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Editors' Choice Awards

The Best Commercial Beauty Packages of 2004.

The Best Commercial Beauty Packages of 2004.

When reviewing the 2004–launched packages for this year’s edition of CPC Packaging’s Editors’ Choice Awards, the editors were pleased to find a lot of outstanding packages. The editors have chosen 20 that we feel deserve special recognition in the cosmetic, fragrance, personal care, and sampling and promotional categories. Eligible entries were those packages that launched on U.S. shelves in 2004.

Our awards coverage once again includes commentary by our awards panelists. This year’s panel comprised seven beauty packaging professionals with industry expertise. This year’s panelists are Deborah Fine, CEO of Victoria’s Secret’s Pink brand; Gary Korba, COO of MG New York; George Kress, vice president of corporate package innovation for The Estée Lauder Companies; Chad Lavigne, president of Chad Lavigne LLC; Linda Treska, product development manager for Vincent Longo Inc.; Essie Weingarten, founder and president of Essie Cosmetics Ltd.; and Wende Zomnir, executive creative director for Urban Decay and Hard Candy Cosmetics.

Many of our panelists bring firsthand insight to some of our award winners. George Kress and Gary Korba, who until the middle of this year was vice president of creative global packaging development for Estée Lauder, give their account of the packaging process for three of our award winners from the Estée Lauder brand: the Beautiful Bride compacts, the Flirt! packages, and MAC’s Sparkling Compact. Chad Lavigne also describes how he developed the package design for DKNY Be Delicious. Essie Weingarten shares how she came up with the idea for Essie’s Smoothies and nail care packages. Finally, Wende Zomnir tells how she and her team designed Hard Candy’s Candy Bin retail display.

CPC Packaging congratulates all of our 2005 award winners!

Participants in CPC Packaging's Roundtable Discussion of the Editors' Choice Award Winners

Deborah Fine brings more than 20 years of experience in building businesses for women to her new position as CEO of Victoria’s Secret’s beauty brand Pink. From 2001 until 2005, Fine served as founder and president of Avon Future, the global business unit responsible for developing and launching mark., a direct-selling brand targeting young women. Launched in August 2003, Mark became a huge success. It went on to achieve more than 12 product awards and more than $100 million in retail sales.

In May, Gary Korba, former vice president of creative global package development for The Estée Lauder Companies, was named COO of MG New York, a supplier specializing in high-quality bags, accessories, wrapped compacts, and aluminum compacts. With more than 33 years of cosmetic packaging experience, and 26 years working at Estée Lauder, Korba is an expert in packaging innovation and development. In 2004, he oversaw the launch of Lauder’s BeautyBank division, which initially launched more than 600 SKUs within 14 months.

As vice president of corporate packaging innovation for The Estée Lauder Companies, George Kress facilitates development of new product and packaging concepts for Estée Lauder and its brands. He has extensive knowledge of design and development of luxury cosmetic packaging for fine fragrances, color cosmetics, and treatment products. In particular, Kress was instrumental in developing concepts for Estée Lauder brands Bobbi Brown and Clinique, as well as Lancôme and Ralph Lauren Fragrances.

For more than 10 years, package designer Chad Lavigne has continued to influence the fragrance packaging industry. Prior to founding design firm Chad Lavigne LLC, Lavigne held senior creative positions with L’Oréal’s European Fragrance Division, Ralph Lauren Fragrances, and LVMH. His designs include the fragrance packages for brands such as DKNY Be Delicious, Ralph Lauren’s Polo Sport, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, and Kenneth Cole. Lavigne has been honored with multiple FiFi awards.

Linda Treska, product development manager for Vincent Longo Inc., is a leading color expert. A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, she started her career in the beauty industry as a make-up artist and consultant for luxury brands such as Origins, Elizabeth Arden, Yves Saint Laurent, and Lancôme. At Vincent Longo, Treska oversees creative color development and management for all of the brand’s cosmetic categories, developing each collection from concept through launch.

Essie Weingarten founded professional cosmetics brand Essie Cosmetics Ltd. in 1981 when she noticed that the available nail polish options were limited. One of her early nail polishes, Ballet Slippers, has since become a cult classic. Weingarten herself chose the brand’s trademark square glass bottle, which has been etched with the Essie name since 1999. Essie products are now a manicurist’s staple.

As a founding partner of Urban Decay and executive creative director of both Urban Decay and Hard Candy Cosmetics, Wende Zomnir continues to ensure both brands remain leaders in the cosmetics industry. A graduate of the University of North Texas, Zomnir gained creative marketing experience working for the Leo Burnett agency on accounts such as Reebok and Nintendo. At Urban Decay and Hard Candy Cosmetics, Zomnir oversees package design, product development, marketing, and public relations.

Editors' Choice Award Winners
and Their Profiles

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