Online Exclusive— Limited Edition: An Expression of a New Individualism in Beauty

Sophie Maxwell, Insight Director at Pearlfisher, discusses how the limited edition or one off is the ideal vehicle for expressing a shift towards a new individualism in luxury beauty brands.

by Sophie Maxwell

Today, we’re seeing a shift in how luxury beauty brands present their story. The luxury beauty market is

The challenge is on to bring originality and fantasy back, to renew luxury beauty brand’s vigor.

reacting against a period of democratisation by reaching out for new ways to revive its unique attraction. Similarly, Individualism, expressed through branding and design, represents a key shift in how we see beauty. We are seeing the shift from a classic ideal to attractions through quirky imperfections and luxury brands are celebrating individuality and drawing emphasis to this through their limited edition products.

The challenge is on to bring originality and fantasy back, to renew a luxury beauty brand’s vigor and also to relate to the new consumer who has become master of her own style. One way in which beauty brands can do this is through a limited edition or one off product. The limited edition gives beauty brands the opportunity to express new facets to their identity and embrace new moods. Let’s take a closer look and see how certain, subtly different approaches open the floodgates of creativity, for a new, less confined and more lively luxury beauty offering.

In the world of designer beauty brands, creative directors throw their own spin through one off seasonal collections and compacts. Chanel began the limited edition ruse over a decade ago, chiefly drawing on codes and motifs from the archive to create prettily designed highlighting powders and eye shadows, yet always set in the iconic, black lacquer compact. This hasn’t changed, but it recently Chanel has brought on Make Up Creative Director, Peter Philips, and his own imagination is becoming more palpable. The new spring collection for 2012 is based on Philips’ concepts of light and colour at sunrise and sunset. He crystallizes his vision in Blush Horizon de Chanel, a blusher compact made up of pink, peach, silver and magenta stripes.

It’s the combination of a fresh, creative eye with new technologies in packaging, moulding and textures

Guerlain’s illuminating powder compacts with multi-colored spheres have sparked copycats.

that makes for fantastical make-up compacts that yesterday’s make-up collector could only dream of. Take the seasonal reworking of Guerlain’s iconic Météorites illuminating powder compacts – multi-colored spheres, which have sparked copycats, a plenty. For Spring 2012 it has been recast under the direction of make-up director, Olivier Echaudemaison: highlighting powder, pressed into a shimmering floral relief in the shape of a gardenia. Also for spring, Dior has introduced the Dior Garden Clutch, a new limited edition minaudière compact, with eye shadow and lipgloss fitted inside. It draws on the early 20th century tradition of carrying a miniature evening purse designed to fit just rouge and powder.

The story is all in this shift to a more private kind of luxury beauty branding, where symbols and motifs are less prescriptive; less tied to a label’s traditional luxury markers. Where both the brand and the end user are free to pursue freer forms of expression. The one off or the limited edition has always allowed for this, allowing a product design to be potentially limitless in its creative freedom. Similarly, allowing an established brand to embrace an emerging market, with very much its own story.

For Spring, Guerlain’s highlighting powder was recast and pressed in a floral relief in the shape of a gardenia.

Elizabeth Arden is known to have said, “If I were asked to describe the really smart woman, it would be the woman who was most completely herself. The art of modern elegance involves presenting one’s personality to the greatest possible advantage”. And for beauty brands today this sentiment remains true. Differentiating yourself in such a complex and competitive marketplace is increasingly difficult so the stakes have naturally become higher. Today it is important for beauty brands at both ends of the spectrum to be both culturally and individually relevant.