Latest packaging innovation by brands

What makes one beauty package stand out from the next? The answers run the gamut—from shape to materials, decoration to dispenser. Here’s a sampling of packaging ideas we came across in the marketplace, showing innovation is available at any price. They’re perfect for pockets—or for stockings.

Chloé took a feature known to nail product packaging and applied it to fragrance, in a limited edition miniature version of its eau de parfum, See by Chloé. See by Chloé Paint a Scent ($39) catches the eye with a bright pink brush inside the silhouette of the bottle. The packaging is intended to create a new perfume ritual, a delicate gesture thanks to the brush, which is used to gently apply fragrance to the skin.

Hard Candy says a great deal of time went into the engineering and aesthetics of its Mod Quad collection, a custom designed compact ($6 each), which enables the customer to see all four shades of the baked eye shadow product and still have a large usable mirror plus applicators. A changeable outer fabric design was created for each shade. No small feat, the brand’s packaging and design teams worked to ensure that when positioned in store at Walmart, all four shades would be above the graphic line.

Too Faced answered the call for double-duty beauty products, creating Jingle All the Way, a cosmetic palette that not only looks like an accessory, but functions as one, too. Pop out the makeup palette and use the iPhone 5 case designed by celebrity decorator and TV personality Mary McDonald. The two-in-one iPhone case and makeup palette ($25) includes 11 shadows, a bronzer, and a blush.