Lip Product Packaging Keeps Pace with Trends

The lip category has evolved beyond lipstick to include various types of lip color, lip care, and hybrid products that combine color with skincare benefits. Options now include tinted lip oils, peptide-infused treatment balms, plumping glosses, tinted serums, and more. So, it’s no surprise that packaging for lip products has become increasingly diverse. 

“Lip remains a dynamic category, benefiting from a high potential for innovation,” explains Maud Lelièvre, Marketing & Communication  Director at Cosmogen&Asquan. She says that the most successful lip products—and packaging—will strongly engage the consumer on an emotional level to inspire frequent repurchases.

Suppliers have a lot to balance when providing brands with packaging options that emphasize functionality to deliver a premium user experience. Incorporating sustainable materials is key, without skimping on aesthetics. 

Berlin Packaging’s “Eggshell” lipstick case, for example, is a playful, rounded lipstick case with an airtight closure. It’s designed for long-lasting and transfer-proof  formulas, and has a refillable shell. 

Advancing Lip Packaging Design 

Suppliers are moving beyond traditional bullets, offering a wide range of packaging for lip products. There are bottles with various wand applicators, tubes with dispensing tips in numerous shapes, and many more options. 

Rayuen Packaging offers a no-drip-leak-proof airless cosmetic tube ideal for lip glosses, oils, serums, and tints. PCR is available for the LDPE tube. The cap and collar are PP. 

Wearable lip packages, designed as accessories, have the potential to appeal to consumers of all ages. 

IBG’s Keychain Clip, shown, makes the perfect accessory. “Our new modular gloss travels in packs,” says Kristen Corso, Global Director AI & Digital Innovation at IBG. “Each cap clicks to the next, and a jewelry-grade clasp turns gloss into a wearable charm that can hang from a phone case, keys, or bag,” she says.

Don’t mistake IBG’s Keychain Clip for a gimmick, Corso notes. It’s a connect-and-clip system design influenced by consumer behavior. “Charm culture is an exploding trend,” she says. “Plus, the rising interest in minis means consumers want to carry multiple colors. Our connectable cap makes multi-shade carry frictionless, and quietly nudges multi-unit purchases,” she explains. 

Lip Color Meets Lip Care

Today’s beauty consumers expect lip products to deliver more than just color. 

Lucia Francia, Marketing Director at Brivaplast, says hybrid lip products are a major trend. “High-performance lip color formulas are infused with deeply hydrating and nourishing skincare ingredients—and deliver a radiant, high-shine glossy look,” she says. 

Brivaplast offers a thick-wall bottle with a 16mm neck, ideal for lip serums. It can be made from recyclable PET or PET-R. “Various stem diameters are available to allow for seamless pairing with a wide range of applicator shapes, from mini to maxi sizes,” adds Francia. Another option is its “2040S,” shown. This chubby bottle, available in recycled material, has a 20mm neck to accommodate dip applicators in various shapes and sizes.

Celeste Osborne, Senior Manager, Content Strategy, at Berlin Packaging, notes an increasing interest in bolder colors for lips. “The lip category is seeing a return to color, but with the benefits and expertise of treatment-focused formulations—and very much connected to the trendy gloss universe,” she says. “Brands have huge opportunities in new lip color segments,” Osborne notes. “There are new packaging formats, from sticks to vials, for innovative liquid and creamy textures.” 

Berlin Packaging’s Makeup in Glass collection pairs thick-walled flint glass bottles with flocked applicators. The collection is ideal for brands developing premium glosses and lip treatment  products. Decorating options include metallization, laser etching, hot-stamping, and 3D ink jet effects.

The  collection includes round and square bottles with screw neck designs. “The screw neck accommodates different types of accessories from flock applicators to brushes, so brands can have a full product range using the same design. The premium collection conveys quality, and is suitable for both the mass and luxury markets,” says Osborne.

When Lip Packaging Enhances Product Performance 

Packaging for lip products needs to support a growing range of textures and application experiences—and suppliers are delivering. There are cooling metal applicators, soft-touch tips, and thick-wall gloss vials. 

As  lip formulas get more sophisticated, applicators are more important, suppliers say. “Lip color products are increasingly driven by usage, functionality, and experience,” says Cosmogen’s Lelièvre. “Integrated applicators are now a core part of the value proposition for lip packaging, and we offer many applicator-led solutions,” she says.

Cosmogen’s  Lip Tense Tube combines a slanted applicator with a removable stainless-steel tip that provides a cooling effect and smoothing massage around the lips. The recyclable package was designed for colorful hybrid lip formulas and allows the metal tip to be removed to facilitate sorting at end-of-life.

FusionPKG, an Aptar Beauty Company, developed Muse, a PET bottle with three applicator options. According to Ariana Hoshiari, Senior Marketing and Events Specialist, the package is ideal for glosses, lip oils, and plumpers “where the applicator plays a key role in performance.” 

Brands can pair Muse with Glide, a flexible silicone applicator; Bold, which is flocked and sculpted for maximum pickup; or Sleek, a classic angled doe-foot applicator. “Muse is perfect for lip and color formulas that require precision, payoff, and a more elevated application experience,” adds Hoshiari.

Cooling metal applicators, inspired by skincare packaging, are becoming increasingly popular for lip products. HCT by KDC One’s patented cooling tip technology is compatible with treatments, balms, glosses, tints, and liquid lip color. Ariel Kuzon, senior marketing director at HCT, says the package provides a luxe experience. Removable tips make it easier for consumers to recycle the packaging.

Rayuen Packaging also offers metal-tip tubes designed for lip oils, glosses, and serums. According to Sue Cheung, Marketing Director, the stainless steel applicator delivers a cooling sensation while adding premium appeal.  

Creating Elevated Application Experiences

Suppliers are focusing on developing packaging for lip products that can deliver an elevated application experience, and preserve a formula’s integrity. 

FusionPKG’s Pure Needle Nose Tube delivers a controlled application. It features a one-way valve system that minimizes air exposure as the tube naturally collapses during use. The package was developed for formulas that require “precision, protection, and controlled dispensing,” says Hoshiari.

Soft-touch applicators are a trend that delivers the sensorial experience consumers crave. Elita Kung, Marketing Manager at ICONS America, says there’s a rising interest in its jelly-like pillow applicators. 

ICONS America’s newest pillow applicator tubes feature cushion-like silicone applicators in playful heart and flower shapes. “It provides a gel-soft feel and soothing application experience,” says Kung. It’s available in a mini travel size, and can be produced using PCR.

GZ Sanrong offers a TPE Lip Tube, and describes it as “soft-touch luxury at your fingertips.” The cosmetic tube’s soft, slanted applicator is made from food-grade TPE. “It makes each application a soothing, tactile experience,” the supplier states. The tube is made using 35% PCR and is recyclable.

Cosmogen’s “Smooth & Fresh” is a bottle paired with a “sensory and functional applicator,” the supplier says. It features a unique dual-surface applicator tip that combines cool metal with ultra-soft flocking to deliver a precise and comfortable application experience.   

More Options in Lip Packaging

Other unique designs for brands looking for packaging lip color or lip care products include Berlin Packaging’s “Beauty Twist.”  Designed for lip scrubs, masks, balms, and creamy hybrid textures, the twist-up format dispenses a controlled amount of product. It’s made entirely from recyclable PP.

Hybrid  lip and cheek products are also driving new package designs in the lip category. ICONS America’s Chubby Duo End Lip Pack incorporates two built-in applicators—a chubby doe foot and pillow-shaped silicone tip—to create diffused finishes and support multifunctional formulas. The package was designed for “2-in-one lip and cheek hybrids and other on-the-go beauty essentials,” says Kung.

Sustainability Advances 

Sustainability remains a priority, although suppliers say performance and desirability must be maintained.

“Sustainability is embedded from the earliest design stages,” says Cosmogen’s Lelièvre. “Brands expect reduced material usage, recyclable or refillable solutions, reusable packaging and applicators, and the integration of recycled materials.”

Many suppliers are emphasizing mono-material solutions and PCR content. Rayuen Packaging’s premium gloss vials are made from mono-material PET, and are available with PCR PET. ICONS America’s pillow applicator tubes and Chubby Duo End Lip Pack are available with PCR materials.

Suppliers  are also considering end-of-life recycling. Cosmogen’s Lip Tense Tube features a removable metal applicator to facilitate sorting, while HCT offers removable cooling tips that simplify recycling. 

Looking Ahead

Experts say hybrid lip formulas that combine color with treatment benefits are one factor that will fuel market growth. “Growth will be driven by hybrid products—and experiential premiumization, minis, and modular formats will be important,” says Cosmogen’s Lelièvre. “Packaging will play a strategic  role in supporting discovery, responsible consumption, and expert application.”

Experts also predict that more brands will experiment with developing collectible packaging for lip products. Think of packaging that doubles as a lifestyle accessory. 

What’s next? Suppliers will continue to respond to market demands and develop new types of lip applicators, delivery systems, and more sustainable materials for lip packaging. We expect future lip packaging designs to help make every swipe more precise—and every product more memorable.