Editors’ Choice Awards
The Best Commercial Beauty Packages of 2005.
Each year, the editors of CPC Packaging come together to evaluate the best in beauty packaging for the magazine’s annual Editors’ Choice Awards. This year, the editors found numerous outstanding packages among the commercial beauty packages launched on U.S. shelves in 2005. The editors selected 20 award winners in the categories of cosmetics, fragrance, personal care, and sampling and promotional. Judging criteria included packaging concept, design, and marketability.
Six professionals from the beauty packaging industry took part in this year’s awards panel. These individuals offered their opinions and insights on the winning packages. The panelists’ comments are published throughout the awards coverage.
This year’s panelists are Jerrod Blandino, founder and creative director of Too Faced Cosmetics; Lisa Carroll, group creative director for Coty Beauty; Maiken Erstad, design director for design firm Dragon Rouge; Maureen Kelly, founder of Tarte Cosmetics; Henry Renella, vice president of global package development for The Estée Lauder Companies; and Jeffrey Wass, director of package engineering for Avon.
Several panelists were directly involved in developing the packaging for several winners. Henry Renella brought firsthand insight to the winners under Estée Lauder’s brand umbrella, including The Essence by La Mer, the Island Michael Kors bath and body collection, and the pleasures single-use fragrance atomizer. Renella also spoke extensively about the development of the high-profile Amber Nude Cosmetics line, created by Tom Ford in collaboration with Estée Lauder.
Lisa Carroll from Coty also gave her account on the package development for Coty’s The healing garden Organics Wild Honey Collection, as well as for the unique sample packages for the Live Jennifer Lopez and euphoria by Calvin Klein fragrances.
CPC Packaging congratulates the 2006 award winners. These stories about their accomplishments should be inspirational to all searching for the next best beauty packaging concept.
As the founder and creative director of Too Faced Cosmetics, Jerrod Blandino is the creative force behind the $32 million brand. Too Faced Cosmetics is sold in major retail outlets, including Sephora, Nordstrom, and Ulta. A former television sitcom actor, Blandino became a Saks Fifth Avenue makeup artist in 1993. He began custom blending products for his celebrity clientele and, in 1998, Too Faced Cosmetics was born. Today, Blandino is in charge of developing all of Too Faced’s products, packaging, and marketing text.
For four years, Lisa Carroll has served as group creative director at Coty Beauty. In this position, Carroll develops concepts and designs for the brand’s fragrance launches, flankers, and bath and body lines. In particular, Carroll oversees Coty brands Calgon, healing garden, Mary Kate and Ashley, and House of Jovan. She also helped to develop Coty’s Shania Twain and Stetson Black fragrance launches. Prior to joining Coty, Carroll worked at Estée Lauder for six years developing fragrance packaging, including packaging for new launches, promotions, and line extensions.
As design director for design firm Dragon Rouge, Maiken Erstad is responsible for the design process, overseeing every detail from conception of an idea to creation of mechanical artwork. Erstad has spearheaded initiatives for a variety of clients, including Jose Cuervo, Bourjois, and Johnson & Johnson. Prior to joining Dragon Rouge, Erstad was design director at NiCE Ltd. At NiCE, Erstad focused on designs for fragrances and cosmetics. Erstad received her BA, with honors in graphic design and communication, from Scotland’s Glasgow School of Art.
Entrepreneur Maureen Kelly founded Tarte Cosmetics in 1999 shortly after earning her masters degree in psychology from Columbia University. The popular Tarte cosmetics collection includes easy-to-use products such as push-up gel blush and double-ended lip gloss. Tarte’s flagship product, its gel blush, has been voted Best Gel Blush by InStyle magazine for four years running and has received accolades from Self, Allure, Child, and Cosmopolitan. In February 2005, the product sold out on QVC in less than nine minutes. In 2001, Kelly was given the Independent Cosmetic Manufacturers and Distributors association’s Cosmetic Entrepreneur of the Year award.
A certified packaging professional with an MBA in management, Henry Renella has a lot of experience when it comes to packaging. As vice president of global package development for The Estée Lauder Companies, Renella is in charge of developing packaging for all Lauder brands. At Lauder, he has also held the positions of vice president for designer fragrances and specialty brands. Previous to joining Lauder, Renella worked in pharmaceutical packaging for 10 years for American Cyanamid and in household products for 11 years for Reckitt & Colman.
As the director of package engineering for Avon Products, Jeffrey Wass has a big job to do. He is responsible for managing global package development and engineering for Avon’s color, personal care, and mark. product lines. In this role, Wass must ensure that all products and packages are developed to meet Avon’s stringent quality standards, while accommodating cost and timing requirements. He has worked in package engineering since 1985, and he holds a degree in package engineering from Michigan State University.