The Finishing Touch

Package Accessories add the finishing, distinctive touch to beauty products.

By Janet Herlihy

Jewelry isn’t just for people. In the beauty business, ribbons and bows as well as sparkling accents are used to catch the consumer’s eye and underscore brand image. From established luxury brands to the latest over-the-top lines, embellishments are a way to attract attention and increase perceived value.

Estée Lauder uses Swarovski crystals to encrust these compacts.

In a recent Crystal Ball Beauty & Lifestyle report, Jeanine Recckio, beauty and lifestyle futurologist and founder of the New York-based Mirror Mirror Imagination Group, states, “With so very little actual product innovation in the beauty category, all the pressure is on the packaging to look different and call for consumer attention.”

Because today’s consumers are speed shopping through stores, marketers need to employ “retailtainment” to catch their attention as they buzz through aisles, talking on their cell phones, Recckio explains. “So your package has to do all the talking…especially as the sales associate is becoming extinct and open sell is growing and growing,” she states. “In beauty, we are fussing with bows and jewelry, anything to grab attention and give an ‘added value.’”

The beauty industry is being influenced by packaging for luxury food and chocolate, according to Recckio. “We saw a great deal of that influence in the holiday gift sets, many of which were very similar to chic boxes of chocolates. And printed ribbon is all the rage!”

Lauder Creates Collectibles with Crystals

The Estée Lauder brand has been offering its customers special gift products for more than 25 years that have become so popular they are now collectibles. Miniature, solid perfume containers are tiny, bejeweled sculptures in a wide variety of forms. In addition to a core collection each year, there are exclusive sets created for Neiman Marcus, Harrods of London and Saks Fifth Avenue, according to Emmanuela Albert, designer director for the Estée Lauder brand.

“Each set has a theme that depends on what’s happening for the brand and fragrance that year,”explains Albert. Many of the fragrance holders are embellished with Swarovski crystals. The collection now consists of more than 650 pieces, 90 of which make up a traveling exhibition created in partnership with Neiman Marcus.

Pressed powder compacts are also created in gift/collectible forms. For Valentine’s gift giving, Estée Lauder has launched the Must Be Love Compact and the Be My Daisy Compact. Both are crystal-studded for special effect. Must Be Love is a delicate pink compact with swirls of red and deep pink hearts while Be My Daisy is a daisy design on a green background.

Estée Lauder also uses ribbons and bows to add a finishing touch to certain primary and secondary packages. The Youth Dew Amber Nude collection created by Tom Ford uses unique touches. A ribbon with a bow seems to cinch the waist of the fragrance bottle, while an amber-colored jewel is inset on the top of the lipstick tube.

“Other ribbons and bows are used on gift sets and setup boxes. It depends on the design for the season…and on the nature of the box,” says Albert.

Chanel Creates Ribbon in Paris

Chanel uses bows and ribbons to “add an accent to the package design, something a little extra that enhances the imagery and finishes the package,”says Jim Detwieler, executive director of package development for Chanel USA.

Color and style are dictated by the color of the box and the bows and ribbons change with each season — spring and holiday — according to Diane Hladick, package engineer for Chanel.

In keeping with Chanel’s global packaging strategy, ribbons are now developed in Paris. “It’s definitely a plus as seen in sell-through to have a consistent global image,”stresses Detwieler.

Baby Phat Goddess Goes Glam

Launched for Holiday 2005 by Coty, the Baby Phat Goddess fragrance bottle wears a collar that can be removed and worn as a ring, and is styled after Baby Phat founder Kimora Lee Simmons’ own wedding band. “And the faceted bottle is modeled after her rare Asscher-cut diamond — a brilliant reflection of the power of glamour,”says Khadeja Linton, senior marketing manager at Coty US, LLC.

Dolce by Designer Skin flirts with a feather boa accenting the bottle.

Kimora Lee Simmons began Baby Phat as a hip-hop fashion brand in 1998 with baby tees that quickly grew to a complete sportswear collection. Goddess is the brand’s first fragrance.

“Goddess is in the top 20, according to NPD (for retail sales Jan. 1-21),” Linton says. “We had a great gift set that was fur-lined. It was over-the-top. The tester unit for the counter was embellished with fur and a string of faux diamonds. We were going for a lot of ‘bling’ aimed at the 16- to 24-year-old woman with an urban glam mindset.”

New Baby Phat beauty projects will also capitalize on the idea of collectibles attached to the product. “We’ll be doing a special promotion for Goddess this spring,” adds Linton. “Goddess isn’t only for its core demographic. Goddess is for any woman who believes she’s a goddess.”

Independent Brands Use Accents to Create Image

Like most spas, Spa Gregories, a full-service day spa located in Newport Beach, CA, offers gift certificates. But the look and feel of these certificates makes receiving one a unique experience, according to Angela Cortright, Spa Gregories’ owner and principal. The certificates are velum parchments, fragrance-infused and mounted with a ribbon on a paper card decorated with a fine, ornamental border. The card is then enclosed in heavyweight, handmade paper envelope that incorporates various leaves and petals. The envelope is wrapped in a ribbon and closed with a wax-look seal embossed with Spa Gregories initials.

“The certificates have been very successful for us,” says Cortright. “They communicate that Spa Gregories is special and help us get a client into the spa. We sell between 4,000 and 6,000 certificates (per year).”

Cortright notes that the seal is now plastic, but looks just like a wax seal and works better, because the real wax seals would often crack before the envelopes were opened and these don’t. “I used to make the seals myself in my kitchen and, after many man hours and burns, was happy to find Stoffel Seals to create the SG seals,” she says.

Designer Skin, a sun products’ brand based in Tempe, AZ, strives to provide vibrant, striking and eye-catching packaging, according to Beth Romero, vice president of the company. “We are always searching for creative ‘spins’ on typical packaging concepts in order to set ourselves apart from our competitors.We have found that by using tactile, dimensional elements in our design we can achieve that goal,” says Romero.     

“We have utilized fun, innovative items such as corsets, feather boas or beautiful seals on our bottles to enhance the overall packaging. The beautiful ribboned, embossed seal on our Spellbound bottle instantly takes the packaging to the next level,” she adds. The accessories are also a way to add fun and personality to the concepts.  Stoffel embossed the seal with “Mia Mistura,” which means Mia’s Blend, Mia being Romero’s newborn daughter’s name. She notes that customers have called the company for its meaning. “It adds to each product’s story. We have found tremendous success with packaging concepts of this nature.”

Designer Skin has created the Boutique Bronzing Ambiance collection, a line of products that specifically have this type of tactile, dimensional packaging.

New Ways to Sparkle

Austrian Swarovski Crystals, suppliers of cut crystal for more than a hundred years, is helping many beauty marketers to create packaging that is differentiated — the more sophisticated and different the better, according to a company spokesperson. The company has developed a new way to add the sparkle of genuine Swarovski crystal to packaging and paper. Dubbed Crystal-It, this product range consists of crystal appliqués that easily adhere to paper and cardboard using a special glue with better adhesion qualities.

While historically fragrance packaging was the leading category to make use of Swarovski’s dazzling products, there are now many color cosmetics from large multi-nationals as well as smaller, less well-known brands, that are increasingly using packaging as the hook, drawing customers in with outrageous designs and intriguing presentations. Some brands that are using Swarovski’s crystals include Vera Wang, Michael Kors, Lancome, Christian Dior, Thierry Mugler, Lolita Lempicka, Helena Rubenstein, MAC and Guerlain.

Swarovski anticipates increased demand from the fragrance industry, especially for the numerous celebrity scents, such as fantasy, the new Britney Spears fragrance. The fantasy bottle glitters with pale green Swarovski crystals symbolizing Britney’s powerful charm, while the neck wears a ring with an interlocking pattern, embellished with matching Swarovski stones.

Prettied Up in Ribbons and Bows

Often seen topping boxes and cartons or enclosing gift set wrapping, ribbons and bows are also used to add a fashion accessory to some primary packages.

Spa Gregories uses a seal on its gift certificates.

Fashion Ribbon, based in Long Island City, NY, supplies bows and ribbons to many beauty companies, according to Barry Berger, national sales manager. A part of the Fashion Group Worldwide, Fashion Ribbon has manufacturing facilities in China and Guatemala.

“The bows and ribbons are used especially for gift sets that are offered around Mother’s Day and Christmas,”Berger notes.

Berger explains that bows are made with either a wrap-around ribbon, a rubber band or a twist-tie, to be attached to either the primary or secondary package.     

“Because gift sets are as much as 40 percent of a beauty company’s business, making the packaging stand out is critical,”he stresses. Currently, “upscale lines of fragrance are using a lot of organza ribbon, as well as satins and grosgrain ribbons. The same ribbon is mainly used for the box and bow,” he adds.

Fashion Ribbon has a designer on staff, who works with beauty marketers. “They come to us with an idea of what they want. Then our designer will make up several design options from which to choose.

“There’s a theory in retail that 70 percent of all purchases are made on impulse. So it’s vital that the package have immediate appeal. Some marketers have their names printed on the ribbon. We can produce rolls of the ribbon and then it is sent to the retailers, where it is used to dress up custom gift sets,” he says.

For marketers that want just a touch of embellishment, stretch loops are popular and inexpensive, Berger adds.

Color is key in ribbon and bows, according to Dan Schwartzbach, vice president of sales (gift division) for Papillon Ribbon & Bow, NYC. “In 2004 and 2005, brown shades, especially café au lait, were popular,” Schwartzbach says.

Demand for Papillon’s ribbons is fairly steady from the beauty business because, “When business is tight, some companies will drop accents to save, while others will add embellishments for greater appeal on-counter,” he notes.  Some department stores buy ribbons independently and add the ribbon at the store level to make the packages stand out.

Schwartzbach adds that in the mass market, cost is the first consideration and, while Papillon does have some big box customers, they will generally spend $.01 to $.02 per package while the accent ribbons for high end products will be $.05 to $.06 each.

Some fragrances, such as the Sarah Jessica Parker’s Lovely are also using ribbons as scent strips. Schwartzbach says, “We provided the same ribbon used on the package cut into strips to be used as scent samples.”

Seals and Medallions

Stoffel pieces have been used by bath and body, fine fragrance and scented candle companies to produce the final touch, says Tina Henry, divisional manager at Stoffel Seals. These finishing touch items can be metal or plastic, and can be supplied with a ribbon or cord attached.

Cast pieces with intricate detail, as well as embossed aluminum charms, are in greater demand, while soft pewter and soft PVC have a lot of potential as materials for seals and medallions. Styling for Stoffel’s seals is as diverse as its clientele. “Many products are 100 percent custom,” says Henry. “As long as the concept is within the parameters of our manufacturing capabilities, anything can be created.”

“You only have one chance to make a first impression. ‘Wow’ your customers at the point of purchase and create something truly distinctive,” Henry says.

Over the Rainbow

A marketer only has a few seconds to catch the consumer’s eye as she passes the beauty counter or aisle, reiterates Sam McElree, product manager graphics for Kurz Transfer Products, Charlotte, NC. Kurz supplies metallized stamping foils in gold, silver and a variety of colors as well as other eye-catching optical effects to enhance primary packages as well as boxes and cartons.

Light Line is a collection of holographic designs that can be stamped on cartons, applied to bottles or pressure sensitive labels, according to McElree. “Light Line can also be done on a plastic or paper hang tag. Kurz has 50 to 75 patterns, large- to small-scale, depending on the application. Laser, which produces a complete rainbow effect, is very popular,” he explains. McElree adds, “The biggest advantage is that it shows movement. And once you can get the consumer to pick up the product, there’s a good chance she’ll buy it.”