New York, Dec 29 (IANS)

 A lot of women bought lip products in 2013 and that led to double-digit sales gains for the segment, say experts.

In fact, lip-product sales were on par with sales for nail products, reports Women's Wear Daily and and the beauty industry gave a lot of attention to nail polish this year. 

Huffingtonpost.com reports that the statistics from global market research company The NPD Group Inc reveals that in 2012, nail polish sales hit $768 million, up 32 percent from the year before. That made nails, the fastest-growing segment within the beauty industry, prompting brands to turn their focus to customers' hands in 2013.

But in the past 12 months, lipstick turned out to be the big winner. 

"Lip really is the new nail," said Laura Weinstein, vice president marketing of Sally Hansen and NYC New York Color.