biggest selling item in its department stores . In 2013 , Chinese women , and increasingly men , spent 162.5 billion yuan ( $ 30 billion ) on cosmetics . Japan 's annual beauty and personal care market is still the largest in the world at about $ 50bn . But China 's 150 million - strong middle class is closing the gap fast and its market is increasingly South Asian .