Higher prices on the checkout usually are not deterring shoppers from stocking up on makeup and skincare at Ulta Beauty.

After beating Wall Street estimates on the highest and bottom lines within the third quarter, the Bolingbrook, Illinois-based beauty retailer has once more increased its full-year outlook despite soaring inflation and fears that the U.S. could fall right into a recession next 12 months.

Ulta can be encouraged by sales trends it has seen to date in the course of the crucial holiday season despite jitters in the broader retail world, with major firms including Goal, with which it has a partnership, downgrading forecasts.

“While predicting holiday shopping patterns this 12 months is difficult, I’m optimistic in regards to the opportunity for Ulta Beauty this holiday season,” said Dave Kimbell, chief executive officer of Ulta Beauty, during an analysts’ call.

Chief financial officer Scott Settersten added that Ulta is pleased with the sales trends witnessed through the Thanksgiving holiday shopping weekend, including Cyber Monday.

Net sales rose 17.2 percent to $2.3 billion within the 13 weeks ended Oct. 29, primarily because of the favorable impact from the continued resilience of the wonder category, retail price increases, and the impact of recent brands and product innovation in comparison with the third quarter of fiscal 2021, the retailer said. Analysts polled by Factset had been expecting $2.2 billion.

Inside that, cosmetics sales rose 44 percent, hair care 21 percent, skincare 16 percent, fragrance and bath 12 percent, services 4 percent and accessories 3 percent. Ulta also increased market share in prestige beauty, compared with the identical quarter within the prior 12 months, although mass generally outperformed prestige.

In skincare, Drunk Elephant, Supergoop, Good Molecules, The Atypical, Hero Cosmetics and La Roche-Posay were cited as performing well over the quarter. In makeup, its largest category, brands including Fenty and Rem Beauty drove sales in the course of the quarter.

Net income increased 27.5 percent to $274.6 million. Diluted earnings per share increased 35.5 percent to $5.34. Analysts had penciled in $4.15.

For the total 12 months, net sales at the moment are forecast to are available at between $9.95 billion and $10 billion, up from the previous estimate of $9.65 billion to $9.75 billion. Diluted EPS are expected to be $22.60 to $22.90, compared with prior guidance of $20.70 to $21.20.

“Amidst a difficult macro environment, the Ulta Beauty team delivered one more outstanding quarter, with strong top and bottom-line results and growth across all major categories and channels,” Kimbell noted. “Our third-quarter results reflect the sustained resilience of the wonder category and the strong emotional connection and loyalty we have now cultivated with our guests.”

He stressed that its strong product offering in mass and prestige puts Ulta in a robust position within the face of a possible economic downturn. “While it’s hard to know with certainty if we’re beginning to see consumers trade down — because the only beauty retailer that gives a wide selection of costs from entry-level mass to high-end luxury and every thing in between, Ulta Beauty is uniquely positioned to capture any consumer shifts inside price points in the wonder category.”

Settersten added, nonetheless, that the corporate is in “uncharted territory without delay” by way of prices.

“The proportion of our assortment where we’ve seen increases and the depth of those increases is something we’ve never experienced in all of the years here at Ulta Beauty. So we’re going to be cycling over a few of that next 12 months and it’s form of yet to be seen how the buyer goes to react to that over the longer time frame,” he said.