Cosmetic Feature: Packages Worth Penciling In
Flow-through brush pens like these for Stila Lip Glaze offer users controlled product flow and smooth application.Photo courtesy of Cosmopak Corp.
By being aware of key trends, cosmetics companies can design pencil and pen packages that their customers will value.
By Lori Bryan, EditorIf your company creates packaging for color cosmetics, undoubtedly you are familiar with the pencil and its growing importance in the beauty market. Not just for eyeliner anymore, pencils are packaging everything from lip color to fragrance.
The traditional wood pencil is all grown up, and is often characterized by intricate decorations and topped with fetching caps. The mechanical pencil has also evolved and can, for example, be made to look quite luxurious with a metal-clad exterior.
Cosmetic pens are also increasingly prevalent, in brush and felt-tip versions. These make on-the-go application possible where it wasn't possible (or at least practical) before.
With such advances in pencils and pens and the options they present, how can a cosmetics firm create just the right package for its consumers? For starters, a company can identify a few basic trends. By seeing what strikes a chord with shoppers in mass and luxury markets and why, companies can design packages their consumers will want to pencil in.
Dynamic Duos
Perhaps the only thing better than getting one product at a reasonable price is getting two. So it's no surprise that shoppers are attracted to dual-ended pencils.
Avon customers are drawn to the company's dual-ended pencils for their price and value, says Cassandra Johnson, senior marketing manager for Avon. Such pencils feature two different products, such as eye shadow and lip color, one at each end. Avon's Color Definition Lip Duo is just such an item for the mass market. The slim package, with its slightly pumped barrel for a no-slip grip, provides a precision-tipped lip liner at one end and coordinating lip color at the other.
Duos with a color cosmetic and an implement for ease of application are also popular. An example is the Trish McEvoy Brow Pencil, which pairs a brow color and a brush. The limited-distribution dual-ended pencil is sold at Saks Fifth Avenue stores.
But being a bargain is not the only thing that such pencils have going for them, and consumers know it. "Dual-ended [pencils] have become a very hot market, because consumers want to carry fewer cosmetics [packages] with them," says Johnson. "They want a look that's quick and easy, without a lot of hassle," she says. Dual-ended pencils offer such convenience.
Suppliers like Cosmopak Corp. (New York City) understand the importance of convenience to today's buyers of cosmetics. So this spring, the company is launching a 3-in-1 pencil in the marketplace. "Multifunctional is the idea [behind] this package," says Cosmopak president Walter Dwyer. "One end of the package is a retractable lead pencil, and the other is a chamber for hot-pour eye-shadow powder," says Dwyer. The center of the package twists off to reveal a sponge applicator.
Such multipurpose pencils, and the growing array of pencil-type packaging in general, suggest a movement toward the capability of 100% makeup using pencils, says Gérard Gieux, president of cosmetic pencils company Alkos Cosmetiques (Boulogne Sur Mer, France). Pencils are not only versatile for the formulations they can contain, but are also easily adaptable styles for the mass and luxury markets. "A cosmetic pencil can be made [inexpensively] for the mass market, and [upgraded] with metal, for example, for luxury brands," says Gieux.
With outside vendors like Cosmopak and Alkos Cosmetiques developing more-affordable options, the dual-ended-pencils trend will continue in the mass market, says Avon's Johnson. And, she adds, "manufacturers will continue to develop innovative formulations, making new [pencil] forms even more important to the growth of the mass market" in years to come.
Practical Pens
Pencils shouldn't be given all the credit for pushing cosmetics packaging in exciting new directions. Pens in felt-tip and flow-through-brush versions that control product flow are doing their part, making all kinds of cosmetics, even nail-polish removers, practical for transport and use just about anywhere.
For example, consumers need only remove the cap of the Sephora Nail Color Corrector Pen and glide the pen's tip across their cuticles to remove excess nail polish. The user can fit the sleek, compact pen into a purse, even a pocket, without the risk of spillage.
Big names like Stila Cosmetics (Los Angeles), an Estée Lauder company, have helped to popularize pens. The Stila Lip Rouge pen, for instance, gives users a "sculpted nib designed to make lining and filling the lips effortless," according to the Sephora Web site. Another Stila pen called Lip Glaze features a brush-style tip for smooth application. Functionality is a key aspect of such pens' attractiveness to consumers.
Suppliers like Cosmopak understand the value of designing such purposeful pen packages. In fact, says Cosmopak's Dwyer, "We supplied Stila with the flow-through brush pen in 1998, and they commercialized it in the United States."
Before that, the technology had been in Asia for more than 10 years, but cost had prohibited it from being brought to the United States, says Dwyer. "Cosmopak solved the problem with mass-production tooling," he says. Today Cosmopak has a patented system, and has qualified major players in the cosmetics industry.
"We're proud to have been the first to do this," says Cosmopak's Dwyer, of the flow-through brush pen which now floods the mass market, packaging concealers, cream eye shadows, treatments, and more.
Avon, having seen its customers respond favorably to the brush pen, will unveil a new product this year. The Color Twist Lip Gloss Pen is set to launch in the third quarter, according to Avon's Johnson. The company currently offers its Neat Nails Nail Corrector Pen—a nail-enamel remover in pen format.
With companies like Avon wanting to put new pens on the market, outside vendors are keeping busy. Cosmopak, whose offerings include plastic pens with and without metal sheaths, launched a plastic pushbutton-style pen in January. "We're trying to give our customers a point of difference, since flow-through brush pens are such a trend," says Dwyer.
In addition, the company has something new under private design. Cosmopak is constantly developing new pen technologies, Dwyer says, to serve its clients.
Cosmetech Mably International (New York City) has also expanded its stock line with a click pen. Well suited for lip gloss and eye shadow, the pen releases a controlled amount of product at the click of a button. "The click pen is all about convenience," says Jackie Paterno, Cosmetech's operations manager. "It fits easily into a purse, and is highly practical for a busy user who's on the go," she says. Applicator tips come in flocked foam or a nylon brush. Options for customization include hot-stamping, silk-screening, spray and vacuum metallization, and various decorations and finishes.
The Look
Whether a cosmetic is sold at mass outlets or in fine department stores, its overall look has to be quality. Today's shoppers, even those not paying for a truly high-end product, expect a quality package. They want a look that is polished, elegant. And "anything elegant is trendy" when it comes to cosmetics packaging, says Anja Mansdoerfer, sales and marketing manager for cosmetic-pencil manufacturer Weckerle Cosmetics (Torrance, CA).
Avon's Color Definition Lip Duo has a slightly pumped barrel for a no-slip grip, and offers a lip liner at one end and coordinating lip color at the other. n the luxury market, where a package's appearance must match the true luxury of its contents, metal is of major importance. "Our most expensive pencil is an aluminum outer shell over a plastic package," says Mansdoerfer, of Weckerle's offerings. Hand labor makes the package three or four times as expensive as nonmetal versions, she says. "This package would not be for the mass market."
What is for the mass market is clear. "In [this sector], clear designs are what customers are going for in 90% of cases," says Cosmopak's Dwyer.
Jackie Paterno of Cosmetech Mably agrees. "[Mass-market] consumers like to see the color of the formula through pens with clear bodies or clear dispensing tips."
Adds Mansdoerfer, "We do a lot of clear [pens] that incorporate glitter." Sparkly, shimmery is a trend, she says.
Metallic silver is also a trend. The color continues to be a favorite of cosmetics companies that want the expensive look of metal for their pencils without the expense. High quality and elegance is the look.
Special Treatment
Perhaps the hottest things in pencils today are treatment formulations. Consumers want sun protection, moisturizers, and more in their products, and for many, pencils are fast becoming their carrier of choice.
According to Weckerle's Anja Mansdoerfer, the contract manufacturer creates and fills treatment-oriented products for its clients, whose customers want to treat their faces well throughout the day, wherever their busy lives take them. "These pencils are very easy," says Mansdoerfer. "You can just throw them in your purse and go."
Cosmolab (Lewisburg, TN) adds UV-filter sun protection, moisturizers, and vitamins to its pencils, which are supplied to top cosmetics companies. The formulator and manufacturer is reportedly the largest manufacturer of wood-cased cosmetic pencils in the United States. Its offerings include touch-up pencils and a jumbo-pencil concealer.
Contract manufacturers like Cosmolab and Weckerle and their clients understand what consumers want: treatment pencils that travel hassle-free. As long as that is the case, treatment pencils promise to be a continuing trend.
Prized Packages
Today's consumers value pencils and pens for how convenient they are, and for how good they look. Cosmetics companies that design them with these basics in mind are likely to meet or even exceed their customers' expectations. And, of course, satisfied customers are most likely to be your repeat customers—a trend well worth getting started.