Becca: The New Brand in Town

An upscale designer line puts the accent on a sensual, natural look.

Coming up with packaging that stands out in a sophisticated crowd is never easy.

Rebecca Morrice Williams, an Australian-born makeup artist, was motivated to de­velop her own makeup line when she couldn’t find the “perfect” foundation. Based in Perth, Australia, it took her six years to create Becca, a full range of foundations, concealers, pressed and loose powders as well as lip and eye products to complement the fairest to the darkest skin complexions.

Williams’ goal was to craft a color cosmetics line that would give the appearance of naturally flawless skin. Products may be layered or used alone to create just the right amount of coverage.

This past fall, Becca was launched in the U.K. at Space NK and Harvey Nichols stores. Becca then had an ex­clusive U.S. roll out at Bergdorf Good­man in January. The line currently consists of 17 cosmetic products and 16 makeup brushes.

Founder Williams realized that the packaging had to be the first line of communication about the brand. The packaging was created by in-house designer, Ben Duncalf, according to Williams, who said, “He worked in collaboration with me and was perfectly able to interpret my very clear vision for the packaging.”

That vision included a unique color to represent the range. Williams noted, “It would have been all too easy to pick black, white, clear or blue. The unique brown color took months to develop as it had to be the perfect modern-look­­ing brown that would look fantastic with the stainless steel, not an old fashioned kind of brown. And, being an earthy, natural co­lor, brown re­presents the makeup lines’ philosophy, which promotes ex­tremely natural looking makeup and uses very neutral colors.”

A textural element was also important. Becca combines soft touch elements with stainless steel for a contrast in sight and touch. But, Williams pointed out, “The soft-touch process also altered the color significantly and this was another hurdle to overcome. We thought that the brown was softer, more modern and more feminine looking with the stainless steel than black.”

Like the chosen shade of brown, the metallic elements work on several levels, according to Williams. She ex­plained, “The embossed, brushed stainless steel represents a kind of utilitarian luxury. The metal gives the package weight and contrasts beautifully with the rubberized finish of the plastic. We think it looks jewel-like in a kind of non-glitzy way.”

The finished packaging is a perfect reflection of the Becca concept. It is stylish but unassuming and luxurious but not flashy.

More information on Becca can be found at www.beccacosmetics.com.