Safe and practical

Airless packaging has long been embraced to protect and contain complex skincare formulations. For many years, scores of brands have taken advantage of these high-tech systems. Now, makeup is moving into skincare territory, with new formulations that offer additional benefits. Has the time come for makeup to fully embrace airless technology?

First, let’s look at why airless is often chosen for skincare packaging. The benefits are clear. The formula is never in contact with air, until the moment it is used. This makes it perfect to protect products sensitive to oxygen and external contamination, like those with Vitamin C. It reduces the need for artificial preservatives and extends the shelf life of formulations. Usage is also more versatile. The formula can be dispensed in a 360-degree angle, allowing it to be used upside down or sideways. 

For high-value products, or those with active ingredients, it is important that a precise amount is applied with each use. Airless systems dispense an exact and repeatable dosage with each stroke – no more or less than required. What’s more, compared to most other types of packaging, these dispensers have a high restitution rate. Waste is avoided, as nearly all of the formula is used. It is safe to say that most of us really hate having to throw away that last bit of product!

For makeup as well

All these advantages can be equally applied to colour cosmetics products. Makeup and skincare are both cosmetics that require appropriate containers. On the other hand, colour cosmetics clearly differ from skincare in many ways. Aesthetics are of utmost importance. Also, capacities tend to be much smaller. There is a huge variation in formula textures. Perhaps the biggest difference is that colour cosmetics, more than any other segment, are strongly led by trends – but it is precisely these trends that may end up pushing makeup towards airless packaging.

Colour and care

Two trends in makeup are currently making the perfect case for airless. The first is so called ‘skinification’. This refers to colour cosmetics with the dual effect of makeup with added skincare benefits. Nowadays, a ‘feel-good’ factor is required in any consumer product, especially with any kind of cosmetic product.

Younger generations are demanding more than a superficial makeover. A sense of wellbeing is equally important. Rather than covering up freckles or wrinkles, consumers want skin to be healthy and soft through lasting care, drawing out the inherent beauty of natural traits.

In response, beauty brands are developing makeup to be not merely aesthetic but functional too, to offer smoothing effects or to reduce the appearance of undereye ‘bags’. This requires added ingredients like actives, which in many cases are sensitive to air. This hybridisation of makeup is increasing, especially in the face area. Primers, foundations, BB or CC creams, skin tints, concealers – all of these are evolving to offer combined skincare and makeup benefits.

Reduce artificials

The other trend is ‘clean beauty’, also referred to as ‘free from’ (‘free from artificial colouring’, for example). Makeup products in this category have been simplified to the max, taking out as many artificial components as possible that could potentially have a detrimental effect on skin.

This tends to leave the formula without strong preservatives, so the packaging needs to take over the job of protecting the ingredients, not only from air, but also from other possible contamination such as light or impurities. 

Also, ingredients in clean beauty formulations are often from a natural origin and generally more delicate. This makes them more disposed to short-term deterioration, which can shorten their shelf life. Avoiding air in the pack helps these ingredients last longer.

By offering extra protection, airless packaging can help enable products with more actives, more natural or organic ingredients and less preservatives. New skinification and clean beauty launches are clear candidates to take advantage of all the benefits airless technology can offer.

For those makeup brands considering this technology, there are certain criteria to bear in mind when making that decision.

Criteria for brands

The first of these is viscosity. This always determines which dispenser to use, as it has a direct impact on the product’s performance. With airless dispensers, the viscosity is a key factor because it is linked to the amount of pressure required to activate the pack and deliver the right amount of formula. Dosage is fixed and unique to each airless pack – typically ranging bet-ween 0.1cc and 1cc – so it must match the recommended dose of the formula.

The raw materials of the formula are also extremely important in selecting a packaging solution. For example, some powders used in setting products or long-lasting formulations can affect the dispenser. If used with the wrong pump, such ingredients can impede the correct delivery of the formula, blocking the inner mechanism. In other words, the pack must have a pump that can accommodate the texture and larger dimensions of powder-based formulas.

Then, there is capacity. Most makeup products come in smaller sizes than skincare products. The formulas mentioned before, which could ideally benefit from airless technology, are mostly creamy. Liquid blush and concealers tend to be available up to 15ml. Concealers in airless packages would be around 5 – 15ml. BB/CC creams and liquid foundations are usually a little bigger, at around 30ml in a bottle or 40ml in a tube. Face primers in lotions come in 30ml packs. The trend is to have primers in fine mists, for 360-degree usage; the corresponding airless packaging would be 50 – 100ml capacity.

With core usage being in skincare, it is important to consult the airless packaging provider on the range of capacities available. A few airless collections start from 5ml with a dosage of 0.1cc, all the way up to 150ml for body care.

Besides creamy formulas, other textures can also be accommodated. Airless packaging comes in all kinds of formats, from bottles, tubes, and jars, to click pens and sprays. The few makeup products on the market using airless dispensers are in more traditional containers.

Sustainable aspects

‘Free from’ brands, and indeed any company concerned with sustainability, will want to consider airless options with some kind of eco-design:

• monomaterial packs,
• reduced material content,
• metal-free pumps,
• recycled materials,
• refill formats, etc.

New product development in airless is increasingly focused on reducing environmental impact.

The look

Finally, there is the design. Aesthetics are essential in makeup. New developments in shape customisation put bespoke designs within reach of even indie brands, albeit for larger capacities from 50ml.

Decoration options can play with colour, matt or gloss coatings, embossing or debossing, and metallisation, applying various techniques to match the brand image. Wooden caps and collars can add a natural touch. The options are endless. 

While some kinds of makeup formula will not be suitable at present, there is no reason for others to embrace this technology today. And as a constantly evolving category, airless packaging may soon seduce and conquer colour cosmetics