As the craze of earnings season draws to a close, here’s a look back at some of the most exciting (and some less so) results from Q3. Today, we are looking at personal care stocks, starting with Estée Lauder (NYSE:EL).

While personal care products products may seem more discretionary than food, consumers tend to maintain or even boost their spending on the category during tough times. This phenomenon is known as "the lipstick effect" by economists, which states that consumers still want some semblance of affordable luxuries like beauty and wellness when the economy is sputtering. Consumer tastes are constantly changing, and personal care companies are currently responding to the public’s increased desire for ethically produced goods by featuring natural ingredients in their products.

The 11 personal care stocks we track reported a mixed Q3. As a group, revenues were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 16.2% below.

In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady as they are up 2.2% on average since the latest earnings results.

Weakest Q3: Estée Lauder (NYSE:EL)

Named after its founder, who was an entrepreneurial woman from New York with a passion for skincare, Estée Lauder (NYSE:EL) is a one-stop beauty shop with products in skincare, fragrance, makeup, sun protection, and men’s grooming.

Estée Lauder reported revenues of $3.36 billion, down 4.5% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, but overall, it was a mixed quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ earnings estimates but revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations.

Fabrizio Freda, President and Chief Executive Officer said, “Our first quarter results are largely aligned with our outlook on an adjusted basis, despite the fact that the expected headwinds in China and Asia travel retail were greater than anticipated. Our Profit Recovery and Growth Plan drove gross margin expansion, which was partially offset by operating deleverage. Other pillars of our strategic reset also delivered promising initial results.

Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 23.5% since reporting and currently trades at $66.70.

Is now the time to buy Estée Lauder? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q3: e.l.f. (NYSE:ELF)

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF), which stands for ‘eyes, lips, face’, offers high-quality beauty products at accessible price points.

e.l.f. reported revenues of $301.1 million, up 39.7% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 4%. The business had a very strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ earnings and EBITDA estimates.

e.l.f. scored the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 13.3% since reporting. It currently trades at $118.10.

Is now the time to buy e.l.f.? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Nature's Sunshine (NASDAQ:NATR)

Started on a kitchen table in Utah, Nature’s Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR) manufactures and sells nutritional and personal care products.

Nature's Sunshine reported revenues of $114.6 million, up 3.1% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 5.2%. It may have had the worst quarter among its peers, but its results were still ok as it also locked in an impressive beat of analysts’ earnings estimates and EBITDA estimates.

Interestingly, the stock is up 1.9% since the results and currently trades at $14.06.

Read our full analysis of Nature's Sunshine’s results here.

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC)

Boasting brands such as Banana Boat, Schick, and Skintimate, Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) sells personal care products in the skin and sun care, shave, and feminine care categories.

Edgewell Personal Care reported revenues of $517.6 million, down 3.1% year on year. This result lagged analysts' expectations by 3.3%. Overall, it was a softer quarter as it also recorded a miss of analysts’ organic revenue growth and EBITDA estimates.

The stock is flat since reporting and currently trades at $36.41.

Read our full, actionable report on Edgewell Personal Care here, it’s free.

Herbalife (NYSE:HLF)

With the first products sold out of the trunk of the founder’s car, Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) today offers a portfolio of shakes, supplements, personal care products, and weight management programs to help customers reach their nutritional and fitness goals.

Herbalife reported revenues of $1.24 billion, down 3.2% year on year. This result missed analysts’ expectations by 1%. In spite of that, it was a strong quarter as it recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ earnings and EBITDA estimates.

The stock is up 22.4% since reporting and currently trades at $8.37.

Read our full, actionable report on Herbalife here, it’s free.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Strong Momentum Stocks and them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

Join Paid Stock Investor Research

Help us make StockStory more helpful to investors like yourself. Join our paid user research session and receive a $50 Amazon gift card for your opinions. Sign up here.