Fragrance Packaging Designed for the Senses & Sustainability

It is shaping up to be a much better year for fine fragrance. According to The NPD Group, first quarter sales of US prestige fragrances were $953 million, up 45% compared to Q1 of 2020. In the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day, sales increased sharply. Fragrance sets with a free gift and perfumes both rose triple-digits. The momentum carried over to the next big gifting holidays that followed—Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Both were deemed a success at the cash register. During the two weeks leading up to Father’s Day, for example, men’s fragrance sales increased 68% compared to 2020, according to NPD.

With sales rebounding, marketers can rest assured that scent remains important in the beauty business. But they can’t rest on their laurels. In addition to the ever-present pressure to create enticing new juices, fragrance companies are coming face-to-face with rising demand for more sustainable products.

Reuse, Reduce
Marketers of fine fragrances are addressing sustainability on both sides of the equation—ingredients and packaging.

If there was a collector’s item in the beauty business, it is the perfume bottle! Considered a true luxury as far back as antiquity, perfume flacons often stand the test of time as they sit on a shelf. In 2021, however, bottles are more than keepsakes. There is a growing number of refillable options hitting market each season, which is helping reduce demand for virgin packaging materials.

Scentbird said it targeted sustainability from ingredients to packaging for its second fragrance line, Sanctuary. Billed as clean, community-driven fragrances inspired by endangered species and their habitats, the collection currently features Panda and Amur Leopard. Both fragrances aim to raise money and awareness for the preservation of these species that face a high risk of extinction. Sanctuary chose recyclable boxes and fragrances sleeves that are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, mycelium-based packaging made out of mushrooms, insulation produced from US-grown corn that is entirely compostable, post-industrial recycled glass as well as organic, vegetable-based inks.

Red Panda and Amur Leopard, which are sold on both HelloSanctuary.com and Scentbird.com, are $26 for a travel-size vial and $98 for a full-sized bottle. Sanctuary will also donate 20% of all proceeds to the Red Panda Network and Phoenix Fund, respectively, as the organizations committed to saving these animals.

Earlier this year, Mugler Fragrances rolled out Angel Nova—30 years after the creation of its cult-classic Angel perfume. A first for the brand, the new fruity, floral and woody Angel Nova EDP is made using upcycling, specifically an eco-friendly process in which natural rose is extracted and then enhanced by reusing the already-distilled rose petals. The iconic star-shaped bottle, which has a raspberry-pink hue, is refillable.

Mugler will offer a 100ml eco-refill of its newest scent‚ Alien Goddess eau de parfum, which bows this month. Mugler tapped Willow Smith as the face of the fragrance. Smith is said to be the embodiment of augmented femininity, a challenge to societal standards and gender norms. The EDP is also offered in 60ml, 90ml, 30ml bottles and a 10ml travel spray.

This past Spring, Bond No. 9 announced the availability of its most-sought after New York City-inspired fragrances in new sustainable packaging. Sustainability principles aren’t new to this luxury brand; in 2007, Bond No. 9 Founder Laurice Rahmé launched a glass-bottle recycling effort—a first in the world of fragrance. With any qualifying #PackageFreeNY purchase this past Spring, customers received a refillable pocket spray filled with the top-selling Bond No. 9 fragrance of their choice.

“The #PackageFreeNY initiative reflects our long-term efforts to build a beautiful and responsible brand and a beautiful city,” Rahmé said at the time of the launch.

Coinciding with the launch of the sustainable packaging initiative, Bond No. 9 rolled out TriBeCa Swarovski, a new unisex floriental. It is housed in Bond No. 9’s iconic silhouette bottles, which are 100% recyclable and use 50% recycled cullet during the manufacturing process.

Benigna Parfums also offers luxury, gender-neutral fragrances like Absolute Celebration (a bright, fruity floral), Premier Amour (featuring lush white tuberose, heliotrope, bergamot, tonka bean, clove and rare woods), and Escape Velocity (a heady, fresh floral with notes of white rose, bergamot, heliotrope and resinous woods). The brand, based in Miami, says its cut-crystal bottles are reusable. The cardboard and wooden boxes come from trees that are fully certified by the World Land Trust and the FSC.

“True sustainability is important to us and we stand by that commitment,” said Benigna Ajuogu, creative director of the brand. “The innovative and eco-conscious approach of the brand dictated that the timeless bottles should be refillable, thereby allowing customers to make these stunning creations a personal keepsake to be enjoyed for a lifetime and passed on.”

Bottled Emotions
When it comes to fragrance packaging, brands must provide an experience that stirs emotion at first sight. That visual appeal must be conveyed across a screen as well as when it is the buyer’s hands.

House of Sillage has rolled out a new collection, the Whispers in the Garden Noir Collection. It encompasses four fragrances—Whispers of Temptation, Whispers of Seduction, Whispers of Enchantment and Whispers of Truth Noir—each of which are housed in a bottle encrusted with more than 100 diamond-cut Swarovski crystals, hand crafted with multi-faceted French glass and finished in 18k gold.

“The bottle and cap are vital to capturing the inspiration of the world of each fragrance, from crystal stone size, color and their very intricate design. The same also goes for the French glass we select to finish the entire bottle design,” said Nicole Mather, CEO and founder of House of Sillage.

She told Happi that she was inspired by the “sensorial escape into an enchanted garden under the full moonlight, where jewel toned florals and orchids engulf your presence creating a visually stimulating euphoria, a setting that is beautiful, seductive and made to explore endless adventures.”

For Mather, it is important that the fragrance evokes an emotion but also the design of the fragrance itself.

“The experience everyone has with House of Sillage fragrances is always unique to their own interpretation and personal reactions. Many are awe-struck by the opulence of the beautiful designs and sparkled and shiny jewels of our Swarovski crystals and precious metal finishes and the vibrant color of our enamel that evokes a personal symbolic meaning to each person,” she said.

According to Mather, design and aesthetic are extremely important in digital and e-commerce, “because you provide the consumer an escape through each design and fragrance world created. Each fragrance inspiration is reimagined through the design of our bottles so to carry this message in its design is extremely important,” she said.

Each House of Sillage fragrance bottle—including the Whispers in the Garden Noir Collection—are plated in precious metal so they do not tarnish with enamel and multifaceted Swarovski crystals and stunning colored French glass. 

“All our fragrance bottles and packaging are timeless and definitely a gifting item or keepsake and something you want to look at each and every day,” Mather noted.

New and Noteworthy
At The Fragrance Foundation (TFF) Annual Awards in June, Lancôme Trésor was presented with the 2021 Hall of Fame Award. While the honor celebrates the iconic juice, Trésor’s bottle is an equal standout; the inverted crystal pyramid with diamond-shaped cap bowed in 1990 and remains instantly recognizable today. The rounded edges represent the softness of the wearer, and the black band is a subtle reminder of the power of love and the woman embracing it, according to Lancôme.

Scents honored for their packaging design this year by TFF were Christian Louboutin Loubirouge (luxury) and Marc Jacobs Perfect eau de parfum (prestige/popular).

Huda Beauty expanded its fragrance collection with Utopia Vanilla Coco 21, the third scent in the Kayali Intense Collection. It has notes of pear, coconut, jasmine, sandalwood and vanilla bourbon, and is said to evoke a sense of freedom from reality by transporting wearers to their perfect paradise.  The 21 in the name represents the formula modifications that went into creating the final scent, according to the brand.

Utopia Vanilla Coco 21’s 50ml bottle is shaped the same as other scents in the Kayali range. The brand uses color to give each its own vibe. Kayali also offers refillable aluminum atomizer suited for travel; it connects to any Kayali fragrance bottle for easy filling.

In the men’s market, Coty’s Calvin Klein Fragrances launched Calvin Klein Defy. The masculine and woody fresh scent—which has notes of bergamot, fresh lavender absolute and vetiver oil sourced responsibility from Haiti—is housed in a modern, minimalist glass bottle with curved rounded edges and sharp linear lines, which the brand says “represents the duality of vulnerability and courage on the path to defiance.” The cap and carton pay homage to Calvin Klein jeans with a matte textured, blue-denim-inspired embossed finish and silver branding.

“Well” into the Future
Players in fine fragrance have long understood the connection between scent and mood. As a growing number of brands tap into the wellness space by way of ingredients, fragrance packaging is following suit by form and by function.

Take Jeunesse’s E·Vōk Aqua Serene, for example. This aromatic floral fragrance—which was named Best New Fragrance in the 2021 Pure Beauty Global Awards—melds pure French lavender essential oil with musk notes of amber and cedar as well as Phytogaia accord. The latter mimics the composition of phytoncides—protective organic substances emitted by plants and trees that have the power to bring scientifically-proven benefits to human beings, such as helping one to feel an array of emotions. The accord was inspired by the Japanese concept of “Shinrin-Yoku,” or forest bathing, which embraces nature’s plant-power as an antidote to emotional exhaustion.

According to Jeunesse Chief Visionary Officer Scott Lewis, it was developed by combining “the latest in the science of scent with the age-old art of perfumery to create a truly innovative fragrance with the potential to positively impact emotional well-being.”

The bottle is made with sustainable glass, and the entire look was designed with clean lines to align with the clean, floral scent.

“’E·Vōk’ is prominent in the package design, as the name was chosen to evoke emotions. The bottle label and box feature imagery that’s representative of the tranquility of water, which helps inspire feelings of peace and balance, while offering a moment of reflection. The overall design aims to evoke the power of nature with its gentle colors, lines and movement that complement the fresh scent and proprietary formula,” Jeunesse Chief Marketing Officer Mark Patterson told Happi.

Wellfounded Botanicals stepped into the fragrance scene with a scent inspired by the founder’s personal experience finding wellness with CBD/cannabis. The eau de parfum has airy, bright notes of sarriette, thyme, mandarin, grapefruit, green apple, Haitian vetiver and ambrox, and blends high-grade CBD with aromatic all-natural terpenes, according to the company.

The bottle has a UV protectant, is durable and reusable—and it meets the design aesthetic of the brand.

“We coupled our brand imperatives with the priority to make a safe bottle—meaning glass, not plastic, with protection against UV rays—and we have an amazing design team,” Wellfounded Botanicals Founder Sara Rotman told Happi. “We wanted to make sure the bottle was beautiful and simple, something that you would want to put out on your counter all the time so it becomes part of your daily wellness routine.”

Whether a reusable cut glass bottle filled with a traditional EDP or a modern juice infused with CBD, marketers want fine fragrance bottles and vials to remain part of the daily ritual. 

Coty Tests a New Approach To Fragrance Sampling at Retail After a year-plus of contactless retail experiences born from the COVID-19 pandemic, Coty Inc. has a plan for fine fragrance that it contends will provide a more precise, user friendly and less wasteful way to test a scent in stores. The beauty giant is rolling out digitally-enabled touch-less fragrance testing devices intended for use at beauty retailers within the next 12 months. The digital device will give customers control over fragrance discovery in store, according to Coty. The device delivers a single droplet of liquid directly to an arm or a blotter, offering customers a less invasive testing experience. It also uses data to allow Coty, in partnership with retailers, to optimize the placement of the testers and the customer experience by ensuring beauty advisors are on the spot when needed. Real world testing of the units at brick and mortar retail stores began in August in key European markets, followed by a planned trial in Asia later this year. Coty is partnering with Êverie, a French startup specializing in smart devices, micro-dosing and diffusion technologies, to bring the touch-less fragrance tester to life. A multidisciplinary group from Coty worked alongside Êverie during the past year to develop a connected easy-to-maintain and sustainable device. This tester can work for weeks without a battery recharge and reduces perfume loss compared to traditional testers. It will be compatible with all Coty’s fragrance testers and can be uniquely personalized to each of Coty’s brands, according to the company. “With the return of in-person shopping, the health and safety of our consumers are always at the forefront of our minds. Deploying a single drop of liquid to the skin with the same restitution as traditional testers, this new technology eliminates unnecessary waste and offers a safe, contact-free alternative for testing,” said Claire Catherine-Mercier, vice president retail experience.