What’s the secret ingredient that makes a truly covetable beauty product? It isn’t just the formula within the tube or pot that makes the magic – it’s the product design and packaging too.
While it’s discussed a lot less than the latest trending ingredients, there’s actually a whole intricate product design process (and full teams) behind the perfect click of a lipstick lid, the weighted close of a makeup palette, or the sound of a luxe hairdryer. After all, beauty products are specifically designed to invite you to come and look a little closer.
What is the art of beauty design?
Now, more than ever, beauty product design is going through a transformative process – powered by the growing eco-consciousness of society. In luxury beauty especially, there’s increasing demand for packaging that is both lavish and sustainable, meaning that the traditional flimsy, lightweight, and non-durable, non-planet friendly options (for a long time, the only possibility available to brands) have had a shake-up.
Today, your favourite luxury beauty brands are delivering dressing table-worthy essentials, across fragrance, makeup, haircare, and skincare to satisfy your inner magpie and tick all the right sustainability boxes too. Discover how the luxury art of beauty design is reshaping our eco-conscious beauty bags.
Tata Harper's iconic green bottles have become a symbol of the brand's status as a leader in luxury sustainability – and its not just the colour. The brand uses recyclable glass, innovates with airless pumps, and even uses soy-based inks for labels and packaging; all while retaining the weighty, luxurious finish that makes you proudly display every product in your bathroom. There's even a section on the website that traces your bottle all the way back to the hands that made it.
It's long been the norm for luxury fashion brands to launch beauty collections that are designed specifically to grab your attention – that's why you'll often find yourself wanting to get them out of your cosmetics case to show off to your friends. But, when Prada Beauty launched in 2023, it went one step further: the eye-catching art deco-inspired packaging is not only collectible, it's also easily refillable, effortlessly increasing your beauty regime's eco-credentials without compromising on style.
Did you know that there are numerous rooms at Dyson's head testing lab dedicated to getting the pitch of the sound emitted from its hair tools just right? Or that there's a whole team of colour scientists tasked with finding the very best combination of hues for its products, including this limited edition rose-gold colourway? Created especially for Christmas, it's also designed to be as energy efficient as possible, in a factory powered by 100 per cent renewable energy, amongst a host of other innovative sustainability initiatives.
With the Chanel 31 Le Rouge lipstick collection, product designer Sylvie Legastelois (the silent force behind the iconic shapes of all Chanel products) really broke the mold. The first lipstick packaging to be made entirely from glass and metal, it still retains that all-important luxury click on open and close. As Legastelois explains, "it was obvious to Chanel that the creation of a new lipstick should reflect the values of our time…it is in line with our approach to eco-responsibility and ultimate luxury. [It is] A precious, long-lasting object that can be kept and passed on."
Dior has long been known for creating jars of creams that are also decorative objects of desire, turning your skincare routine into an act of self-care. Consider this indulgent moisturiser. From the weight of the glass itself, to the embossed large lid that twists off smoothly to reveal the thick, cossetting cream within, it's no wonder this nourishing cream is the top of beauty insider's winter shopping lists. That includes eco-conscious experts, as the dressing table-worthy jar is refillable, and made from recycled and recyclable materials.
L'Occitane has made sustainable hand and bodycare incredibly covetable since its launch back in 1976, and innovation is still at the brand's heart. Not only did it help power the refillable beauty trend, but its also making that process less messy and a bit more luxurious with closeable (rather than single-use) pouches and bottles to ensure you never run out of the award-winning eco formulas.
Valentino has gone as far as to turn your makeup essentials into actual accessories – including this statement powder 'clutch'; a real testament to the brand's focus on forward-thinking, unique product design. But, the collection of powders, blushes and lipsticks are not just designed to be displayed. They are also all refillable, prolonging the use life and the sustainability of the packaging.
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Lead image credit: Chanel
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