Personal care manufacturers and their marketing gurus put a lot of stock in the adage “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” They know that pretty things are not just nice to look at, they’re important sales and marketing tools that make for beautiful profit margins.

More and more manufacturers of skin creams and perfumes depend on appealing packages to move product. The Fredonia Group, a Cleveland-based industrial research group, estimates that demand for cosmetic and toiletry containers in the U.S. is projected to expand 2.6% per year to 23 billion units in 2007. With competition growing and shelf space shrinking, makers of shampoo, lipstick and moisturizer are filling up their marketing toolbox with all sorts of eye-catching packages that appeal to consumers’ aesthetic sensibilities and encourage impulse buying. But they must also perform to ensure repeat purchases.

Simply beautiful

Products and packaging have to deliver the goods, but also deliver an experience that surpasses expectations. This requires more than just adding a few pretty ingredients to the mix to spur sales. People are crunched for time and demand products that simplify their lives, personal care products included.

Simple, however, doesn’t mean unattractive. In the cosmetics industry, for example, clear packaging is becoming a standard feature for several reasons. It provides a window of opportunity for a shopper to see the primary package inside simply, easily and in the blink of a shadowed eye.

According to Kathy Kordowski, Avon’s vice president of package engineering and marketing services, women want to see products on a dresser or in a handbag without having to fuss with container tops. “Windows in compact covers, color-coded labels on lipsticks and clear glass bottles for foundations are becoming standard industry features,” she explained in a recent interview.

Plastic, not glass, continues to be the material of choice–except for per fume–because of its functionality, but cosmetics companies are just realizing its potential for color, which are virtually endless. Estee Lauder is making color a priority with its new packaging and even named a new lipstick line–Electric Intense Lip Creme–to promote its new marketing strategy.

Time constraints may make consumers sweat, but helping people beat the clock, while still looking good, has produced countless packaging innovations. Time-conscious shoppers of health and beauty aids clamor for easy-to-carry and easy-to-use products. Smaller is better too. Pencils that have multiple uses, full size products in mini packaging and single-use personal care items that are portable also rank high on shopping lists.

Last September Mary Kay launched Velocity End2End, a lip-gloss and fragrance in one package. This was the first time the cosmetics and personal care giant paired two products together. The responsibility of the new packaging is to showcase the portability and innovation. The rollerball applicator is both innovative and practical. Mary Kay also started adding extra ingredients to many of its products to give them multi-benefit purpose, says Mary Kay’s vice president of marketing, Rhonda Shasteen. These extra ingredients, which are highlighted in the new product’s packaging, gives added brand appeal on the retail shelf.

Pretty simple

Perfume and lipsticks aren’t the only products getting nipped and tucked. Since every second counts, streamlining life also extends to the shower and bath. Upside-down containers keep the product ready for instant dispensing.

Here’s a new twist on the stand-up that really stands out: Unilever’s Sedal Shampoo for the Latin American marketplace incorporates a blow-molded stand-up plastic tube with a flexible, resealable pop-up dome for easy product dispensing. The patent pending Flexa Tube[TM] squeeze tube is one piece with no welds. The pop-up dome is recessed into the tube, retracts when not in use and acts as a sturdy container base for standing. Because Unilever is able to use a standard tube closure, this is a cost effective way of creating an upside-down stand-up container that offers consumers fast and complete dispensing.

Hair products must also convey beauty, style, femininity, or masculinity and it’s the package’s job to accomplish this. Shampoo and conditioners present a unique challenge. Unlike cosmetics and perfume, their packages have to hold large amounts of product. It has to be big and beautiful to stand out in a crowd, but without washing profits down the drain.

Wella Sebastian, which was recently bought by Procter & Gamble (P&G), is redesigning–and standardizing–its hair care lines. It is using color, transparencies and curves to brand its appeal in the marketplace, instead of the typical white, which gets lost on the shelf. Wella’s new look includes a translucent black bottle with pink overtones for elegance.

Personal care manufacturers and their marketing gurus put a lot of stock in the adage “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” They know that pretty things are not just nice to look at, they’re important sales and marketing tools that make for beautiful profit margins.

More and more manufacturers of skin creams and perfumes depend on appealing packages to move product. The Fredonia Group, a Cleveland-based industrial research group, estimates that demand for cosmetic and toiletry containers in the U.S. is projected to expand 2.6% per year to 23 billion units in 2007. With competition growing and shelf space shrinking, makers of shampoo, lipstick and moisturizer are filling up their marketing toolbox with all sorts of eye-catching packages that appeal to consumers’ aesthetic sensibilities and encourage impulse buying. But they must also perform to ensure repeat purchases.

Simply beautiful

Products and packaging have to deliver the goods, but also deliver an experience that surpasses expectations. This requires more than just adding a few pretty ingredients to the mix to spur sales. People are crunched for time and demand products that simplify their lives, personal care products included.

Simple, however, doesn’t mean unattractive. In the cosmetics industry, for example, clear packaging is becoming a standard feature for several reasons. It provides a window of opportunity for a shopper to see the primary package inside simply, easily and in the blink of a shadowed eye.

According to Kathy Kordowski, Avon’s vice president of package engineering and marketing services, women want to see products on a dresser or in a handbag without having to fuss with container tops. “Windows in compact covers, color-coded labels on lipsticks and clear glass bottles for foundations are becoming standard industry features,” she explained in a recent interview.

Plastic, not glass, continues to be the material of choice–except for per fume–because of its functionality, but cosmetics companies are just realizing its potential for color, which are virtually endless. Estee Lauder is making color a priority with its new packaging and even named a new lipstick line–Electric Intense Lip Creme–to promote its new marketing strategy.

Time constraints may make consumers sweat, but helping people beat the clock, while still looking good, has produced countless packaging innovations. Time-conscious shoppers of health and beauty aids clamor for easy-to-carry and easy-to-use products. Smaller is better too. Pencils that have multiple uses, full size products in mini packaging and single-use personal care items that are portable also rank high on shopping lists.

Last September Mary Kay launched Velocity End2End, a lip-gloss and fragrance in one package. This was the first time the cosmetics and personal care giant paired two products together. The responsibility of the new packaging is to showcase the portability and innovation. The rollerball applicator is both innovative and practical. Mary Kay also started adding extra ingredients to many of its products to give them multi-benefit purpose, says Mary Kay’s vice president of marketing, Rhonda Shasteen. These extra ingredients, which are highlighted in the new product’s packaging, gives added brand appeal on the retail shelf.

Pretty simple

Perfume and lipsticks aren’t the only products getting nipped and tucked. Since every second counts, streamlining life also extends to the shower and bath. Upside-down containers keep the product ready for instant dispensing.

Here’s a new twist on the stand-up that really stands out: Unilever’s Sedal Shampoo for the Latin American marketplace incorporates a blow-molded stand-up plastic tube with a flexible, resealable pop-up dome for easy product dispensing. The patent pending Flexa Tube[TM] squeeze tube is one piece with no welds. The pop-up dome is recessed into the tube, retracts when not in use and acts as a sturdy container base for standing. Because Unilever is able to use a standard tube closure, this is a cost effective way of creating an upside-down stand-up container that offers consumers fast and complete dispensing.

Hair products must also convey beauty, style, femininity, or masculinity and it’s the package’s job to accomplish this. Shampoo and conditioners present a unique challenge. Unlike cosmetics and perfume, their packages have to hold large amounts of product. It has to be big and beautiful to stand out in a crowd, but without washing profits down the drain.

Wella Sebastian, which was recently bought by Procter & Gamble (P&G), is redesigning–and standardizing–its hair care lines. It is using color, transparencies and curves to brand its appeal in the marketplace, instead of the typical white, which gets lost on the shelf. Wella’s new look includes a translucent black bottle with pink overtones for elegance.

Always on the lookout for cutting-edge products, our eagle-eyed beauty team sussed out these ten innovative finds: Clarins’ Renew-Plus Body Serum (1) is what twenty-first-century skin care is all about, raves beauty director and cover editor Mikki Taylor. Made with plant-activated preretinol (the gentlest, most stable formulation), it minimizes pigmentation marks and leaves the skin radiant. Another of Mikki’s must-haves: Get Fresh’s Spa Rx Mustard & Honey Mineral Bath Treatment (2). “Back in the day, mustard baths were known to increase circulation and rid the body of toxins. This New Age version helps you bounce back from muscle soreness, jet lag or a long night on the town,” she says. For pampering pronto, nothing beats qiora’s Eye Wrapping Spa Mask (3), says fashion and beauty features editor Vanessa Bush. The therapeutic properties in this moisturizing compress “put old-fashioned cucumber slices to shame,” she says. Another big winner: Earth Therapeutics’ Herba-Gel Foot Warmers (4). Says Vanessa: “I pop the gel insoles into the microwave for 30 seconds, then slide them into specially constructed cotton socks, and my tootsies are toasty for hours.” For working girls who have to get their beauty fix on the go, fashion and beauty coordinator Sharon Elcock highly recommends Shiseido’s Zen Perfumed Incense (5), developed using the latest in aromachology (the study of the effect of scent on the mind and body). She also swears by Awake Vital Express Mask (6), a presoaked press-on mask rich in vitamins E and B. Fashion and beauty writer Pamela Edwards was in the market for a clock radio that wouldn’t jar her out of her beauty sleep when she came across the SunRise Alarm Clock (7) by Bio-Brite. It wakes you up via gentle beeping tones and a light that incrementally brightens from soft pink to intense white. Pamela’s also been singing the praises of Chanel’s Precision Age Delay Rejuvenation Serum (8), which tackles early signs of aging using properties that enhance collagen production. “I’m already beginning to see the difference,” she says. After road-testing Sonya Dakar’s Triple Action Organic Scrub scarred-skin formula (9), assistant beauty editor Stephanie Scott won’t entrust her sensitive skin to anything else. It uses vitamin C and other antiseptic properties found in lemon oil to naturally detoxify, even out and rejuvenate the skin. She also thinks Kitten’s Styling Sparkle (10) by Benefit is the cat’s meow. This hair gel uses a patented recipe that bonds with each strand of hair and evenly disperses the glitter without clumping or leaving a gooey residue.

Sonya Kashuk Tooling Around Brush Set ($30; target.com for store locations) boasts eight makeup brushes.

Calgon Berry Crazy Glitter Body Mist ($4 for 4 ounces; at drugstores) not only leaves skin silky smooth, but also adds a touch of shimmer and a ripe berry scent.

Red Envelope Cashmere Robe ($325; redenvelope.com) is worth the splurge. Nothing’s quite as cozy as this butter-soft pastel pink robe trimmed in rich raspberry.

Bliss Plum Plum Body Softening Spa Set ($45; blissworld.com) packs indulgent body butter and soap in a jar.

Jaqua Our Favorite Body Butters ($22; at Bath & Body Works stores) is a set of irresistible travel-size hydrators.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Spice Floral Body Lotion ($54 for 23 ounces; rescuebeautylounge.com) instantly absorbs into skin without leaving an oily residue.

Tweezerman FileMate ($5; tweezerman.com) comes with its own case, so it stays clean.

Cargo Glossy Greeting Tags ($7.50 for a set of five; sephora.com) are gift notes with a single serving of gloss.

Paul & Joe Facecolor Palette in “Evening Bag” ($38; sephora.com) has five fabulous eye shadows, all inside this vintage-inspired silver compact.

Marc Jacobs Holiday Votive Candle Set ($40; sephora.com) has three conveniently sized candles, each scented with a Marc Jacobs signature fragrance.

Crabtree & Evelyn Warm Evergreen Scented Botanicals ($24; crabtree-evelyn.com) is a festive potpourri.

L’Artisan Parfurner Mini Scented Garden ($35; artisanparfumer.com) includes four bud-sized silk primrose sachets.

Maroma Zen Sense Fragrance Garden ($25; maroma-usa.com) houses sachets (shown), votive candles and incense.

Trish McEvoy #9 Blackberry & Vanilla Musk Guest Soap ($22; nordstrom.com) is a set of four pillow-shaped soaps.

Aromafloria Aroma Beads ($12; aroma floria.com) come with a classic ceramic dish and are scented with sultry green tea and bamboo.

Esteban Pivoine Imperiale Japanese Incense Gift Box ($24; 866-578-3226) contains peony and red rose incense.

Indigo Wild Frankincense & Myrrh Bow Bar ($6 each; indigowild.com) is a beautiful handcrafted soap milled with essential oils.

Caldrea Rose Guest Soaps ($20 for 15; caldrea.com) are vegetable-based soaps (Pink Peppercorn shown here).

Issey Miyake Holiday Limited Edition Eau de Parfum Spray ($85; at Nordstrom stores) has notes of freesia and carnation.

L’Occitane Limited Edition Christmas Stars ($6 for five; usa.loccitane.com) can be spritzed with fragrance and hung anywhere.

Bvlgari Charms ($30-$45 each; at Nordstrom stores) are available in five of Bvlgari’s existing scents.

Lisa Jenks for Origins Medium Luminary ($30; origins.com for store locations) has 100 percent pure vegetable wax.

Aveda Soothe The Way ($35; aveda.com) boxes relaxing Shampure Pure-fume Soy Wax Candle with Soothing Aqua Therapy Bath Soak.

Michael Kors Modern Perfume Crystallized With Swarovski ($175; at Nordstrom stores) is a purse-sized modern tuberose fragrance spray.

RedEnvelope Ombre Oil Lamp Trio ($36; redenvelope.com) are so named because of a color-blending technique called ombre.

Alora Ambiance “Festa” ($50; aloraambiance.com) blends seasonal scents of cinnamon with bitter orange.

Bond No. 9 New York Bon bon Box ($230; 877-273-3369) includes 18 scents; each one is pocket-sized and wrapped like a candy. Split them up among your friends.

Molton Brown Exuberant Gift Set ($39; www.moltonbrown.com) houses six stimulating nonfrilly shower gels.

Bullie Refinement Sensitive Skin Scrub/Mask ($38; at Barneys New York) keeps a rough, dry complexion at bay.

Sharps Happy Me All Over Soap ($16 for two bars; sharpsusa.com) invigorates with grapefruit and papaya extracts.

Earth Therapeutics “Take-5″ Anti-Stress Kit ($20; earththerapeutics.com) comes with massage soap, lotion, body brush (shown) and eye pillow.

M.D. Skincare Men’s One-Step Daily Facial Pads ($42; mdskincare.com) prevent ingrowns, soothe redness and hydrate skin.

Aveda Skincare for Men After-Shave Balm ($13; aveda.com) calms just-shaved skin with lavender, aloe and chamomile to soothe razor burn.

Dior Homme ($45 for 50 milliliters; at Nordstrom stores) exudes woodsy notes of vetiver, patchouli and leather.

Stephanie Scott, assistant beauty editor: As a cost-efficient alternative to my favorite Saturday treat (a visit to SoHo Nails), I’ve created my own nail spa so I can get the relaxing benefit of a salon pedicure at home. For an effer-vescent, refreshing soak, I plop Earth Therapeutics’ Tea Tree Oil Fizzing Foot Bath (about $6) into my foot massager. To soothe my aching calves, I rub in Bio Solutions PediCare Spa Icy Gel (about $18). Its eucalyptus, peppermint and Hawaiian sea-plant extracts–which revive, cool and moisturize–are sheer bliss.

Vanessa Bush, fashion and beauty features editor: I’ve got champagne taste on a cola budget; so for me value equals longevity. With its biggie-size pump bottle and luxurious scent, [H.sub.2]O+’s Honey Skin Nourishing Lotion (about $23) is worth every penny. And talk about stretching a dollar: (Ebene Home Spa’s Vanilla Body Bar (about $4) is 100-percent pure soap, so it outlasts the average bar, which makes me–and my wallet–very happy.

Stephanie Scott, assistant beauty editor: As a cost-efficient alternative to my favorite Saturday treat (a visit to SoHo Nails), I’ve created my own nail spa so I can get the relaxing benefit of a salon pedicure at home. For an effer-vescent, refreshing soak, I plop Earth Therapeutics’ Tea Tree Oil Fizzing Foot Bath (about $6) into my foot massager. To soothe my aching calves, I rub in Bio Solutions PediCare Spa Icy Gel (about $18). Its eucalyptus, peppermint and Hawaiian sea-plant extracts–which revive, cool and moisturize–are sheer bliss.

Vanessa Bush, fashion and beauty features editor: I’ve got champagne taste on a cola budget; so for me value equals longevity. With its biggie-size pump bottle and luxurious scent, [H.sub.2]O+’s Honey Skin Nourishing Lotion (about $23) is worth every penny. And talk about stretching a dollar: (Ebene Home Spa’s Vanilla Body Bar (about $4) is 100-percent pure soap, so it outlasts the average bar, which makes me–and my wallet–very happy.

Mikki Taylor, beauty director and cover editor: I just love a good buy (read: more dash than cash!). Right now, I’m crazy for Victoria’s Secret Beauty’s Pink Eau de Parfum Spray ($25). It’s like lingerie in a bottle: filmy and delicate with the perfect mix of freesia, violet leaves and peonies. Perlier’s Honeysuckle Bath Salts (about $25) are so well priced I never think twice. This 17.6-ounce tub of skin-smoothing salts scents my bathroom and invigorates my spirit. Stephanie Scott, assistant beauty editor: As a cost-efficient alternative to my favorite Saturday treat (a visit to SoHo Nails), I’ve created my own nail spa so I can get the relaxing benefit of a salon pedicure at home. For an effer-vescent, refreshing soak, I plop Earth Therapeutics’ Tea Tree Oil Fizzing Foot Bath (about $6) into my foot massager. To soothe my aching calves, I rub in Bio Solutions PediCare Spa Icy Gel (about $18). Its eucalyptus, peppermint and Hawaiian sea-plant extracts–which revive, cool and moisturize–are sheer bliss. Vanessa Bush, fashion and beauty features editor: I’ve got champagne taste on a cola budget; so for me value equals longevity. With its biggie-size pump bottle and luxurious scent, [H.sub.2]O+’s Honey Skin Nourishing Lotion (about $23) is worth every penny. And talk about stretching a dollar: (Ebene Home Spa’s Vanilla Body Bar (about $4) is 100-percent pure soap, so it outlasts the average bar, which makes me–and my wallet–very happy.

Mikki Taylor, beauty director and cover editor: I just love a good buy (read: more dash than cash!). Right now, I’m crazy for Victoria’s Secret Beauty’s Pink Eau de Parfum Spray ($25). It’s like lingerie in a bottle: filmy and delicate with the perfect mix of freesia, violet leaves and peonies. Perlier’s Honeysuckle Bath Salts (about $25) are so well priced I never think twice. This 17.6-ounce tub of skin-smoothing salts scents my bathroom and invigorates my spirit. Stephanie Scott, assistant beauty editor: As a cost-efficient alternative to my favorite Saturday treat (a visit to SoHo Nails), I’ve created my own nail spa so I can get the relaxing benefit of a salon pedicure at home. For an effer-vescent, refreshing soak, I plop Earth Therapeutics’ Tea Tree Oil Fizzing Foot Bath (about $6) into my foot massager. To soothe my aching calves, I rub in Bio Solutions PediCare Spa Icy Gel (about $18). Its eucalyptus, peppermint and Hawaiian sea-plant extracts–which revive, cool and moisturize–are sheer bliss.

Vanessa Bush, fashion and beauty features editor: I’ve got champagne taste on a cola budget; so for me value equals longevity. With its biggie-size pump bottle and luxurious scent, [H.sub.2]O+’s Honey Skin Nourishing Lotion (about $23) is worth every penny. And talk about stretching a dollar: (Ebene Home Spa’s Vanilla Body Bar (about $4) is 100-percent pure soap, so it outlasts the average bar, which makes me–and my wallet–very happy.

IT SEEMS LIKE EVERY TIME WE TURN AROUND, another natural beauty product hits the scene, claiming to be better than the last. As the category gets more and more crowded, it gets harder and harder to choose. For our second annual Natural Beauty Awards, we set out with what seemed like a task for the Mission: Impossible team: Find the best natural products launched in 2006. Since Ethan Hunt was unavailable, we recruited our entire staff to select a manageable group of finalists. We scrutinized labels, soaped up, squirted on, and rinsed off. Boyfriends, sisters, friends, and mothers were slathered with lip balm, hair gel, and body scrubs. One editor recruited her husband and two children to help evaluate more than 80 different hand and body lotions. Another editor came in late after spending the morning rinsing off the styling products she’d tested on her hair. (Talk about a bad hair day!)Then we enlisted the help of three top dermatologists to give us their professional yea or nay. “It’s exciting to see how technology has really improved the way natural ingredients work on the skin,” says panelist Diane Madfes, M.D.

Finally, we asked the real experts: You. Nearly 600 Natural Health readers chimed in via the Internet, alerting us to the products you love and trust. Who better to judge how a product really performs than the people who use it day in and day out? After all the scrubbing and consulting, we narrowed the field to 25 of the very best natural beauty products from 2006. Mission: Accomplished.

Personal care manufacturers and their marketing gurus put a lot of stock in the adage “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” They know that pretty things are not just nice to look at, they’re important sales and marketing tools that make for beautiful profit margins.

More and more manufacturers of skin creams and perfumes depend on appealing packages to move product. The Fredonia Group, a Cleveland-based industrial research group, estimates that demand for cosmetic and toiletry containers in the U.S. is projected to expand 2.6% per year to 23 billion units in 2007. With competition growing and shelf space shrinking, makers of shampoo, lipstick and moisturizer are filling up their marketing toolbox with all sorts of eye-catching packages that appeal to consumers’ aesthetic sensibilities and encourage impulse buying. But they must also perform to ensure repeat purchases.

Simply beautiful

Products and packaging have to deliver the goods, but also deliver an experience that surpasses expectations. This requires more than just adding a few pretty ingredients to the mix to spur sales. People are crunched for time and demand products that simplify their lives, personal care products included.

Simple, however, doesn’t mean unattractive. In the cosmetics industry, for example, clear packaging is becoming a standard feature for several reasons. It provides a window of opportunity for a shopper to see the primary package inside simply, easily and in the blink of a shadowed eye.

By filling its aisles with new personal care products featuring the latest ingredients, innovative delivery systems and, most important, valid benefit claims, chain drug stores spent the year communicating to their shoppers that they can find suitable mass alternatives that rival pricier department store and salon brands. Regardless of category, the overwhelming emphasis in personal care centered on the idea that looking good is inextricably tied to feeling good. As a consumer group, baby boomers delivered the message to manufacturers, marketers and retailers that they would pay premium drug store prices for products across all personal care categories that promote health and youthfulness.

Live your life like it’s golden.

PEOPLE

My hairstylist Sonya Ingram of Hair Designs With You In Mind in New Rochelle, New York, ([914] 633-HAIR), has kept my hair tight for years. I still believe in a good old-fashioned facial, and the Shizuka New York day spa ([212] 644-7400) has the magic touch.

Sjal Moisturizer Kura Intuitif ($245) hydrates my skin all day long. It’s pricey, but it’s so worth it.

Prescriptives Custom Blond Lip Gloss ($26) is genius! Not Only can you create your own dream color, but the finish and scent too!

When my legs are on the pale side, I smooth on Michael Kors Leg Shine ($32) for a summertime glow. BEAUTY MOMENT

Salt ‘N Pepa’s Asymmetric haircut. Who didn’t Want to work This look?

Giorgio Armani Sheer Cream Blush ($40) is one bronzer I cannot do without

The fresh and unusual scents of Mistral Triple Milled Shea Butter Soaps ($7) are simply divine.

PLACES

If I miss my standing hair appointment, my local Dominican hair salons are my saving grace. Sunday at 9:00 A.M., for 20 bucks–what! And I can’t get enough of C.O. Bigelow (that’s where I’m shopping at left). It’s my best-kept beauty secret.

La Mer facial Cleansing Fluid ($65) is ridiculously moisturizing My dry skin so appreciates that.

I never leave home without Estee Lauder Liquid Liner in Black ($23). Never.
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The subtle floral scent of Burberry London ($76) is my new favorite. And the bottle is too cute.

I’m Creative Nail Designs’ biggest fan. Its artists transform nails into works of art. Visit creative-naildesigns.com.

I’m the ultimate lip-gloss girl, and this season I’m feeling sheer pinks like Lucy B. Fresh Juice in Glamarama ($16) and Lucy B. Tinted Lip Balm in Pink Bikini ($17)