Cosmoprof 2000
Bologna's highly anticiapted show of shows delivers the goods in chic Italian style.
By Joanna Cosgrove, Managing EditorOnce every year, the quaint Italian town of Bologna becomes a bustling cosmetic, personal care and fragrance mecca for thousands of beauty seekers hailing from every corner of the globe. This year proved to be no different. The 33rd annual Cosmoprof drew more than 130,000 international visitors who came to see the wares of nearly 1,700 exhibitors.
Debuting Luxury
The show's crowning glory is Hall 36, a luxurious showcase of the best new product debuts. This year's new and noteworthy packaging achievements were seen in fragrance launches such as Mania by Giorgio Armani, Gia Mattiolo's That's Amore! and Iceberg Fluid.Mania earns this year's "Most Understated" award, thanks to its ultra simple, unlabeled, frosted glass cylinder and equally uncomplicated black cap. Conversely, "Most Over-the-Top" has to go to Fiorucci for its eponymous fragrance that screams pink, pink, pink. The pink colored juice is housed in a clear, hourglass shaped bottle that's fitted with electric pink angel wings and topped with a glittering cap of shooting stars.
Gia Mattiolo is sure to find success using an unconventional equation of 1+1=3. The Italian perfumery's That's Amore! fragrance duo is comprised of Lui (for men) and Lei (for women) that share complementary olfactory notes and a common heart note making them easy to wear alone or in combination for a third completely new scent. Each bottle is a teardrop shape and forms a complete heart when fitted together.
Fluid, the latest addition to Eurocosmesi's Iceberg fragrance umbrella, is a stunning study in modernism. The almond-shaped bottle is sheathed in cool silver chrome. Male and female versions are differentiated by juice color: electric red for women, vivid blue for men. The juice colors are revealed only in narrow cutaway strips that run down both sides of each bottle. The black Valois dispenser is concealed inside one pinched corner.
Under the premise that package design speaks volumes about a fragrance, Easy Kritzia literally applied the principle to the front panel of its fragrance bottle, using raised black and red glass lettering to convey its marketing spin and fragrance notes. A red safety cuff between its bull's eye black and red pump and collar eliminates the need for an overcap. The band is permanently affixed to the neck and is conveniently hinged to snap open and closed. The dispenser was supplied by Valois, Cedex, France.
Packaging Innovations
This year's edition also posted larger numbers for the stand-alone Cosmopack salon, which boasted 256 cosmetic packaging, raw material, and technology exhibitors. Highlights included Momignies, Belgium-based NVM's work with Hollywood Star, a fragrance topped with a peacock cap that wraps a plume of tail feathers down the side of the bottle; Courbevoie, France-based SGD's Dali-esque Polemic! fragrance bottleÑa well-crafted, slanted apple of greenish clear glass with a reddish blush on one shoulder. Its golden collar consists of two chunky leaves and a stem that serves as the dispenser. SGD also featured the stoic, rectangular bottles for the Serge Lutens collection, Pupa's daisy-shaped floral fragrance bouquet and Parfum de Gres' Cabotine de Gres, a special 50ml Fleur Edition packaged in a flat-topped, pale green frosted glass bottle and topped with dark green leaves splayed out over the edges.
Dispenser developments included St. Germain En Laye, France-based Emsar's transparent pink low profile dispenser for Ma Cherie, an ultra-feminine new fragrance from O Boticario. New projects at the Valois booth, in addition to those mentioned above, included the dispenser for Trussardi's Python fragrance for men and the dispenser for Christian Lacroix's new signature eau de parfum, which is housed in a beautiful seashell-shaped Biot bubbled glass bottle.
Developments from Rexam, Suresnes, France, included a dispenser contribution to the unconventional Y-shaped Nemo fragrance, manufactured in collaboration with SGD. Rexam also contributed to the production of the Oil of Olay Lipstick as well as the new Helena Rubenstein lipstick, Rouge Ritual.
HCT Packaging, London, England, was proud to unveil its latest development: a fun and fashionable clear plastic heart-shaped ring that can be filled with lipstick and eye shadow. Already on order by Hard Candy, the package is sure to be a hit with the trendy youth and teen set.
Cosmoprof 2001
Mark your calendars: Cosmoprof 2001 is set take over Bologna again next April 20-23. For exhibition or attendee information, contact SoGeCos by phone at (+39) 02.796420, e-mail: sogecos@cosmoprof.it or log on to www.cosmoprof.it.