Artful Beauty Solutions

Even for everyday items, it’s all in the design detail.

By Jonathan Ford, Pearlfisher

“2009 will be about the survival of the fittest in the beauty industry. Consumers are going to demand real value for money as well as visible results, and they will stick to the select number of brands they can really trust.”— Nica Lewis, head consultant, Mintel Beauty Innovation [and a member of Beauty Packaging’s board of advisors]. (Source: www.mintel.com)

As we approach the end of the year, these words still ring true as brands fight for a share of the beauty purse. I am sure that many consumers are still finding the budget—regardless of circumstance—for trusted brand favorites such as a signature lipstick or maybe a salon brand shampoo. But what about the cosmetic bag staples that we take for granted because they are always there? What about nail files, tweezers, eyelash curlers…? In terms of cost-effective opportunities to put the brand in the hand, more and more names that we know and love are realizing that the new opportunity lies in consolidating what they already have. And they are now branding and “beauty-fying” our cosmetic bag staples to make them so much more than just ordinary and everyday.

More than a Name

A sponge takes on new dimension when it’s artfully designed and structurally perfect.

But it’s not just about stamping your brand name on any item you manufacture. Own brands, such as Boots in the UK, have alwaysbeen very methodical—and shrewd—about maximizing the branding on their own-brand products and the primary and secondary packaging. And why wouldn’t they? We trust their heritage and expertise in providing us with, for example, a certain standard of basic tool or applicator, and they can (usually) undercut on price as design and manufacturing costs are not such a significant factor.

The more dedicated beauty retailers, such as Space NK and Sephora, have always been hugely successful in designing premium-looking and stylish own-brand ranges and do successfully charge more for this pleasure—and, of course, for their name. But, price differentials aside, at the end of the day, it comes down to the fact that we are being offered an identical pair of nail scissors with either the Boots or the Space NK name embossed. But even Space NK and Sephora are appreciating that it’s now about so much more than just trading on their name. Each and every brand now has to work so much harder to attract the buyer to buy and to stand out against both the own brand and the branded competition. And for the everyday items, it’s all in the design detail.

By and large, a sponge is just a sponge. That is, of course, until it is a beautifully branded and designed sponge. Sephora’s Precision Sponge is “inspired by professional make-up artists” with a large surface area so that there is room for concealer, foundation and color to be applied together with the one sponge, and a rounded tip for precision blending. Structurally, it is a gem. The Sephora name is not evident on either the sponge itself or its packaging. The graphic design detail is in the carved-out Sephora “S” in the center of the sponge, which makes it ownable and unique. Grooming tools and cosmetic applicators are all about providing the finishing touches, and the Sephora Precision Sponge delivers on every level.

Tweezerman brings art to tweezing with its Agatha Ruiz de la Prada slant tweezers series.

Small, but Beautifully Formed

The brand labels, too, are rising to the challenge and moving ahead as they design their next incarnation. Tweezerman is the undisputed master of branding in the grooming world, and has owned the brow category seemingly from the beginning. Brows are now bigger business than ever before with more kits, brushes and colors on offer. And so, not to rest on their branded laurels, Tweezerman has just brought out its Agatha Ruiz de la Prada slant tweezers as part of a new designer series. Spanish designer Agatha Ruiz de la Prada is feted the world over for her original and brightly colored designs featuring motifs of moons, stars, suns or hearts, and these new tweezers are adorned with gorgeously avant-garde magenta hearts. And that’s not all. As part of this special edition series, the tweezers come in a white leather case with matching colorful packaging—a completely designed experience from start to finish that works because it also successfully marries the quirky nature of two top designers in their field.

Tweezerman’s product name is cute and catchy, and tells you all you need to know about the size of the files.

But Tweezerman’s talents don’t stop there. While not at the top of the nail care tree like Opi or Nails Inc., Tweezerman has simultaneously brought out its Tweezerman Matchbox Itty Bitty Files. The Tweezerman brand name implicitly conveys the quality of the product (reinforced by the fact that the files have a top quality 240/180 grit ratio for shaping and smoothing), while the product name is cute and catchy and tells you all you need to know about the size of the files. The matchbox case is perfect for any purse and designed to protect both the files and the purse. The graphics are tough but cute with a sassy skull and crossbones repeated motif, which gives a mere nod to the “girly” with a pink bow adorning the skull—truly nail files to be noticed.

What we need to remember is that unlike, say, in fragrance, there is not a lot of scope for designing new structures and materials. And so, therefore, it does all come down to the design

Tarte’s Picture Perfect Curlers are defined by glittery, purple silicone pads, which form the grip.

detail and how, aside from the brand name, the brand personality can be conveyed. Take your basic eyelash curler…

Yes, they’ve done it again. I am very aware that this is turning into the Tweezerman show, but hopefully this should act as a call to action to brands to get in there quickly before Tweezerman completely holds the monopoly. Take a regular chrome eyelash curler, color it an über glam rose gold and voilá it stands out on shelf. A few other brands are realizing how they can adopt color with Sephora, giving their Sephora Brand curlers a red colored grip, while Tarte is different again. Tarte’s Picture Perfect Curlers are defined by glittery, purple silicone pads, which form the grip. Although they are more girly and glittery than anything that’s out there, the pads also make them the only ergonomically correct curler on the block.

Everything but the Kitchen Sink

But once you’ve colored, re-sized, branded and adorned the everyday items in—or added more beautifully designed everyday essentials to—your portfolio, what and where next? The problem is not just putting your name to everything, but actually thinking about what people will actually need and use, and the relevance of these products to the master brand. It’s back to not necessarily extending the brand portfolio but carefully consolidating it.

Harajuku Lovers has brought out two limited edition collections this past summer: The Harajuku Lovers Summer of Love Collection and the Harajuku I Love Ice Cream Collection. Not new fragrance dolls, but two different collections of gorgeously cute bags for toting your beauty essentials—with every shape and size from brush cases and clutches to an organizer and a travel bag. With the initial dolls and fragrances inspired by the eclectic street scenes of the Harajuku shopping district in Tokyo, what could be more relevant than a range of fun, quirky, bright and “look at me” bags featuring the Harajuku icons for carrying around all those beauty essentials.

Harajuku Lovers made the most of its adorable icons with a series of cosmetic bags.

Making the Everyday Special

br> The message here is to look for ways to make the everyday special by being more creative with what you already have—or could have. It’s not just putting the brand in the hand, but making the brand more eye-catching and desirable so that we enjoy taking it out and getting pleasure from it time and time again. Most items, such as nail scissors or tweezers, do have a long life, so you need to ensure that people want your nail scissors or tweezers and not those of your competitor. And, don’t forget, the better they look, the prouder we feel, the prouder and more confident we feel, the more likely we are to use them in public and that will attract attention from others. It’s time to invest in artful beauty solutions.br>