Color Packaging
This spring, Too Faced Cosmetics debuts its colorful cosmetics in clear, square-shaped compacts. HCT Packaging supplied the Shadow Soiree compact (left) and Anisa International supplied the Sugar Shadow package (right). Trends in color formulations are dictating package look and feel.
By Michelle Nahum-AlbrightMakeup colors themselves continue to be the decorative element in color cosmetic packaging. Some cosmetics companies are choosing clear components to showcase new hues, while others are moving to new packaging styles to handle new color formulations.
Feminine looks are also in style, and one of the prettiest lines is Pout, which uses many standard-shaped components that are uniquely decorated. And some modern formulations require brand-new types of packaging, like the unusual pot that holds Bourjois
Loose Color.
New Looks in Clear Components
Estée Lauder has brought attention to clear acrylics with the popularity of its ice-cube-shaped Pure Color EyeShadow, which has won one of CPC Packaging's Editors' Choice Awards (see p. 32). Now, Estée Lauder has launched lip gloss using the same component.
Robert Reinhardt, vice president of sales at World Wide Packaging Inc. (Florham Park, NJ), says, "Clear acrylic is one trend that's here to stay. Lauder's is very well designed. We have just finished three new compact tools carrying the same design as our powder jars. We have also developed acrylic cases for lipstick, lip gloss, and blush."
World Wide Packaging is also taking cues from Shiseido. By mid-June, Reinhardt says its new mascara components and lip gloss cases will taper down to a narrow bottom, for a "slimmer, more stylish look" reminiscent of some of Shiseido's and Sephora's designs.
Too Faced Cosmetics had a huge hit with its hot-pour, clear square Sexy Lip Gloss Palette last spring, made by HCT Packaging (Bridgewater, NJ). Now, Too Faced has just launched Foxy in a rounded plastic "squash" case, also by HCT.
Too Faced's clear acrylic eye shadow compact called Shadow Soiree, also made by HCT, was launched in February with a clear top. Jerrod Blandino, Too Faced's CEO and creative director, says, "An opaque lid appears too serious, and I wanted the great colors to pop out and inspire you to pick them up. The bottom is tinted a light periwinkle, which is the color of a diamond facet, to give it that glowing, diamond jewel effect."
In choosing product colors, Blandino says "his mission was to create the perfect quad where all the colors would be used at the same rate, so they're a mixture of textures, from matte to glimmer. "
Jeremy Johnson, president of Too Faced, describes the look as "techno packaging," which he defines as a "lighter, more ethereal, feminine look for packaging. The mixture of heavy and light is modern--clear mixed with black." This look can be seen on the company's new Sugar Shadow, launched in April, made by Anisa International (Atlanta, GA).
Fancy Formulations
Launched in May, Pout's mascara container, supplied
by Swallowfield, is dressed for spring in pretty floral graphics.New formulations for color cosmetics have a huge effect on packaging.
"Hot-pour, creamy formulas for makeup are old news," says Anne Marie Nicolet. She handles product development for Linda Cantello Cosmetics and is the special projects manager for Suite K. "Light mousse formulas are a new trend, because women want something more blendable and wearable than a thick, creamy formula."
With the consistency of whipped cream, the mousse formulas in the Linda Cantello line include Glide Modern Eye Color Creme, in a tube with a wand applicator; Forget Foundation, in a jar; and Sweet Cream Blush, dispensed with a pump.
Almay's Nearly Naked Touch-Pad Liquid Makeup is one of the most sheer, oil-free formulas available on the mass market. Its package claims it's "too light for a bottle." A round, antibacterial-treated sponge is saturated with the foundation, which consumers touch with fingertips to apply.
Baking, instead of grinding or pressing, is also a big trend right now for the production of foundation, blush, and eye shadow.
"A baked eye shadow or blush is silky smooth, looks dewy instead of powdery, and can be used wet or dry," says Jeanine Recckio, creator of the Crystal Ball Beauty Trend Report.
"Since fewer binders are used in baking than in pressing, baked cosmetics have the airy lightness of a loose powder," says Paul Bergmann, director of technical engineering at the Estée Lauder Companies.
A baked cosmetic has more packaging options. Rounded-dome and pyramid shapes are common, but the product can also be pressed flat into a compact, like Bobbi Brown's Shimmer Brick Compact, which was just rereleased for summer 2003.
"An important reason to bake is to create unique shapes," says Bergmann, like Estée Lauder's Pure Eden Petal Blush, which was sold as a limited-edition item for spring from January to April of this year.
"Thin sheets of various shades of pink were baked on cookie sheets and then broken into pieces to mimic the look of flower petals," explains Bergmann. These were scattered around the circular, 3-in.- high compact. To create the yellow center of the flower, a dome-shaped mold was used.
Its packaging had to serve the purpose of keeping the colors separated during shipping. "We created a plastic covering attached to the top of the lid, on the inside. It fit exactly over the petals, and a dome shape was in the center. This kept everything still so the colors wouldn't blend," Bergmann says.
The two leading companies known for using baked cosmetics are Chanel and Bourjois. Bourjois has been baking colors in Paris since 1863. A slightly rounded, dome-shaped mold is its signature shape for eye shadow and blush.
"This technology has been around for a long time, but more and more people seem interested in it now," explains Frank McGarvey, president of Nova Cosmetics (Italy). He also represents Clavis Cosmetics (Italy). Clavis is one of the leading suppliers of baked bronzers in the mass market.
Clavis's baked cosmetics are unique in that they feel extremely soft. McGarvey explains that they always come out of their ovens in a dome shape, and are baked on terra-cotta "wafers", which are elevated and cooked at 180°F for two days.
"All of the moisture dissipates out through the top and bottom, which is why porous terra-cotta is used. Then you are left with a very fine powder that keeps its shape. It's the same texture as micronized powder," explains McGarvey.
"Baked colors with a beautiful rounded shape require a deeper package--not the thin, slim components that are trendy now," Recckio says. The Pebble Case supplied by Techpack (New York City) is an excellent example of a stylish component with depth.
The Bourjois Bird Feeder
Now that baking has become so trendy, Bourjois is moving on to other revolutionary developments.
Its new Suivez mon Regard Loose Powder Color, which launched in April, is made by grinding a very high concentration of pure color pigments that are refined and polarized. This type of formula is normally used by professional makeup artists for intense color effects.
Loose-powder eye shadow has always given consumers trouble. Its high color concentration makes it hard to measure out a small amount. The main drawback is the excess powder that flies away.
"We wanted to find a way for the consumer to use a professional formula, with ease," explains Claire Laurin, vice president of marketing at Bourjois. "Since it's hard to measure the exact amount, we knew the delivery system was critical. Packaging messy loose powder in a pot was not an option for us."
At Bourjois headquarters in Paris, graphic designer Olivier Johnsson and the house engineer, Laurent Penalva, worked as a team to create a unique jar-shaped package. They figured out the mechanics of the design by thinking about how a bird feeder works, for inspiration, Penalva says.
"The bird's beak fits in, and the feeder delivers just the right amount of food, without excess seeds falling out, " Laurin explains, recounting the amusing story that Penalva had told her.
The brush was designed to grab exactly the right amount of powder when it's dipped into the slit at the top of the container. As the brush is lifted up, the sides of the opening catch the excess powder. Since the top is completely covered around the slit, there is little mess.
"Great packaging has always been the core of our brand. It has to be beautiful and functional at the same time," says Laurin.
Fashionable Brands
Bourjois designed its Suivez mon Regard "bird feeder" jar to minimize mess during loose-powder application. When it comes to developing color packaging, Laurent Hainaut, president of the creative marketing and design firm Raison Pure (Los Angeles, New York City, and Paris), says that a company must seriously consider a brand's image before following a trend.
"Chanel must first be Chanel before it becomes trendy," he explains. To use a fashion analogy, Hainaut feels a brand "wears" a particular trend like an outfit, and should only wear the trends that fit. "It is easier for a new, smaller brand to dress any way it wants and to say different things. It is how you interpret a trend that makes your brand unique," says Hainaut.
One cosmetic brand taking a chance with a bold new look is Pout. Sexy, lacy underwear and fishnet stockings are what Pout is "wearing" on its packaging. The first outer cartons in the line were designed after "sweet little matchboxes," says Chantal Laren, one of Pout's three founders and creators. The boxes slide open and are meant to resemble dresser drawers, in pink and purple.
Pout's sexy image is clearly conveyed in a very pretty, feminine way. Pout began in London in June 2001 with just a small lip color range. It was launched in the United States this year at Louis Boston (MA) at the end of January, then at Henri Bendel's in New York City at the beginning of February. Fishnet and lace patterns decorate the components, which are all pastel shades of pink, baby blue, and light green.
Laren says, "I completely understand my brand. I live and breathe Pout. It's a passion, and I know exactly what will work for it and what won't." Pout's pencils are all named after bra sizes, ranging from a 32 A, which is a nude shade, to a hot-pink 36 DD.
Swallowfield (UK), which makes all of Pout's formulations, acts as a one-stop shop for the company and sources the components from the Far East, then fills them. The outer cartons for the lip range and the mascara carton are from Beamglow (UK). Smurfit (UK) supplied the cartons for the Pout eye slicks. Pelaw Packaging (UK) supplied its Flush Blush tube.
The key, Laren says, is that "you must strongly believe in your ideas and what's right for your brand. So, when people challenge you, you can stand on your convictions and convince others and never waiver from your beliefs."
Pout's new mascara, launched in May, is in a shiny light-green barrel with a lace pattern printed on it. It comes in a matching box tied with a ribbon. Soon, we'll see a complete line of face products, including foundation, concealer, and a bronzer. A doily is the inspiration behind the packages' lace pattern.
A Colorful Exhibit
Some may consider the color package a work of art, given the effort required to design a package that shows off a color yet doesn't detract from it or compete with it.
Risdon-AMS Inc. agrees, and it has dedicated part of its Danbury, CT, location to a museum celebrating lipstick packaging. The museum opened approximately eight years ago, says Tom Holloway, vice president of Risdon-AMS's product development group. "Our vice president and general manager at the time wanted a room where he could take customers to show them our capabilities. Now, every time a new package is launched, we keep a couple boxes of samples and add them to our display room."
Lipstick cases are displayed in a timeline based on their launch dates. Some date back to the early-to-mid 1930s. "You can clearly see how the cases have changed in appearance over the years," says Holloway. "The display shows the trend from metal to plastic components and from brass to aluminum components." Also showcased are other products that Risdon has produced through the years, such as compacts, closures, and fragrance cases.
The exhibit features many older, ornate cases. "Because they were refillable, the master case could afford to be more upscale," says Holloway. He adds that these cases would be too cost-prohibitive to produce today, based on what consumers are willing to pay.
Beauty packaging designers frequently visit the museum, often just for inspiration. "It's a great idea generator," says Stephen Pearlman, president of Risdon-AMS. "Great inventions are usually reinventions."
Stephanie Delille, director of package development at Intimate Beauty Corp. (Victoria's Secret), recently toured the museum with her firm's marketing and package development representatives. "They were very impressed with many of the old designs and finishes, and we were able to actually supply them with some samples from our old stock," says Holloway. "We have always retained production start-up samples for every new item that we have produced through the years, going back to when Risdon first became a supplier of cosmetic packaging."
Risdon-AMS plans to continue adding to the display, and it may introduce new media. "It would be nice to introduce some related advertisement material from the eras in which some of these packages were developed," says Holloway. "Also, maybe a small library of written material that pertains to the history of the U.S. cosmetic industry could be added."