Make-Up and their Packaging: Designed to Re-Sell?

Many make up companies have limited editions of their products come out annually, bi-annually, or whenever they so choose.  They also come out with certain lines within their brands that usually result in an increase in sales just because they have, for example, Hello Kitty's face on it.


Credit to MAC Cosmetics


Whether or not some of the colors may actually already exist with/without the Hello Kitty trademark on them, these products all sold very quickly.  For Halloween, MAC also released a Disney Villain line.


Credit to MAC Cosmetics


I, myself, tried checking their website when I found out to see if they had anything left over.  Just a week before Halloween, there were only about 2 products that weren't sold out.  So is it that people buy products when they have a special line out even though the products themselves could be readily available in MAC's regular containers?
All make up companies spend a lot of time on making their products look sellable.  But not every company creates lines that are limited editions.  Regardless of whether the make up is temporary or will always be in stock, they all have certain designs to appeal to their audiences.  MAC does a great job at selling their limited edition lines because they have characters on them that make the products incredibly sellable.  Now, I'm not 100% sure about this, but I'm under the impression most of the products are new colors.  However, I wouldn't be too surprised if I saw a color reappear with a Disney Villain on it to make it sell faster.  I have no hard evidence of this, but I think it would be a well-worked process in order to sell something that wasn't initially selling.
Whether make up companies are selling limited edition lipsticks

Credit to MAC Cosmetics
or if another company is just trying to get themselves known, there is a lot involved in the design of how the packaging or the containers will sell the product.

Credit to Amy (Shrinkle)


This line of make up, Sugarpill, is a new line of make up that I discovered through a YouTube video within the past year.  The reason why I bring this company up versus the long-living MAC is that its packaging and its containers are part of the reason why I picked them up in the first place.  As a smaller company, Amy has spent a lot of time on making the packaging appealing to the consumers.  I view this as a business owner trying to sell her product in the most appealing way.  So if she starts a limited edition line, I believe a redesign of the containers would probably be the most effective way of selling the products: if there were only 100 of a certain item and you knew you wanted it, wouldn't you jump on that bandwagon right away?
Designing in make up is super important because most make up artists are also interested in what is visually interesting to them.  So to make the best possible sell, a company must make their product seem valuable to their customers.  Whether it's through visually appealing packaging or limited edition lines, design will always be integrated in trying to advertise to the public that, "This is the product you want."
"Hello Kitty Limited Edition."
"I'm colorful and exciting."
"I'm simple, but sophisticated."

What does your make up packaging say about you?  The design of the packaging/advertisements say it for you.