{"id":6628,"date":"2017-06-16T08:00:42","date_gmt":"2017-06-16T14:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/knowledge\/?p=6628"},"modified":"2017-06-23T11:03:30","modified_gmt":"2017-06-23T17:03:30","slug":"capturing-essence-beauty-packaging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/6628\/capturing-essence-beauty-packaging\/","title":{"rendered":"Capturing the essence of beauty packaging"},"content":{"rendered":"

Small packages equal big business when it comes to cosmetics and beauty packaging. And plastics are increasingly serving all segments of that market, including high-end, luxury products.<\/p>\n

Emotions and aesthetics play a key role in presenting highly personal products such as perfume, lipstick and skin cream to discerning customers, but performance and functionality remain vital, and sustainability (especially with \u201cnatural cosmetics\u201d) continues to grow in importance.<\/p>\n

A recent, 125-page market study, titled \u201cGlobal Cosmetic Packaging Market Research Report \u2013 Forecast to 2022<\/a>,” projects the global cosmetic packaging market to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 5.2 percent from 2016 to 2022, when it will reach a market value of $35.6 billion. While this encompasses all materials and types of products \u2013 including bottles, jars, tubes, containers, pouches, sticks, roller balls, dispensers and others \u2013 it still notes that \u201cthe market is majorly influenced by the presence of plastic.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The report calls plastic \u201cthe most preferred material\u201d that helps to ensure the durability of the packaging along with retention of the important minerals and chemical properties of the product.\u201d And it declares \u201cinnovative and alluring packaging\u201d to be the key driver of cosmetic packaging, noting its importance as an attribute of product marketing.<\/p>\n

Sam O\u2019Donahue, principal and co-founder of New York-based design studio Established<\/a>, knows that all too well. He has carved out a place in the cosmetics packaging sector, serving clients ranging from Marc Jacobs and H&M to Ariana Grande and Rihanna.<\/p>\n

\"Plastics
Kendo\/Marc Jacobs Beauty Kiss pop collection; Design Agency: Established<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The British designer\u2019s Kiss Pop lipstick package<\/a> for Marc Jacobs looks like a shiny, metal bullet, but actually is vacuum-metallized ABS plastic. In fact, O\u2019Donahue says, nearly all the products he designs for the high-end Marc Jacobs line are made of plastic. Kiss Pop earns special mention, given that it\u2019s been winning a host of awards, including first place in the 2016 Dieline Awards, a 2016 Gold Clio Image Award, and the 2015 Diamond Pentawards \u201cBest of Show.\u201d<\/p>\n

When O\u2019Donahue graduated with an industrial design degree from Central St. Martins in London, and before he and his lawyer wife, Becky Jones, launched Established in 2007, he said he had no idea that \u201cdesigning makeup\u201d was even a thing. But he now has made a living doing just that, and he notes that cosmetics packaging designers need a good sense of form, color, finish and material, and an understanding of how these elements go together.<\/p>\n

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Becky Jones and Sam O’Donahue<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a recent interview with this reporter for a story on the Core77.com design website, O\u2019Donahue noted how different plastics can finish in different ways, impacting how it feels in your hand. He also pointed out how some seemingly simple products \u2013 particularly on the luxury end \u2013 can be very complex. A single compact case for Marc Jacobs, for example, might involve six to eight parts \u2013 a button, spring, top tray, bottom tray, etc. \u2013 plus very nuanced curves, slopes, colors (such as marrying a matte teal next to a champagne silver) and high-end, precisely controlled, secondary finishing.<\/p>\n

One materials supplier very active in this space is Kingsport, Tenn.-based Eastman Chemical Co.<\/p>\n

Eastman touts its Glass Polymer\u2122<\/a> portfolio of products as \u201cthe clear choice for luxury packaging.\u201d The portfolio includes one grade each of Tenite cellulosics<\/a> and Tritan copolyester<\/a>, along with six grades of Eastar copolyesters<\/a>. While noting that these grades can be injection molded, extrusion blow molded and stretch blow molded, the firm points to their attributes of sustainability, performance and luxury.<\/p>\n

Glass has long been the preferred material for packaging of luxury beauty products, with its clarity, gloss, heft and cool touch. But it also has one big performance drawback.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest problem for glass is that it breaks,\u201d says Renske Gores, Eastman\u2019s Netherlands-based market development manager for specialty plastics packaging in the EMEA region. \u201cWhat opened the door for our materials was brands looking for more durable packaging that doesn\u2019t break,\u201d while its lighter weight also was a major advantage.<\/p>\n

Consumer habits also are changing. Highly mobile consumers increasingly prefer lightweight, durable, portable products \u2013 even for things such as perfume and cosmetics, according to Dr. Cedric Perben, Eastman\u2019s technical platform leader for global cosmetics and personal care packaging.<\/p>\n

Based in Lyon, France, Perben noted the rise of such refill systems, which allow consumers to travel light and use cartridges to replenish the contents of their products once they reach their destination. The ability to reuse the original container also makes for a good sustainability argument.<\/p>\n

And as more and more shoppers buy their products online, the brand owners and retailers prefer lighter-weight plastic containers that are virtually unbreakable, thereby lowering shipping costs and reducing damage-related recalls and wastage.<\/p>\n

Perben maintains that Eastman\u2019s Glass Polymer materials can deliver transparency and gloss on a par with glass, while offering increased functionality (for printing, silk screening, special effects, etc.) that gives designers such as O\u2019Donahue more freedom and flexibility.<\/p>\n

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CapScent perfume capsules<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meantime, another innovative cosmetics package is worth noting. Paris-based entrepreneur Agnion Mpiere<\/a>, founder and managing director of sampling specialist Saabelis<\/a>, recently introduced a product he calls CapScent. The tiny, flexible, decorative CapScent capsules contain single-use perfume samples. Mpiere could not be reached before deadline to provide further material details, but in a recent interview with Packaging Europe<\/em>1<\/sup> he offered the following description:<\/p>\n

\u201cCapScent consists of two main components. The first is made from a closed-cell copolymer (as light as a dandelion petal), which we can shape in any way we want. The second is a hermetic and breakable capsule made of rigid substrate, which contains the cosmetic solution. After filling, the capsule is inserted into the flexible form.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo use it,\u201d continued Mpiere \u2013 a mechanical engineer who previously worked as a purchasing and supply chain manager for Otis Elevator \u2013 \u201cthe customer simply has to squeeze with two fingers. This breaks the inner capsule, releasing the solution and allowing consumers to smell it and apply a few drops of product to their skin. Product release is controlled: the more you squeeze, the more you release.\u201d<\/p>\n

The product \u2013 said to be launching first in Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and then Italy \u2013 reportedly is suitable for all cosmetic solutions, and can accommodate medium to high-viscosity contents.\u00a0The product\u2019s website<\/a> says the perfume is stored in its liquid form, and the capsule can be molded into different shapes and sizes.<\/p>\n

The site states: \u201cCapScent is a versatile, scalable and customizable solution that brings added value to the professionals operating in the cosmetic industry: brands, marketers and event professionals.\u00a0The competitive advantage of CapScent lies in its unique design and ability to fulfill specific visual branding requirements.\u201d For its part, Packaging Europe<\/em> declared that CapScent \u201crepresents one of the most eye-catching examples of packaging design we have seen in a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear that innovation in its many forms \u2013 materials, process, function and design \u2013 continues to thrive when it comes to the large and fast-growing sector of cosmetics and beauty product packaging.<\/p>\n

Additional Reading:<\/h3>\n