If cosmetics counters are looking a little less crowded these days, there’s a reason: Women are increasingly making beauty purchases online. The shift is making the Internet one of the fastest-growing sales channels in the beauty industry, according to a new report from consumer research firm, the NPD Group.

While online shopping accounted for just 4%, or $1.7 billion, in sales across the beauty industry, the report, “Emerging Channels: Beauty Care Products Over the Internet,” found that one in 10 women surveyed shops for cosmetics, skin care, and fragrance online — and 43% of those women spent more online in 2006 than they did in 2005.

But cosmetics sales depend heavily on the consumer finding the right item — whether that’s the exact skin-matching foundation or the not-too-sticky lip gloss. And it usually requires a trial-and-error process. So why are women forgoing that sensory experience?

Convenience is a central concern. Seventy-four percent of the women surveyed said shopping on the Internet saves time; 70% said ordering online was easier and quicker than going to a store.

But the ability to buy niche or exclusive brands is another attractive factor. “For women who don’t live in a beauty and shopping epicenter like New York, many of the best, most buzzed about beauty brands are not accessible to them in a store,” the beauty and editorial director of BeautyNewsNYC.com, Dina Fierro, said. As an example, Ms. Fierro mentioned a line of makeup called Kimiko, which is available exclusively at Takashimaya in Midtown— and online at kimikobeauty.com.

“I’ve ordered beauty products online because I can find some unique products,” a Greenport, NY, resident, Angela Drinkwater, said. Ms. Drinkwater counts Scrubz Body Scrub and MD Skincare among her online beauty brand purchases.

The increasing number of Internet-based beauty publications and weblogs also make it easy to find information about new products immediately. “Reading an enthusiastic blog post about a product is easier than visiting a store to consult a salesperson, faster than asking your friends, and more reliable than advertising copy,” the blogger for Beauty Addict, Kristen Kelly, said. “Within a blog post, direct links to the site where a product is available make it easy to quickly make a purchase. It’s instant gratification.”

Sites such as Beauty Addict and Shake Your Beauty alert readers, in a casual girlfriend-to-girlfriend way, about new products and trends. BeautyNewsNYC.com is in the process of adding hyperlinks to the products it mentions, making online purchases easier for its readers.

And online vendors aren’t stinting on the free stuff. Some fragrance purveyors are offering samples to let consumers try a scent before investing in a pricey bottle of perfume. Even the beloved in-store, gift-with-purchase promotion is being translated online, Ms. Fierro, who shops for bath products, fragrance, and makeup almost exclusively through the Internet, said. “While I like to window shop in brick-and-mortar stores for research, there are so many deals to be found online,” she said. “Sites like beautysak.com and beautyhabit.com sell niche brands and offer free shipping and lots of fun gifts-with-purchase and samples.”

Still, the ability to touch and try products is an important part of shopping for beauty. The NDP report found that nine out of 10 women between age 18 and 64 said the experience of touching and feeling products is the number one reason why they shop in stores. Which suggests that women are less likely to shop online for brands and products that they’re not already familiar with. So while new and hard-to-find products are a draw, the top five Web sites — as listed by women surveyed — all sell well-known brands: drugstore.com, sephora.com, avon.com, clinique.com, and bathandbodyworks.com.