Design Forum: Lip Color Packaging Gets a Makeover
Lip colors are breaking out of traditional cases and moving into more elegantly designed packages.
Applying lipstick in public is perhaps a faux pas. But now that lip color packaging is being dressed up to make a fashion statement, those after-dinner touch-ups at the table might become more socially acceptable. In any case, companies are breaking old rules and inventing new ones by taking lip color packaging in a variety of directions.
A Colorful Change
Lip gloss traditionally encased in clear stock tubes is being marketed in colorful packaging that maintains a product's attractiveness through to its final use. An example of this is Lip Dimension from Lancôme, which launched in August 2001 at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, and in October at other department and specialty stores.
Lip Dimension's custom lip-gloss barrel is color-matched precisely to each formulation's shade. This serves the consumer not only by preserving the look of the package throughout the life of the product, but also by making the formulations easy to identify in a cluttered makeup bag or purse.
The formulations, such as Rose Lolita and Crazy Beige, are "exclusive blends of highly technological ingredients that require an optimal [packaging] environment," says Elizabeth Mankin, vice president of makeup marketing for Lancôme Paris. "The material we selected for the [barrel] provides these conditions without sacrificing the aesthetic integrity of the design."
A simple black wand, with its contoured applicator, tops the package. The handle is black, with the product name in gold letters and the company's signature rose insignia also in gold. Lancôme designed the package in-house and had it produced in Europe.
A Natural Elegance
DieterBakicDesign helped Yves Rocher realize its vision of soft, feminine curves for the YRIA lipstick case and entire YRIA line. The lipstick case for the new YRIA Exceptional Comfort lipstick from Yves Rocher (Paris) is designed to have soft, feminine curves and a polished look, to convey a sort of natural elegance.
The goal was to create a package that exuded not only femininity and elegance, but also warmth and vitality, says Christine Scanlon, chef de produits international maquillage for Yves Rocher. To achieve this objective, the company sought the expertise of Dieter Bakic and his design firm, DieterBakicDesign (Munich).
"We showed Dieter Bakic images of art nouveau to illustrate what we imagined for YRIA: a fusion of botanical forms, voluptuous femininity, rich colors, and flowing lines," says Scanlon. The design team did a beautiful job of bringing to life the primary and secondary packaging, the graphics, and the typeface for the lipstick and the entire YRIA line, Scanlon says.
YRIA's color is a warm, amber-influenced red accented with subtle gold decorations. A layer of gold foil under the lipstick's outer shell creates a look of depth and shine. An ornamental leaf pattern on the case's gold ring and on the other YRIA items reinforces the company's botanically oriented approach. The lipstick case is manufactured by Rexam Reboul (Suresnes, France).
The packaging for the YRIA line is an extension of the Yves Rocher packaging aesthetic. "Yves Rocher has always been about accessibility," says Scanlon. "With YRIA, we wanted to create beautiful packaging and high-quality formulas, and offer them to our customers at affordable prices."
Pretty, Purpose-Built Packaging
Max Factor's Lipfinity is packaged in an airtight system designed by supplier Risdon-AMS. Lipfinity from brand Max Factor (Procter & Gamble; Cincinnati) is a long-wear lipstick that requires the consumer to apply in two steps. First, users apply a PermaTone semipermanent lip color—an all-day "paint" for lips that is formulated to withstand perspiration, food oils, and other such environmental factors. Secondly, users apply a specially designed topcoat, which contains proprietary oils and emollients to moisturize and gloss the lips without disrupting the extended-wear properties of the base color.
The complex product called for complex packaging. The lipstick tube needed to do more than protect the product and the integrity of the application process. It had to look appealing as well.
Packaging supplier Risdon-AMS (Watertown, CT) helped make such a package a reality. The supplier produced the cap, the base, and the slimline mechanism for Lipfinity in its Mozzate, Italy, facility.
The package features a Risdon-AMS–designed airtight system that protects the pomade from drying out during product use. The system is designed to improve pomade retention, while reducing the risk for pomade shrinkage, which typically occurs during a product's lifetime as it is exposed to the air. An innovative seal system, with a specially formed cap and base, creates a vacuum inside the package. The cap and the base are made of a frosted polypropylene material.
In addition, the package consists of Risdon-AMS's three-piece slimline mechanism in acetyl resin, and the slanted carrier or "A shell" in metallic gold. The elevator is natural acetyl, and the cam is composed of ABS. The gold-colored cap is enhanced with hot-stamped foil bands in gold and dark blue. A gate on the inside of the cap hides the injection point and controls ovality in the seal area.
Looking and Feeling Fabulous
Raison Pure chose a pearlescent, cherry red case for Revlon's Absolutely Fabulous LipCream, giving it a feminine, glamorous look. Revlon (New York City) recently hired design firm Raison Pure (New York City; Paris) to create a high-impact design for its Absolutely Fabulous LipCream. The result of their collaboration is a package that is simultaneously upscale, feminine, futuristic, and glamorous.
The design team, headed by president of Raison Pure Laurent Hainaut, researched trends and even looked at products in other industries for inspiration. For instance, "I liked many of the lacquers and enamels being used in luxury writing utensils," says Hainaut.
Color was also a key consideration. Because consumers associate Revlon with the color red, the Raison Pure designers chose a slightly pearlescent, deep cherry red for the plastic case.
"Red is sexy, passionate, and strong—all the qualities of the Revlon brand and of the positioning of the lipstick," says Hainaut. The color not only makes a connection with the Revlon consumer, he says, but also "proves that the brand is keeping up with the trend for more upscale products, and successfully modernizing its look."
The feminine, ergonomic package with its futuristic look and feel features an innovative point-of-sale tool. "Each case has a clear base through which consumers can preview the lipstick's color," Hainaut says. "Because consumers often can't test lipsticks at mass-market outlets, we've provided a way for them to see each of the thirty shades while they are in the racks on the shelf."
The lipstick case is made of a red metallic resin and coated with a black-tinted UV lacquer. The package features the patented ColorTouch mechanism from Risdon-AMS. The ColorTouch cartridge, made with styrene and acetal components, is custom embossed and anodized in black. The cartridge system is engineered for extremely smooth action and consistent torque that is intended to provide a feeling of luxury for the user. The window in the base, which reveals the lipstick shade, is manufactured using Risdon-AMS's biinjection molding technology.
A Case for Fashionable Lip Color
Increasingly, consumers are seeking stylish lip color packaging. Thus, forward-thinking cosmetics companies are moving away from more-traditional lip color packages and going toward particularly fashionable designs that consumers can be proud to display. So, although such luxurious-looking packages may not make applying lip color at the dinner table socially acceptable, they might succeed in making consumers break the rules and show off well-designed products anyway.