Color Cosmetics has been the bright spot in the global beauty market for the past year or so, and lip products have been a major contributor. Matte or glossy, playful or sultry, today’s wide range of formulations in a dizzying selection of shades adds instant pizazz to any woman’s smile–or pout.

As consumers experiment with new looks, manufacturers are producing ever-more pleasing formulas and textures—and brands and packaging suppliers are creating products worthy of the finest cosmetics bag. Long-wearing, multi-tasking and moisture-rich qualities continue to provide value.

And as with other beauty products, a number of these lipsticks have been designed with an environmentally responsible touch. Many also follow the trend for featuring shade windows so consumers can assess colors at just a glance.

Here’s a look at some of the covetable lip products we’ve recently come across – click through the slideshow above.

New Lipstick Packaging, Featured Above

We found many eye-catching and innovative package designs for lipstick packaging – including many brands that have created eco-conscious packaging solutions. Here’s a little more about the recent launches that are featured in the slideshow above, and their packaging.

One ‘green’ example is Aveda’s Refillable Lip Color Case. It features a reusable case that can be refilled with your favorite Aveda Lip Pigment. Its base is up to 65% post-consumer recycled aluminum; its innovative geometric cap is 30% natural flax fibers. Just snap the Aveda Lip Pigment refill into or out of the base. An opening in the base allows the shade label to show. The Flax-infused cap slides onto the base. The product helps minimize packaging waste by encouraging reuse, and is a sustainable way to refill your world with color.

A new upcoming launch for this fall is Clarins Joli Rouge Lipstick, which will replace their existing Joli Rouge range as it has a completely new formula and packaging. The bullet has a slightly curved shape, ending in a point with a wide diameter, designed to enable precise, quick and very comfortable application. It is packed in a gold tube with an engraved leaf cutout on the outside— a signature of Clarins makeup products. The Clarins logo is engraved on the inside of the tube—and on the bullet, itself. The inside of the cap is lined in color.

Dr. Hauschka lipsticks ($25 each), are in packages designed to be ‘green,’ with cases made from recyclable aluminum materials. The lipsticks offer the nourishing qualities of the brand’s lip care products, with rose hip and carrot extract to keep lips moist and nourished; and rose and jojoba waxes to soften and protect. Colors derived from nature highlight natural facial tones. As a complement to the lipsticks, you can further contour and highlight with Dr. Hauschka Lipliner.

Kjaer Weis is a brand developed by Kirsten Kjaer Weis – and she says the packaging was extremely important to her. She wanted the packaging to be sustainable, but also glamorous and high end. She contacted a hero of hers, Marc Atlan, whose work she had always loved. She explained to him the challenges she faced and he introduced her to the beautiful metal packaging the brand now uses. Kirsten Kjaer Weis worked with Marc Atlan to develop the lip tint compact ($49). It is meant to be a one-time purchase as you continue to refill it, almost like a piece of fine jewelry, and connects sustainability with a sleek, chic design.

Pacifica launched its Power of Love Collection exclusive to Target for Spring 2015 as part of Target’s Made to Matter Program, a product collection of leading natural, organic and sustainable brands. The natural lipstick is housed in environmentally responsible packaging. Brook Harvey-Taylor, Pacifica’s founder and president, says: “We believe in sharing our core value, compassion, with all women. That is why for every Power of Love lipstick we sell at Target, one lipstick will be donated to a woman in need. By working with great organizations such as Dress for Success and others of the like, we can support women in transition.” (See  more info on Harvey-Taylor’s quest for eco-friendly packaging.)

Nudestix has leaped to widespread adoption in a relatively short time thanks to a creamy formulation and unbeatable convenience and portability. The pencils, which color both lips and cheeks, are packaged in a pretty black tin pencil box with multi deco lettering and a dual finish, so the great textural feel starts before you even get to the actual products. Open the tin and a mirror in the top greets you. Even the pencil components create disruption with different textures on the cap and stick—and on the coordinated sharpener that accompanies each tool.

Black Opal, a brand known for providing a selection of colors for women of all complexions, has introduced four vivid lip shades into their signature Color Splurge Luxe Creme and Luxe Matte lipstick collections ($7.50 each). To make finding just the right hue a snap, the attractive packages reveal the color at first glance via clear shade windows at the base.

Of course consumers’ desire for a product provides the most compelling reason for a sale, and is perhaps the most visible connection to a well-designed and executed package. Mintel’s Viktorija Gnatoka says “delight” is a trend that essentially speaks to the aesthetic appeal of color cosmetics packaging. She cites the Dior Diorific range, which launched late last year. “The absolutely beautiful packaging creates a desire to not only use—but to simply own the product,” says Gnatoka. (Here’s more of Gnatoka’s observations on Color Cosmetics.)

Clinique’s new Pop Lip Colour + Primer is formulated with shea and murumuru butters. The long-lasting flexible polymer blend promises to provide superior moisture maintenance for lips. The shade-matching barrels help make selection simple and fast.

Artistry says its Signature Color Lipstick has a key feature – and is what the brand says is the industry’s first and only “twist-and-click” cap. It allows the lipstick base to be released with a simple twist of the cap and return to its original position to maintain the iconic Crescendo design. After application, the user simply returns the base into the cap until there is an audible snap signaling full closure. Caps are topped with a signature “A” to give the Artistry brand a presence. (See more about this package and its design.)

Besame’s vintage-style Classic Color Lipsticks have a snap closure and a smooth rotating mechanism for the bullet. The shape is custom molded for the casing and for the interior bullet. The product shape is a replica of the shape used in the 1940s for lipsticks, making the product look more authentic. Each lipstick delivers smooth, feather-free coverage that promises to be long-lasting as well. Application instructions are based on a 3-step process created by movie industry makeup artists in the ’40s: prepare, pre-stain, apply. Also, be sure to check out Besame’s Classic Color Lipstick Matches ($6)—a set of five rich, high-pigmented lipsticks housed in a portable, graphically appealing matchbook.

Revlon’s new Ultra HD Lipstick collection ($8.99 each), with 20 ultra-pigmented shades, features brand new packaging crafted to reflect the individual hues through a clear cap and a shiny silver base. The lipstick’s clear gel base formulation provides a weightless feel with a smoother, more even application than traditional wax-based lipsticks. Just one coat is all that’s needed.

Can’t Stop Talking About Lipstick

Beauty Packaging uncovered a selection of quotes over the years from actresses, authors and an ex-global beauty company CEO about one of their favorite cosmetics. A few of our favorites are below.

You can’t keep changing men, so you settle for changing your lipstick.  —Heather Locklear

Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or a kick-ass red lipstick.  —Gwyneth Paltrow

Lipstick is really magical. It holds more than a waxy bit of color—it holds the promise of a brilliant smile, a brilliant day, both literally and figuratively.  —Roberta Gately

The only way I’d be caught without makeup is if my radio fell in the bathtub while I was taking a bath and electrocuted me and I was in between makeup at home. I hope my husband would slap a little lipstick on me before he took me to the morgue.  —Dolly Parton

If I walk outside without lipstick, I feel naked.  —Sofia Vergara

The game in beauty is changing so much, if your product isn’t high tech or can’t make a unique performance claim—plump your lips, reduce your lines, look glossy, and stay on for 24 hours you can’t go to market today. I’m not just talking about a $20 lipstick, but a $5 lipstick!  —Andrea Jung (year unknown)