That Extra Touch

Gems, jewels, ribbons and bows in luxe packaging catch the eye and add value.

By Ava Caridad, Editor

If a product is good, does it really need catchy packaging? Of course! Consumers need to notice a product before they can purchase it and develop brand loyalty. And packaging with certain embellishments can be a very effective method of attracting shoppers’ attention, for a variety of reasons.

Ribbon Connections, San Leandro, CA

“An additional decoration really works when there is a message that it reinforces,” says Tina Perez, vice president of marketing, Wet n Wild. “It is also a fun ‘extra’ that helps to make people feel even better about their purchase.”  
    
Bettina Garber, president and founder of Just Good For You, LLC, Hawthorne, NJ, agrees.

“Customers are looking for additional ‘treats.’ Adornments add more value to the product, and give the purchaser satisfaction even after taking it home.”
    
Emmanuela Albert, global design director, fragrance, Estée Lauder, believes adornments bring animation to a counter, catching a passing consumer’s eye, and bringing them to the counter for a closer look and hopefully a purchase.
    
Michael T. Flynn, director of marketing, MNC Stribbons, Miami, FL, a manufacturer of tassels, pouches, stretch loops, raffia and hang tags, explains that the design department at MNC Stribbons frequently incorporates charms, crystals and gems into a finished product, particularly when a hand tied bow, custom sewn bag or tassel is used to adorn a luxury product.     
    
“The addition of these items to packaging for personal care products is frequently helpful in enhancing the perceived value of the product or emphasizing a marketing theme, which can ultimately aid in its sale,” he says.
    
And while minimalism has its place, for instance on simple or more sophisticated items, Perez points out that unique adornments can add that something extra to help to sell the more colorful, impulse items. And while bling is in, she also observes that there can be a fine line between a little “extra touch” and effects that are “totally tacky.”
    
“Everything in moderation works,” says Perez, “and when you add something like a ‘jewel’ to just a few items, they stand out more and attract attention. They become a ‘shiny bit’ that attracts the eye rather than one of a multitude that can be overwhelming.”
    
Glyn Eppy, principle, TheDesignSpot, New York, NY, agrees.
    
“What I find interesting about finishing touches is that they can also be quite subtle. Some adornments just add or evoke a sense of quality. Sometimes a simple label or carton can be just the perfect finishing touch.”

Wrap It With a Bow

Ribbons in personal care packaging have never gone out of style. Fads in color, size and material come and go, but the essential, classic appeal of decorative ribbon is persistent. According to Eppy, ribbons are feminine and sexy, and can add a sense of extra luxury to a package.
    
Barry Berger, national sales manager, Fashion Ribbon Co., Long Island City, NY, concedes that ribbons are an inexpensive way of decorating a personal care package.     
    
“In the 30 seconds we have [to get] the end user’s attention at retail, we want to get them to look at our product. Decoration gets their attention,” he emphasizes.
    
Flynn of MNC Stribbons agrees. “Ribbons and bows add a low cost, finishing touch to any package. With many products available to the consumer, product differentiation makes a huge difference at retail. The product that stands out from the crowd makes the cut. It also adds a personal touch to a consumer package…nothing can replace the special feeling you get when you unwrap a package.”
    

The Papillon coffret from Cosfibel uses ribbons and a butterfly charm for a delicate effect.

So what’s new with the old standard? Flynn believes that glitter ribbon and textured ribbon, along with stretch satins and stretch grosgrains (ribbon), are becoming more fashionable for high-end personal care packaging. MNC Stribbons’ Duality double face satin and Duality grosgrain ribbons in bright contrasting colors have been popular sellers.
    
Juston Lin, marketing coordinator, Ribbon Connections, San Leandro, CA, concurs.
    
“Our nylon stretch satin loops and bows are a crossover from the garment industry,” he explains. The functionality of stretch ribbons in the making of clothes has been adapted to meet the needs of the gift packaging market. The stretch satin bow loops are easy to apply to a box, making them less labor intensive and popular with manufacturers and retailers. On the flip side, stretch ribbons are easy for the consumer to remove and reuse, creating the feeling of a keepsake, more so than a disposable piece of packaging.
     
Whether adorning a package or given as a reward, something as simple as ribbon has always created a feeling of importance, insists Lin.
    
“Ribbon can add a feeling of classical beauty to any ordinary box or bottle, and the term ‘blue ribbon’ has come to be connoted with the best.”
Another reason ribbons are such a popular packaging choice is their relatively low expense. Fashion Ribbon contends that by producing bows in their China factory, they can control costs to the customer. MNC Stribbons also owns and operates two factories in China, and cites not only cost, but convenience as a benefit.
    
“Having invested in China since 1988, management has developed strong relationships with its partners to minimize the customer’s risk of supply chain disruption,” explains Flynn. “In 2006, we opened our second factory to satisfy the demand for our products. We are owners, not brokers or traders, utilizing contract manufacturers, which allows us to control the quality and delivery of the product.”  

Petals, Pearls and Loops

It’s not all ribbons and bows. Just Good For You uses silk rose petals and freshwater pearls to decorate and connote the theme of “Pearls-Rubies-Roses,” a luxurious wellness line incorporating finely ground freshwater pearls, rubies and the light fragrance of wild roses.
    

Just Good For You adorns gift sets with ribbon and rose petals.

Bettina Garber explains “Pearls-Rubies-Roses is a luxurious wellness collection from Germany with the alluring fragrance of freshly cut wild roses. What would better emphasize the line than silk rose petals? The pink silk ribbon compliments the handmade box and adds to the elegant look of the gift set. When opening the gift book people already get the feeling they will experience something special, elegant and luxurious. We use the finest ingredients for our products so we decided to go with the finest packaging adornments available to present our collection.”
    
The latest coffrets from French package supplier Cosfibel are designed to be used as keepsakes once the product is finished. According to Karen Vogt, creation department, Mandalay Design (a Cosfibel Group subsidiary), the packs are inspired by the fashion industry, and mix materials, adding charms, ribbons, tassels, loops and jewels.
    
“Technical innovations allow for a lot of [design] possibilities that give the packs fun colors, a very feminine touch and sex appeal,” Vogt told Beauty Packaging.
    
Berger explains that customers who want a minimal decoration can use something as inexpensive as a stretch loop to give a product a touch of class. In addition to ribbons and bows, the company also provides tassels, pouches, hang tags, charms, crystals, gems and raffia, a decorative cord made from the fiber of an African palm tree (Raphia ruffia).
    

Axilone Plastique provides the cap, collar and decorative drop for Antidote from Viktor & Rolf.

Axilone Plastique provided the polypropylene cap and collar for Antidote, the latest men’s fragrance from Viktor & Rolf. The cap’s brightness is due to the poly-glass treatment of the mould. The cap was manufactured into two pieces in order to avoid any shrink mark, while the collar sports a drop that spreads out to the shoulders of the bottle and runs down the front.

Charmed, I’m Sure

Another adornment gaining momentum in luxury packaging is charms. Juicy Couture, always one for adding considerable glam to their branding, continues that trend by adding charms to the neck of their fragrance bottle.
    
C+N Packaging is a supplier for five items of the new Juicy Couture fragrance line created by Liz Claiborne Cosmetics: the closures for the 1.7- and 3.4oz. eau de parfum, the 1oz parfum, the collar and assembly of the giant parfum, as well as the outer package and assembly of the 5.1 fl oz. body sorbet.
    
Designed to look like large crystal clear jewels, the “oversized” caps are molded in surlyn. The die cast collar provides maximum weight in a minimal amount of space and is bright nickel electroplated. Charm necklaces around the collars complete the luxurious closures.
    

The ornamental Your Secret Luxury multi-use palette from YSL adds fun and glamour.

TheDesignSpot recently completed a fragrance project called Love, Chic Baby, wherein they added tiny pink and blue cat’s eye stone hearts to the fragrance inside the bottles. Debuting last year was YSL’s Your Secret Luxury multi-usage palette—a golden chain adorned with three small charms that are actually engraved compacts containing a multi-purpose highlighter for eyes and face, lip rouge and lip gloss. Similarly, Dior introduced Dior Pretty Charm—a couture inspired heart charm locket with one shade each of lipstick and gloss.

Bejeweled Bottles

Similar to, and often accompanying, charms are fake “jewels,” and they are being seen more and more on cosmetic packaging.
    
“We see it now on many products,” notes Eppy, “using crystals to add ‘bling’ to everything from lip gloss to nail polish packaging.”         

Wet n Wild is a sparkling example. It’s Diamond Brilliance Moisturizing Lip Sheen has faux diamonds built into the packaging and has names such as Baby’s Got Bling, A Girl’s Best Friend, 10 Carats for Bunny, Shannon’s Shiny Bit, Tamara’s Tiara and Rachel’s Rocks. Their Rock Solid Nail Lacquer has an enormous “diamond” built into the top of the cap.
    
According to Tina Perez, the diamond jewel on the top was a good way to clearly reinforce and demonstrate the benefits of both items.     
    
“The Wet n Wild Rock Solid polish actually contains diamond particles to add strength, and both Diamond Brilliance and Rock Solid are highly reflective,” she comments. “There is really something different about the formula and adding these extra touches helps to strengthen and impart that message.”
    
“I think we’ll continue to see lots of shine,” states Eppy, “whether with shiny metal finishes or with crystal stones.”

Reviving a Classic

Estée Lauder and Tom Ford recently updated EL’s iconic Youth Dew fragrance.
    
“For me, Youth Dew is an iconic scent,” says Ford. “It is the scent that built the house of Estée Lauder. I took the original Youth Dew fragrance and changed it slightly. I also modernized and streamlined the packaging. When you have a wonderful classic like this, you want to keep it pure and true to its heritage.”
    

The grosgrain ribbon around Lauder’s Youth Dew Amber Nude helps update a classic.

Tom Ford drew his inspiration for Youth Dew Amber Nude from the original Youth Dew bottle, particularly the dramatic fluted glass. Subtle modifications such as straighter, finer flutes were incorporated to convey the new minimalism. The classic nipped waist tied with a gold ribbon, also a signature feature of the original fragrance, was updated with an amber colored grosgrain ribbon. The redesigned cap again features the finely ribbed feature with the special amber cabochon (convex gem) that adorns every product in the Youth Dew line.
    
Estée Lauder’s Emmanuela Albert adds “Youth Dew Amber Nude is a modern day re-interpretation of the original Youth Dew fragrance. In updating the bottle design the ribbon recently was also looked at. The original ribbon was a gold lame ribbon, which in its re-interpretation became a beige grosgrain ribbon.”
    
The outer packaging for each piece in the collection is a luxe two-piece box. The base is made of a gold-wrapped foil, giving it a rich, graceful feeling. Elegantly embossed with the Tom Ford Estée Lauder Collection logo, the top of the box is swathed in a custom amber fabric. The collection includes EDP sprays in both 1- and 2.5oz bottles.

21st Century Appeal

For upcoming trends, designers look to the past for inspiration, says Albert. Beauty packaging from the past used multiple adornments such as neck ties, plaques, labels and pouches, and over-packaging was not considered a bad thing.
    
“All of these elements are luxurious,” she concludes. “Are they needed? Not really, but what they can add to the overall statement of a design is undeniable. Beauty products are a luxury and adornments equal luxury.”
    
Bettina Garber, Just Good For You, also sees a trend back to luxurious and exceptional products that are already packaged and adorned in an eye pleasing way.
    
According to MNC Stribbons’ sales and design professional Allan Morris, there are many types of narrow fabrics on the market today other than traditional ribbon.
    
“The trend is to go more with the non-traditional narrow fabrics [such as] lace, ric rac, twill tapes, natural and paper raffia to name a few. We see the traditional ribbon as well as other narrow fabrics being adorned with ‘bling’ such as beads, charms, crystals and sequin.”
    
Juston Lin of Ribbon Connections adds that cutting down on the time it takes to apply a ribbon in a retail setting has led to uses of elastic and adhesives to make pre-made custom pieces.
    
“An ongoing trend in packaging adornments is to print logos on the ribbon to improve brand image and awareness. The consumer is more likely to keep the ribbon if it has a brand name on it,” he notes.
    
There seems to be no end to the variety and appeal of beauty packaging extras. Exclaims Fashion Ribbons’ Barry Berger, “We like to say the only limitation is your imagination!”