Opening Lines
A Naturally Growing Market
By Marie Redding, Senior EditorAs consumers become more health-conscious about the beauty products they use, more beauty brands are launching natural and organic formulations. Featured on our cover, Care by Stella McCartney is being marketed as the first luxury organic skin care line. Also, the hair care products covered in this issue’s Inside Design column all contain natural or exotic ingredients.
These types of ingredients can directly affect packaging in a number of ways. In terms of functionality, plastic bottles are being equipped with high-tech features such as airless pumps or nonaerosol foaming mechanisms to protect natural ingredients. In terms of design, certain elements are being used to convey a natural look for a brand.
This trend is now also growing in the color cosmetics sector. In February, a vitamin-infused lip gloss called Inside Out was launched collaboratively by Tarte Cosmetics and Borba Nutraceuticals. “Co-branding is the wave of the future,” says Candace Craig, public relations and marketing manager, Tarte Cosmetics. The Tarte and Borba names are both silk-screened on the packaging’s silver cap.
Tarte Cosmetics’ and Borba Nutraceuticals’ new lip gloss.
The lip gloss contains natural ingredients from Borba’s Age Defying, Replenishing, and Clarifying lines. These ingredients include green tea extract, grape seed extract, and vitamins A, C, E, and K. The lip gloss is contained in a vial, which is encapsulated in a clear, square plastic bottle. “It looks different from our usual packaging,” says Craig. “We needed to reflect the fact that it is a serious formulation,” she adds. A packet of Borba’s vitamin powder is included with the gloss to further reinforce the fact that the vitamins are in the formula. Both items are packaged in a clear plastic carton.
“Color cosmetics that do more by providing skin-care benefits will be the future of beauty,” says Craig. It’s exciting to think that as new products like these enter the marketplace, they will surely inspire the design of exciting new packages.