group of white cosmetic containers

Cosmetics Packaging Trends in the Beauty Industry

Beauty and personal care is a crowded and rapidly changing niche. Therefore, to stay ahead of the competition, brands require expert guidance and updates on the latest market trends.

Different cosmetic packaging machines like bottle capping machines and liquid filling machines are now stretched to the limit or incorporated with other machines to meet the market’s current needs.

Initially, the main purpose of product packaging was to ensure that products must be contained in the packet, separated, and prevented from being touched or exposed to the environment.

Packaging must, as a second priority, secure the commodity and stop any physical harm. However, nowadays, new packaging trends also caters to branding, distribution control, and anti-counterfeiting.

Here are the current cosmetic packaging trends in the beauty industry.

 

1. Combining Form and Function

Packaging has been synonymous with the look and forms for a long time. But it continues to be correlated with the function in the mid-2000s, so it brings value to the product.

Packaging requires ease of use and product performance, and for cosmetics, it is crucial. Some unique systems are far more than packaging because they can modify the formulation of the product.

A spray or foam, for example, may change the actual shape of the product. The key concepts are to scatter the droplets with a mist, create a jet, and disperse the particles.

The formation of tiny gas bubbles occurs with the foam. And as gas is suspended in a liquid and effervescence occurs, it may fizz or form bubbles.

For an aerosol, it is certainly something more than just a package. It is a packaging that contains, protects, delivers dosage, and enables product textures to be changed. It also creates new sensations associated with visual and auditory interactions.

An aerosol spray utilizes gas or a mechanical pump mechanism, which can effectively boost the liquid’s distribution on a larger surface (think perfume or sunscreen).

Another smart package, the airless system, provides the formulation with real protection. An airless system is described as a tamper-proof, unpressurized distribution system that combines a manual (mechanical) actuation pump with a container that delivers an air-free substance after filling and closing under vacuum conditions.

Often the formula does not need such a high degree of safety. However, since it is an appealing bottle with a practical applicator, brand marketers still prefer an airless kit because it is fast, stable, and simple to use.

 

2. Helpful Tools

There was an evolution of brushes at first. But there is now a real partnership of tools. Specifically, numerous new beauty items are designed for camouflage, contour, and sculpt.

Brands now produce brushes that conform with a make-up product’s versatility and can be versatile in any position or different shapes, incorporating ergonomics and style. These revolving brushes allow anyone to blend like a professional.

New tool products, including silicone used in different shapes and surfaces (smooths or textured), are also useful. New “all-in-one” devices, including Geka‘s proprietary microbristle applicator system (MBA), allow deposition and application.

For sponges, certain products are now designed for better functionality. Sponges are made to apply products to the skin but now contain make-up. It’s all about providing a cushion experience, a pattern that involves a spongy solution added to the face with a pillow that offers simple and seamless coverage, originating from Asia.

Such products offer multiple functions with the additional benefit of combined sun protection formula (SPF), wrinkle reduction, and antibacterial properties.

 

3. Crossover Ideas

Packaging from multiple fields, including food and pharmacy, offer innovative ideas for the cosmetic industry. With pearl distribution systems that keep several formulations apart to preserve delicate active ingredients, the principle of caviar for cream seems apt.

However, packaging, with often risky concepts, may switch from the food industry to cosmetics. For instance, shampoos that look like a pack of fruit juice or cleansers that mimic whipped cream containers can create frustration, contributing to children’s issues.

Packaging for healthcare is still in trend. Blisters and droppers from pharmaceuticals will add a lot of cosmetics. Droppers offer a lot of new versatility to cosmetics.

For example, a healthy and reliable dosage of drugs is provided by airless droppers, and twin-and-mix droppers help customers reconstitute a formulation before it is used. How does this apply to the cosmetic industry? We are now seeing basic cosmetic patches and nail and eye-liner make-up.

 

4. New Movements

Cosmetics marketers are speaking about their products and their applications differently these days. It applies to new colours, but nail polish patterns are one big evolution in the nail field. Nail art has grown as a true fashion statement and provides suppliers with beneficial seasonal opportunities to produce creative products in this field.

New materials can bring different functionalities to packaging, encouraging users to heat the product right before using or recognizing consumers’ nomadism like a lipstick that opens with one hand or an on-the-go pack that mixes formulations consumers to use them when and how they want.

 

5. Impact of the Digital Era

We live in a digital age, and people have broadly incorporated the internet into their everyday lives. This tremendous evolution of a simpler digital world allows people to see machines as part of their universe, facilitating exchange and information across various fields.

There is also the use of new technologies that change the relationships between brands and customers. Different customized skincare tools allow customers to take charge of their skin.

Smartphone and tablet apps with similar principles: take a picture and apply various hair or different face make-up shades (such as lip gloss or foundation) and test various make-up online.

With new measurement instruments, such as a cosmetic shape memory mask with a sensor that can recognise the amount of face hydration, digital systems can also help customers diagnose their skin. The mask causes a boosting effect on-demand after examination, increasing the formulation’s effect under the mask.

A Nespresso-like cosmetic pump is another device that ingests and blends small capsules with various purposes such as for hydration or anti-ageing into a tailor-made serum. This enables users, based on age and skin specificity, to personalize their care.

3D printing can be used as a modern way to manufacture either make-up or packaging for producing make-up. Still, with digitalization, there are a lot of possibilities in the near future.

 

In a Nutshell

The cosmetic industry is a genuinely creative field that is constantly in motion to boost its users’ confidence while providing fantasies and pleasures by creating a perfect world of beauty. 

Preserving and enhancing our beauty is vital in our image-centric world. It is a challenge that has been so successful partly because of the innovative packaging trends in the beauty industry and the advancement of technology, including the invention of various cosmetic packaging machines, such as bottle capping machines and liquid filling machines.