Consumers are splurging on beauty products, despite pullbacks everywhere else

This photo provided by Kohl’s shows the interior of the Sephora section inside of the Kohl’s department store in New Jersey. Photo: AP

Like many Americans, Karla Maldonado has been cutting back her spending to spare her wallet from rising costs.

She is eating out less and attending fewer social events to curb the impact of high gas prices. But the 26-year-old social worker of Portland, Oregon, hasn’t skimped on her eye makeup – the mascara, eyeliner and eyeshadow she typically wears to work just above her face mask.