French cosmetics maker L’Oreal SA says its second-quarter sales stagnated, inching up just 0.9% amid weak consumer demand from North America to Eastern Europe, The Wall Street Journal Reports

Sales rose to EUR4.99 billion between April and June, compared with EUR4.95 billion a year earlier, representing a significant slowdown after the first quarter, when sales rose 9.3%. L’Oreal said it expects sales and profit to rise over the full year. It will report first-half profit in August.

“There is a contrast between growth rates in Asia and Latin America on the one hand, whose strong dynamism has been confirmed, and Eastern Europe on the other, now seeing a sharp slowdown,” L’Oreal said in a statement. The company also took a hit from currency fluctuations, which wiped out 0.9% of growth.

In its sluggish home market of Western Europe, L’Oreal said the market for its shampoos, face creams and mascara is weak in countries such as Greece and Portugal, which have been hit by Europe’s sovereign debt crisis. Its salon business and its Vichy skin care brand also suffered.

Sales of L’Oreal’s high-end cosmetics and perfumes, sold under labels including Lancome, performed well in North America and emerging markets such as China, L’Oreal said.

However, sales in Eastern Europe, including major markets such as Russia and Ukraine, tumbled 8.2% in the second quarter. L’Oreal attributed the fall to “consumer confidence and market dynamism [proving] more difficult than expected.”