Wet ’n Wild Debuts Line in New Packaging

Sleek cases, advanced formulas and cool tools bring an upscale look to a brand known for value.

By Jamie Matusow, Editor

When you make your own molds and manufacture all your own products in China, as Markwins International, owner ofWet ’n Wild does, it gives you a lot of flexibility and a lot of options. Add an innovative packaging design team to the mix, and it’s no wonder that the 30-year-old brand’s expansive new line of revamped products hits the mark for its targeted 18-34 year-old consumers. (The brand’s largest demo, 42%, falls into the 24-44 year-old age group.)

From eyeshadow to nail polish, simple, streamlined, mostly black-and-clear compacts and bottles provide an upscale look to the very affordable line.

Anita Jennison, marketing director, Markwins Beauty Products, explains that the value brand wanted to add quality to its perception. “We wanted to put a visible emphasis on the products, and knew that the focus had to be on the packaging,” says Jennison. When market research showed that consumers equate black with quality and prestige, she says that’s the direction that guided them away from their previous emphasis on silver packaging. “And,” she adds, “black is compatible with all shades of color.”

Jennison says that Wet ’n Wild eliminated any “overpackaging” they had used and, instead, put their resources into formulas and tools that would add value for consumers.

The Wet ’n Wild redesign/launch affects about 70 products, including eyeshadows, mascaras, lipsticks and nail colors. “Some of these launches were improvements made to existing franchises,” notes Jennison, “but in most cases, we created completely new franchises in order to compete with the highly competitive market.”

Jennison says that Wet ’n Wild designers were guided by words such as simple, sleek, chic, fast-forward and slim-lined, and were inspired by brands such as Chanel, Lancôme and Shiseido. She says they adapted most of the new products to feature a clear plastic top that showcases color with a black bottom for a contemporary design, similar to prestige packaging.

Color Icon eyeshadows are housed in square (one-color; $1.99) and rectangular (multiple shades) cases. A swirl is embossed into each single-pan eyeshadow to add depth and appeal. Larger palettes (three to six shades) feature easy-to-carry, slimline cases, “similar to a BlackBerry,” says Jennison.

All eyeshadows boast a new formula that includes a jet-milled base and silicone technology to allow for hours of crease-resistant, longwearing, stay-true color.

A shadow collection, which features three complementary shades for a defining look, actually has the instructional words browbone, crease and eyelid embossed into the shadow for easy application ($2.99). A fourth pan holds not only the common sponge applicator that accompanies many value brands, but also an eyeshadow contour brush, not often found in inexpensive drugstore brands.

Cases are safety sealed, and labels attached to the backs can be peeled open for ingredient listings and how-to instructions. An additional wraparound sticker touts NEW.

To illustrate the further beauty of owning its own manufacturing plants, a custom technique was developed in which the brand name is debossed on the back of the molded compact cover, for a three-dimensional look on the front.

The Slant on Color

A slope configuration highlights Wet ’n Wild’s new lipsticks and nail polishes. Lipsticks, in 20 shades, feature a slanted bullet visible through a clear, plastic top capping a black tube. The one-stroke, longwearing, matte-colored lipsticks cost $2.99.

Chip-resistant nail polish, at $1.99, is said to last five days. The bottle’s polished black plastic cap draws attention with its subtle slope.

Lash Out

The highlight of the collection, says Jennison, is the mascara franchise, which includes options for volumizing, lengthening and coloring—“all great competitors in the market—and all under $4.”

Megaplump, for instance, promises up to five times the volume of your natural lash. (For a package design story on another Wet ’n Wild mascara, Lash Intense, please see sidebar below.)

A blusher, bronzer and other products are also available.

Along with the product changes, Wet ’n Wild is also unveiling a brand-new tagline: “Glamorous everyday. Fabulous everyway.” The products, priced from $.99 to $5.99, reach shelves in February.

Wet ’n Wild Plumps Up Design Value

Thanks to creativity, an inexpensive mascara takes on a luxe look—and a sustainable philosophy.

These days, perceived value often holds the key to consumers’ purse strings. When Steve Corsi, director of design development at Markwins International, set out to design the packaging for Wet ’n Wild’s Lash Intense mascara package, his objective was to fashion a custom, well-functioning product within a budget framework, and have it stand out from popular, but higher-priced competitors such as Cover Girl and Maybelline. To achieve this, he first decided to develop a rubber applicator that would include separate comb and brush sides.

He then incorporated an indicator design that would quickly show the consumer which side of the brush was which, even when it was covered in mascara. Based on a packaging structure he had been experimenting with, Corsi used the inner thread/rod molding’s outer surface (normally unseen) to an advantage. It became a decorative element—showing through a clear overcap that not only makes it easy to locate the comb, but also adds to the sculpted shape and the more upscale look. “This creates the illusion that there are more parts than there actually are,” explains Corsi.

The indicator aligns with a lens, which was designed into the outer cap assembly. This is aligned with locators in the cap and inner thread molding. The brush is designed with the locator, and is then slotted into a keyway in the rod. With this system, the comb of the brush easily lines up with the cap’s indicator/lens when assembled. The lens in the cap not only adds a 3D effect to the internal decoration, but also gives tactile feedback to the user in addition to visual feedback as to where the comb is situated on the mascara brush. The user can actually see where the indicator is as she is using the brush.

A screen print on the top of the clear cap completes the illusion by covering the top surface of the inner thread molding, which is then finished with a hot stamped Wet ’n Wild logo.

All Bottled Up

Wet ’n Wild’s Lash Intense mascara package boasts many positive features.

The main decoration is shiny silver hot stamp (which could be replaced with numerous decorations) on the matte purple tube. The temporary throwaway cap was designed to fit the faceted aesthetics of the main cap.

Voila! A mascara package that presents a value statement while limiting the amount of materials used to achieve it.

Not only does the package look good, Corsi believes the product is a perfect example of today’s sustainability thinking. “As a designer,” he says, “I am heavily influenced by the environmental design school of thought. I believe that this type of “illusion” design will become more and more popular as actual materials and costs need to be reduced.”