Shoppers in need of a new emulsion or eye shadow have grown less inclined to spin through the doors of high-end department stores and wander their archipelagos of clunky cosmetics counters. The falloff in cosmetics is one reason department store sales in general fell 9.3% between May 2007 and May 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Meanwhile, specialty retailers Sephora USA Inc. and Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) and home shopping channel/online retailers QVC Inc. and HSN Interactive LLC are selling more and more makeup. Sales at Ulta increased 8.3% to $1.2 billion for the year ending Jan. 30. QVC, selling more than makeup, saw a 9% increase in the number of new customers in the third quarter of 2009, the highest rate since 2002.

The shift has big implications for large beauty companies that have traditionally relied on department store sales. It's part of the reason why Japan's Shiseido Co. Ltd., a department store stalwart, purchased QVC staple Bare Escentuals Inc. earlier this year for $1.7 billion. The target also gives Shiseido more of the mass-prestige -- or "masstige" -- products it needs to compete with the likes of L'Oréal SA, Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE:PG) and Unilever (NYSE:UL) in China.

Estée Lauder Cos. (NYSE:EL) has been especially adept at moving into alternative channels. Its Clinique, Bobbi Brown and Ojon hair care lines are all available either through QVC or at specialty retailers, and the company is expanding its influence in the sector. In May, it bought Smashbox Beauty Cosmetics Inc., which debuted on QVC in 1998 and is a popular offering at Sephora and Ulta, for a price estimated to be between $200 million and $300 million. The company said it's interested in further deals.

As Lauder looks at targets, it may find itself bumping into L'Oréal, Elizabeth Arden Inc. and Coty Inc., all of which need to add to their alternative-channel presence. The good news for acquirers, industry sources said, is that many of the top-selling personal care products available through these fast-growing outlets are independently owned and potentially prime for the plucking.

Of particular importance for the department store-reliant companies is that several of the brands have multi-channel strength. Skincare lines Perricone MD and Philosophy are two examples. Both initially reached prominence on QVC and were then able expand beyond the airwaves to the shelves of Ulta and Sephora, before finally opening up their own retail locations.

In the eyes of the big companies, distribution like that is truly a thing of beauty.