The Fragrance Foundation (TFF) Awards were celebrated virtually on September 10. The Packaging of the Year Award recognizes the special skillset required to design, develop, and produce fragrance packaging on time and under budget—while combining beauty with functionality. Marketing teams collaborate with designers, development, engineering experts, and suppliers to ensure a fragrance bottle conveys the right message about what’s inside.

Instead of the usual two, there are three Packaging of the Year winners this year—Women’s, Men’s and Universal. TFF’s new Packaging Universal Award recognizes the many fragrances that are unisex, leading the gender-neutral trend.

Wes Gordon, creative director, Carolina Herrera, announced the packaging winners during the event. (The Carolina Herrera Good Girl Parfum won the Breakout Star award, see it on BeautyPackaging.com). Before announcing the winners and congratulating the finalists, Gordon said, “Just like you can’t judge a book by its cover, you can’t judge a fragrance by its bottle. Or can you? Packaging conveys volumes about both the fragrance of the juice within, and the personality of the wearer.”

The winners this year have lots of personality—and they are designed to instantly convey a message about the juice, and the type of person who might want to wear it. 

The Winners: A Juice Box, A Crown and An Apothecary Bottle

Luxe Brands and Cosmopolitan are celebrating—Eau De Juice Pure Sugar is the Women’s Packaging of the Year winner. The innovative, patented design is by Joshua English and Aleks Hadden, co-founders and creative directors at Brooklyn-based Powershovel Creative.

Noreen Dodge, chief marketing officer of Luxe Brands, accepted the award on behalf of Luxe Brands, and thanked English and Hadden, calling them creative geniuses. “I would also like to thank our incredible partners at Hearst,” she added. The sweet fruity fragrance, by Firmenich and perfumer Clément Gavarry, includes strawberry, pink grapefruit, plum blossom, pink pepper, jasmine sambac and praline.

Fit for a king, K by Dolce & Gabbana is the Men’s Packaging of the Year winner—and this bottle’s glistening crown-shaped cap is handcrafted. Each is unique, and overlaid with particles of 24-carat gold, and then individually aged to a distinct patina.

Robin Mason, Shiseido Americas, accepted the award. “The intricacy of this design captures the artistry that is so evident in every aspect of the brand. Each handcrafted cap is a unique crown…and tops a strikingly contemporary bottle—mirroring the sophisticated, modern essence of the fragrance it holds.” Patchouli, cedarwood, pimento, Sicilian lemon, and blood orange are the Mediterranean woody fragrance’s key notes.

Gucci The Alchemist’s Garden, The Eyes of the Tiger Eau De Parfum by Coty and Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michele is The Fragrance Foundation’s first-ever Universal Packaging of the Year winner.

Coty’s Frederic Arbel senior vice president of U.S. Marketing Luxury, accepted the award, and explained, “With The Alchemist’s Garden we reimagined the art of fragrance-making with a luxury collection of scents that each tell the story of a place, a moment or a season. The bottle design is inspired by things you would find on the wooden shelves of a vintage apothecary— and features gold lettering, decoration and animal symbols, on white lacquered glass with classic stoppers.”

The fragrance has a warm amber base, blended with woody Ciste resin and a hint of Vanilla.

Congratulations to all the winners and finalists!