What Makes a Great Perfume Packaging Design?

Fragrance is a complex fusion of different notes that blend perfectly to create a delightful aroma. Perfume is personal. When applied to the skin, each note reacts uniquely with every person depending on body chemistry, Ph level and skin type. Perfume says a lot about our personalities. It conveys different moods and emotions. Fruit notes may be fun and playful while woody scents are moody and thoughtful.

Since perfume is a personal thing, the best perfume packaging design will appeal to customers on a personal level. In recent years, the importance of packaging has exceeded its primary function of product protection. These days, packaging plays an essential role in brand recognition, product awareness and sales.

According to Dotcom Distribution, 50% of shoppers are willing to recommend your product if it arrives in branded, gift packaging. Perfume packaging plays a key role in the perceived value of a product and can help to market and sell your fragrance bottles. Luxury perfume packaging should appeal to the relevant target audience, contribute to the hype surrounding your products and encourage potential customers to exchange their money for your product.

How Perfume Bottle Designs Affect Marketing

No longer just a means to protect your product, perfume packaging is a collector’s item. It’s something to show off on retail shelves. It’s something that takes pride of place on a dressing table. It’s something to post on social media. That’s why investing in custom perfume packaging boxes is a great way to make your perfume stand out from its competition.

When we think of the most popular perfumes – Chanel No. 5, Thierry Mugler’s Alien, even Estee Lauder’s Bronze Goddess, we imagine vastly different things. The first obvious difference is the different scents. But, above all else, they look different. Each perfume gift packaging box functions as an extension of the perfume itself. When we think of Chanel, we picture the classic white folded carton box with the printed black logo and trim. Like the brand itself, Chanel’s perfume packaging is classic, elegant and understated. Bronze Goddess, on the other hand, is a dark-coloured FBB with luxurious and bold gold accents. Despite their differences, both Chanel and Estee Lauder’s perfume packaging is unique and on-brand.

It is for precisely this reason that the outer packaging makes a perfume bottle stand out from the crowd on an over-filled retail shelf. The perfume box is shown on adverts, social media, and any other marketing platforms, showing customers the entire perfume package. It’s also the very first thing your customers sees when interacting with your perfume for the first time.

By combining premium materials with branded prints and colours, your perfume packaging boxes are sure to impress your customers.

What Makes a Great Perfume Packaging Design?

The very best perfume packaging is designed and produced with your customer in mind. Great perfume packaging design should be creative, personal and on-brand.

Creative

The best perfume packaging design ideas are those that are a little different to the rest. After all, copying your competitor certainly won’t allow you to stand out from the crowd. Creative packaging shows passion, enthusiasm and dedication. Attention to detail shows and it certainly pays off. If you don’t care about your product, why should your customers? If nothing else, your customers will appreciate the time and effort that has gone into your designs.

But creative ideas aren’t always easy to come by. They take time, effort and a lot of energy. But it’s a worthwhile investment to make! Creative perfume packaging is a great way to enhance your products and your brand.

Personal

Scent is personal. Fruity, floral, spicy, oriental or fresh, we all have a preference depending on our mood. Packaging that reflects this mood provides a personalised touch and makes it clear what type of perfume the customer is buying. This can be as simple as a floral embossed design on a floral perfume or printed fruits on a fruity fragrance – in both cases, the consumer is fully aware of the type of scent they are buying.

Since very few people purchase a perfume before having the opportunity to sample it, personalising your perfume sample packaging is another great way to enhance the customer experience and encourage them to invest in the full-sized product.

On brand

Your perfume packaging should be an extension of your brand. If you’re a big company with a range of cosmetics, perfumes and other beauty products, staying on-brand helps your customers recognise a new product launch. The same is to be said for small perfumeries with a small collection. Either way, staying true to your brand is important for brand awareness and recognition.

If your brand has monochrome colours and simplistic fonts, let this seep through into your perfume packaging. If your brand is bold and vibrant, let your perfume packaging boxes be fun and eye-catching. Strong branding helps you maintain customer loyalty and put your products in front of the right people.

Durability

Often made from glass, perfume bottles are fragile products that require extra care. The best perfume packaging is durable and long-wearing to keep your perfume bottles safe during transit and during their time on a busy retail shelf.

Strong, durable and incredibly cost-effective, folding cartons are popular perfume packaging options, especially when combined with internal fitments to keep your fragrances safe and secure. Up to four times more durable than traditional packaging, rigid boxes are another favourite for perfume boxes. However, since luxury rigid box packaging can be more costly than folding box board, rigid boxes are typically reserved for premium perfumes with a higher price point.

Both folding cartons and rigid boxes have excellent qualities and customisation options, making them highly popular within the cosmetics industry.

Our Favourite Perfume Packaging Design Examples

If you still find yourself stuck for perfume packaging ideas, let us inspire you with a variety of unique, personalised and on-brand perfume packaging boxes.

Karbon Stellated Octahedron

Karbon’s stellated octahedron is the perfect example of unique perfume packaging design.

Constructed from a single sheet of folded paperboard, Karbon’s perfume packaging is a beautiful homage to the Japanese art of paper folding and uniquely encapsulates the oriental notes of the perfume’s fragrance.

As if the unique shape of the perfume box isn’t enough to catch the attention of those passing by, Karbon’s perfume box has a luxurious appeal. With a matte black finish and muted silver logo, Karbon’s perfume packaging box is attractive and appealing.

Le Labo Discovery Set

On a mission to put the soul back into fragrance, Le Labo devotes a lot of time and effort to their design and production processes. The same is to be said for their packaging. Le Labo’s kraft gift box is timeless, simple and unique in a sea of bright and vibrant perfume box packaging.

Famously branded like an apothecary, Le Labo’s vintage-style packaging is on-brand. According to their manifesto, Le Labo believes that the future of luxury lies in craftmanship. The simplicity of the perfume packaging and the perfume bottles prompts customers to focus on the high-quality ingredients contained within each product and of the craftsmanship devoted to every product.

Complete with a simplistic matte black interior and internal fitment to hold each perfume bottle securely in place, Le Labo’s perfume gift packaging is unique, personal and on-brand.

Shay & Blue Perfumery Explorer Collection

Shay and Blue’s nautical-inspired perfume box packaging is a breath of fresh air. Printed in a bright blue with a contrasting white logo and nautical stripes to the side, the Explorer gift box speaks volumes about its fresh, seaside-inspired fragrance. Although the combination of blue, white and black is in no means unique, Shay and Blue’s choice of classic colours and styles is a great example of simplistically simple packaging. In a unique A-frame shaped folding carton, Shay and Blue’s perfume packaging is all set to impress.

Contact Our Perfume Packaging Team for Expert Advice