From skinified sunscreen to travel-optimized beauty to a new generation of refillable packaging, suppliers and manufacturers offer new innovation opportunities for beauty brands.
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From skinified sunscreen to travel-optimized beauty to a new generation of refillable packaging, suppliers and manufacturers offer new innovation opportunities for beauty brands.
Recent beauty events offered a look at the ways in which suppliers and contract/turnkey manufacturers can deliver newness to the industry. Here, we round up the latest innovations, including sustainable packaging components, turnkey skin care solutions, trendy tottle formats and much more. Here’s our full breakdown.
The Skinification of Sunscreen
During MakeUp in NY 2024, Croda introduced a range of sunscreens inspired by the skinification trend, offering enhanced sensory effects and skin-friendly benefits.
The 3-in-1 Acne Prone Hero Sunscreen SPF 31 featured UV protection, acne scar care and makeup functionality to boost radiance, while the lightweight Deep Barrier Repair Anti-aging Fluid Mineral Sunscreen SPF 60+ presented a pampering mineral sunscreen.
Croda’s Natural Skin Brightening Mineral Sunscreen SPF 36 is an >85% natural sunscreen stick without the downside of white cast, while the Smooth Sailing Daily Lightweight Mineral Sunscreen SPF 60+ mineral formulation (zinc oxide) offers broad-spectrum defense against harmful UVA and UVB rays.
To support low- to mid-viscosity sun care formulations, HCP’s Solar Capsule collection is optimal for facial sunscreen, glow drops and hydrating after sun products. The lightweight 15 ml tottle design (a format increasingly popular for its convenience) features an elongated, domed profile and aluminum cap. Its slender nozzle facilitates precise, controlled application, per HCP, rendering it travel-friendly.
HCP’s Solar Capsule can be manufactured with HDPE/LDPE mixes for increased squeezability, an EVOH layer for added barrier protection, and Dow’s Surlyn for ultra-transparency and significant squeezability, per the supplier. It can also feature some level of R-PE to boost sustainability, while the elongated aluminum cap (PIR/PCR available) can be customized.
Mild and Natural Skin Care
GPI Beauty’s turnkey Reformation skin care collection, meanwhile, offers sustainable formulations that soothe, hydrate and firm the skin.GPI
Croda’s Eco Age Defence Sensible Sleep Cream anti-aging moisturizing night cream, meanwhile, has reportedly been third-party tested and verified by Intertek Champaign Laboratories as containing <1 ppm 1,4-dioxane in accordance with NY State Senate Bill S4389B. The company’s Naturally Boosted Blurring Stick is a > 90% derived natural (according to ISO16128) formulation that improves skin texture, per Croda.
GPI Beauty’s turnkey Reformation skin care collection, meanwhile, offers sustainable formulations that soothe, hydrate and firm the skin. Key ingredients include biosaccharide gum-1 and Opuntia ficus-indica stem extract. The collection includes eco-friendly packaging.
Droppers: Precision Packaging
To support precise and sustainable skin care application, HCP has launched the Uno Skincare Collection of pump and dropper designs.
The collection comprises monomaterial PP/PE droppers, auto droppers and atmospheric pump engines. The engines feature plastic springs to eliminate contamination in the recycling stream per HCP.
The designs also comprise PP dropper bulbs and pipettes. The Uno Skincare Collection includes a 150 ml lotion pump, a 50 ml auto-dropper and two 50 ml standard droppers for lotions, serums and liquid formulas.
Albéa Cosmetics & Fragrance has launched the Pure Drop, an dropper made of 100% PP.Albéa
FusionPKG has expanded its dropper options with its Everyday PET Dropper, available in 15 ml, 30 ml and 50 ml variants.FusionPKG
FusionPKG’s Alpha PET Dropper.FusionPKG
Turnkey Clean Solid Fragrance
Cosmopak’s new clean solid fragrances allow clients to supply their own signature scent, choose from our range of pre-made fragrances, or collaborate with a perfumer to create a custom fragrance—all to be housed in a premium base formula.Cosmopak
This format simplifies the development of fragrance projects while offering a format that is portable, alcohol-free, long-lasting, hydrating and non-irritating, and affordable.
The solid fragrances can be housed in the company’s Ecoforward stick, jar, tube or compact packaging (PCR, refillable, metal, wood, bio-resin or glass).
Tottles: Boosting Ease & Accessibility
At recent packaging shows, suppliers everywhere have noted an uptick in interest in tottles, which offer portable, precise dosage of liquid products.
HCP’s ergonomic Twist tottle is designed for skin care and liquid cosmetics,HCP
The design offers one-handed dispensing for easy accessibility. Furthermore, the twist-opening mechanism eliminates the need for an overcap, per HCP. In addition, its raised tab design simplifies opening.
The Twist tottle can be recycled in the PP/PE recycling stream, with PCR materials available to reduce environmental impact. The refillable format allows for the cap to be retained for another refill base. Finally, an optional EVOH layer can be included for enhanced barrier properties.
ICONS|ICS' Tuttle is a 175 ml tube-shaped squeezy PE tottle with a center-dispensing PP cap for lotions, creams, gels and other body or hair formulations.ICONS|ICS
Intuitive Refillables
Albéa Cosmetics & Fragrance’s Polaris monomaterial PP and refillable jar features a cap that is attached to the base with an invisible hinge.Albéa
“In order to further drive the adoption of refillable solutions, our role is to make them really simple—in other words: intuitive,” says Aline Roland, marketing director at Albéa Cosmetics & Fragrance. “With our newest jar concept Polaris, we have taken another step forward by combining a unique and sophisticated design with a significant reduced environmental impact.”
Elsewhere, Lumson’s 50 ml Slim refillable glass jar (PCR variants available) can reportedly help cut associated CO2 emissions by 56%. The design features a removable PP inner cup and PP cover that can be customized.
Berlin Packaging’s new 50 ml, 30 ml and 15 ml Luxe Refill glass jars feature reusable outer glass jars and reusable lids as well as a PP inner cup that can be closed with an aluminum seal for a hermetic closure.Berlin Packaging
The 50 ml version is ideal for moisturizers, cream masks and thick lotions, while the 30 ml size is optimal for serums, eye creams and primers. Meanwhile, the 15 ml variant is ideal for eye creams, nourishing lip balms and specific treatments such as concentrated serums or anti-imperfection products.
The company’s Loose Powder accessory collection, compatible with Luxe Refill jars, was created for makeup and skin care loose powder products. The Loose Powder sifters’ hole size and position enable even and controlled product release, per Berlin Packaging. Available in large and small sizes, the sifters “assure a homogenous product distribution with perfect adherence to the glass jar,” the company argues. The sifters also feature removable labels that protect formulas until consumers open the pack.
The 50 ml sifter jar ensures a uniform application of larger product quantities, such as body or face powders. The 30 ml jar is intended for powder blushes and illuminating and mineral powders, while the 15 ml is the right size for powder eyeshadows, translucent powders or concealers.
Berlin Packaging’s Pockii, on the other hand, features a rounded design and is available in 50 ml and 100 ml glass bottles, as well as a 50 ml refill jar. The Pockii Refill jar, like the bottles, features a matte finish and tone-on-tone accessories. The rounded bottom design of all products in the collection adds a distinctive design-conscious touch.
Berlin Packaging’s Pockii, on the other hand, features a rounded design and is available in 50 ml and 100 ml glass bottles, as well as a 50 ml refill jar.Berlin Packaging
GPI Beauty now offers a refillable dip tube Arch Pump comprising a propelling and repelling mechanism to reveal the actuator for pumping. Twisting the base 180 degrees brings the button up, per GPI, allowing the bottle and button design to be removed from the outer container for replacement with a new cartridge.
GPI’s Pinch Refillable Jar provides a new method for removing inner jars from outer jars.GPI
US-made IML Tubes & More
ICONS|America's in-mold label (IML) tubes are available in PCR and monomaterial variants that are recyclable within plastic recycling streams.
The company’s in-mold label (IML) tubes are available in PCR and monomaterial variants that are recyclable within plastic recycling streams. The tubes are also lightweight and durable, per the manufacturer, and support 360-degree decoration and finish options.
Elsewhere, Albéa Tubes has expanded the integration of recycled content into each component of its tubes, including caps, and to render packs recycle-ready. Its Slight Cap and Basic Cap can be rendered with 70% PCR; caps are available with both extruded and laminated tubes. At the same time, tubes can comprise as much as 60% PCR, per the company, depending on the chosen sleeve and head.
Albéa Tubes' NovaPrint deco technology, meanwhile, can print flat for laminate tubes, while avoiding side seams with extruded tubes. Printing flat on PE film and welding it onto extruded tubes reportedly supports complex designs leveraging flexo, cold stamping, overprinted foil and more.
NovaPrint reportedly supports the reduction of sleeve thickness, thereby diminishing tubes' weight. At the same time, less energy is consumed.
Per the company, the incorporation of 100% PCR in the extruded sleeve allows packs to reach 57% of recycled content in a tube integrating the ultra-light EcoFusion Top. The solution is reportedly fully recycling-ready in the HDPE stream.
Next-level Glass
FusionPKG’s Dream Glass Atmospheric features a two-piece design comprising its Atmos-One100% polyolefin pump engine with a recycle-ready glass atmospheric package with PCR options.FusionPKG
For instance, FusionPKG offers luxe glass packaging, including variants with certified recycle-ready pumps. The components are manufactured at EcoVadis-recognized facilities, per the supplier, which feature waste-heat recovery, energy-efficient technologies and more.
FusionPKG's Verve Glass collection has been expanded from an atmospheric pump system to droppers and beyond, including a forthcoming PET airless system.
Meanwhile, the company’s Verve Glass collection has been expanded from an atmospheric pump system to droppers and beyond, including a forthcoming PET airless system. Verve variants, which can support Tru, Icon and Fresh pump variants (as of press time), is available in 15, 30 and 50 ml sizes.
Stoelzle Perfumery & Cosmetics’ new Lumi Coat UV filter, developed in cooperation with quantum dot specialist Nexdot for glass bottles, delivers UV protection and high optical clarity that protects color and fragrance without compromising the bottle’s transparency, which is particularly important for recycling sorting and brand integrity.Stoelzle Perfumery & Cosmetics
The technology blocks UV light without affecting visible light, per the manufacturer, reportedly ensuring glass bottles remain optically clear. This eliminates the need for traditional UV additives like avobenzone, thereby supporting cleaner, more sustainable formulations.
Furthermore, Lumi Coat, which delivers a 10.5% improvement in the single score metric for anti-UV perfumery ingredients, reduces the need for stabilizing molecules such as UV absorbers, dyes and preservatives.
In effect, this coating technology can support the development of perfumes with fewer stabilizers and external additives, Stoelzle argues, and can be easily applied to various glass packaging designs.
On the sustainability front, Stoelzle Perfumery & Cosmetics’ new Phoenix Collection delivers lightweight, recyclable and refillable perfume bottles. Available in six cylindrical variants, the lightweight design reduces CO2 emissions, while the screw neck supports easy refilling and recycling to support product longevity.
The Phoenix range comprises bottles in sizes of 10 ml, 30 ml, 50 ml and 100 ml, as well as an SNI15 neck. The larger 150 ml and 200 ml bottles are equipped with GCMI 24-410 necks. These larger sizes can be used as refills for the smaller sizes, per Stoelzle, or for products like body care and lotions.
Deco techniques for the Phoenix collection include inner lacquering, spraying and screen printing. Furthermore, the bottles are compatible with closures and dispensing systems from fragrance pumps and caps to closures for cosmetics.
Elsewhere, SGD Pharma has completed its first manufacturing campaign using 20% PCR glass cullet at the company’s Zhanjiang, China plant. The PCR glass bottles offer improved sustainability by reducing the use of virgin raw materials and carbon emissions due to less energy consumption during the melting process, SGD argues.
All the PCR cullet used at Zhanjiang plant is tested for purity before entering the furnace, per the supplier. The resulting PCR glass bottles therefore reportedly maintain the same levels of aesthetic quality, functionality and safety (with the absence of heavy metals and other prohibited materials) as conventional glass bottles.
Notably, FEVE (The Federation of European manufacturers of glass containers) claims that, on average, a 10% increase of cullet in the furnace decreases its energy use by 3% and CO2 emissions by 5%. Should this be the case, a 20% usage of PCR would generate 6% and 10% drops in energy use and emissions, respectively.
Standout Packaging Design
Lumson has transformed its 50 ml Romantica glass jar via its deco lab, which offers unique 3D effects. Dubbed “Pebble,” the company’s design evokes rough stone textures on the glass jar and Confetto PP cover for an elevated sensory experience.
HCP’s Caresse packaging concept features a palette of skin tones to evoke a sense of warmth and intimacy, per the company.HCP
Shades include Soft Peach, Blush, Gossamer, Cashmere and Deep Brown to reflect the human form.
The Caresse aesthetic includes tactile surfaces and finishes that offer opaque softness, while the sculpted silhouettes “echo the contours of the human body,” per HCP.
Lumson's Infinity packaging range makes its sustainable packaging stand out with a thick and conical base that offers a "refined" look.Lumson
The packaging can be rendered in PCR glass; the refillable jar, meanwhile, features a removable inner PP cup.
Travel-optimized Beauty
Cosmopak offers its clients travel-sized options for beauty brands seeking to provide shoppers with on-the-go solutions or offer budget-friendly or trial-based purchases. These smaller products also tap into rising shopper queries online, the company argues.
Convenience and on-the-go solutions were evident in Croda Beauty’s recent slate of concept formulations, including the Draw It Out Activated Charcoal Cleansing Stick, which “allows you to feel refreshed and moisturized in one easy swipe anywhere you go,” per the company.
Another travel-ready innovation is HCP’s Ringo Stacker, a stackable and refillable 10 ml jar for skin care and complexion products, including foundation, primer, eye cream or lip balm.
By using the modular system, users can mix and match products to create personalized stacks to support daily beauty rituals. The space-saving Ringo Stacker features a secure click closure with a half-moon tab to ensure products remain leak-proof and protected from contamination.
The design comprises a PP inner pod, cap and shive, as well as an outer PET jar. The jars can be customized as needed, while the outer jar can be molded to be tinted or transparent.
The Acessorization of Beauty
Cosmopak has tapped sustainable fashion for brand accessories, as seen with its Ecoforward Biomaterial PU (polyutrethane) Crossbody Bag. Unlike petroleum-based alternatives, biomaterial PU reportedly emits fewer greenhouse gases during production.Cosmopak
And, by repurposing plant-based oils and agricultural waste materials, Cosmopak says it has embraced the principles of a circular economy wherein resources are reused or recycled, minimizing waste generation.
The bag was designed by Cosmopak’s in-house creative team and is fully customizable. It can also be used as-is, with material colors and deco options tweaked for speedy launches.
