The beauty industry is a force to be reckoned with and its customers are ravenous for every detail, ingredient, and design that makes their coveted brand pop. Beauty products are everywhere you look from media, drugstores, print ads, and of course social media. The label design, packaging label, and cosmetic packaging all play a role in taking the product from the shelf to a happy purchase because people want to feel good about the brand they are investing in.
Beauty Product Labels
You can have the best quality ingredients and products that may never see a healthy ROI because of poor packaging and a less than stellar label. Whether you’re an established beauty brand looking to pivot your label design or a burgeoning beauty brand aiming to cement your space in the industry, we’re going to break down all the details of labeling.
Define Your Beauty Brand
Before you can begin labeling and packaging your product, you need to define your beauty brand to make it stand out from the competition. You want to grab your customer’s attention and show why they need your product. There are a few key components of understanding and defining your brand which begin with your customer, brand personality, and brand focus.
Who Are Your Customers?
Knowing who your customers are is the first step to developing a good marketing strategy, product, and label design that will resonate with them. If your product is for a chic, stylish, professional, 30-something woman, the glitter and neon colors won’t be ideal for your label. In understanding who your customers are and what they want you should be able to define details like their age group, lifestyle, ethnicity, and specialty.
Does your customer purchase her beauty products at a drugstore or department store? Do they prefer a night on the town or brunch? All of these details make up who your customer is and how you are going to grab their attention.
What is Your Beauty Brand’s Personality?
Once you establish your ideal customer, it’s important to establish your own identity. Personality is a fundamental factor in creating your design. We see identity used all the time in major beauty brands like Fenty who wanted to be accessible and inclusive for people of all genders and skin tones. Perhaps you want to target a younger audience so you go with a happy aesthetic vs. a more mature business that wants more edge in their branding. Think of characteristics and emotions that you can attribute to your brand to help define your personality.
What is Your Beauty Brand’s Focus?
Who a brand is, what they stand for, their messaging, and who represents them has become an increasingly multifaceted aspect of beauty brands looking to carve out their own lane, separate from their thousands of competitors. Is your primary focus to sell to salons or individual customers? Are your missions and values established?
All of these factors matter when creating your logo, your production, values, and attitude towards social change. Let’s say you are eco-friendly, then that will be showcased in your brand values, packaging, ingredients, and more. Perhaps a portion of your proceeds get donated to helping fund education, then that has to resonate in all of your packaging and labels. Modern beauty brands sell more than pigmented lipsticks and trendy makeup palettes, it goes much deeper than the blush.
Cosmetic Packaging Label Design
When customers are scouring the shelves for new cosmetics and beauty products the label is often what takes their attention. A person picks up an item, reads the label, and uses that information to determine if they want to purchase or place it back on the shelf. Most beauty customers want to be immediately captivated by a few elements or they’re going to move to the next item on the shelf. Brands want to stay ahead of the competition by creating eye-catching labels that will “wow” at first glance.
This can be determined by the style and design of the label and how it complements the brand’s originality. Are you going to use an attractive image or go with dynamic shapes or bold lettering? You want to be original while also being mindful of trending brands adjacent to yours so you can remain competitive. A few concepts to consider are:
- Minimalism: empty space, elegant font, single colors
- Naturalistic: floral, earthy colors/imagery
- Patterns: polka dots, checkered, chevron
You can also make your packaging label design stand out with custom fonts that evoke your brand messaging whether you are aiming for quirky, luxurious, whimsical, or fun. If you are still in need of inspiration you can use the shape of your packaging and choose containers that fit with your label, which can help you edit and adapt your design to the overall product.
We always recommend using glass instead of plastic because they contain no harmful chemicals, are eco-friendly, and add luxury to your design.
What Should Be On Your Makeup Packaging Label
We’ve discussed the importance of design and branding, but there are crucial elements to include on your label in order to market to the right audience and keep your brand compliant with the FDA. You’ll want to include your ingredients and production methods in order to differentiate yourself from the competition. As customers become more health-conscious and particular about what they put onto their skin, here are a few details you don’t want to skip on your label if they are a part of your brand:
- Organic
- Vegan
- Cruelty-free/Not tested on animals
- Alcohol-free
- Hypoallergenic
- All-natural
You never want to mislead your customer or put any false information on the label, keep it simple and be honest. All of this information is reviewed and monitored by the FDA who has its own beauty product label guidelines with the required information to include such as your contact information and ingredients. Your label design should also include batch numbers that are good for product tracing and highlighting limited stock of an item, which can improve your distribution and manufacturing process.
Make Your Beauty Product Labels Stand Out
The upside to creating your beauty product is that every design detail is in your hands, and that means using the label design to make your brand stand out. Your design should highlight the personality of your brand and include your signature brand colors, voice, & logo. The expansion of beauty packaging and labeling techniques makes it easier to get creative and customize your beauty product with a label that doesn’t have to be a one-size fit all solution.
You can use double-sided labels for clear containers, hanging tags for extra-label space, or a waterproof label. There has even been an advancement in special printing techniques that can make your container look sophisticated with hot foil stamping or embossed labels for a three-dimensional look. These variations are commonly seen in lip gloss tube labels, skincare packaging designs, and lip balm packaging.
No matter the style or attitude of your brand, there are plenty of packaging options that are sure to make your product pop. Have fun, be bold, and above all; stay beautiful!
