Tips for Designing Lip Gloss Labels

You’ve formulated your product, and you’d like to find out if there’s a market for it. Next step: branding. Don’t worry—this part is just as fun as experimenting in your at-home laboratory. Try these tips for designing lip gloss labels to create something professional, stylish, and memorable.

Defining Your Brand

Creating a distinctive label isn’t all that different from perfecting a cosmetics formula. The purpose of gloss is to make lips look irresistible, and the purpose of labels is to make your product look inviting. This is your chance to dress up your product in packaging that communicates your vision of beauty. And if that’s too intimidating, you can settle on something simple with your name on it. Just think of it as wrapping your gift to the world—a gift that people will pay for over and over again.

Selecting a Logo

If you’ve been dreaming of starting your own cosmetics line, you’ve probably doodled some ideas for what your packaging will look like. You can polish your logo with a computer design program, look for free artwork online, or hire a freelance professional for a surprisingly low fee. If you’re not yet sure about your company’s identity, there’s nothing wrong with keeping it simple. You can add borders and other graphics to your label, and channel a lot of your personality through the font you use.

Pro Tip

Remember that the label needs to be easy to read. The most audacious, avant-garde design isn’t going to be effective if it doesn’t drive the name of your company home.

Capitalizing on Color

If you know what colors you want to use in your packaging, go with your gut. Only you can decide what your brand should look like. If you’re still playing with the possibilities, you can optimize your impact by delving into the psychology of color. Each color has a different effect on human behavior and can even influence purchases. Color combinations can invoke more complex feelings. Here’s an overview of the basics:

Pink

This go-to color for makeup is evocative of femininity, unconditional love, and playfulness.

Logo examples: Barbie, Victoria’s Secret

Red

The vivid hue has strong associations with excitement, passion, energy, and action.

Logo examples: Coca-Cola, Target

Black

This austere, classic choice is symbolic of sophistication, power, mystery, and elegance.

Logo examples: Chanel, Nike

White

Use the innocent appeal of white for a message of goodness, cleanliness, and trustworthiness.

Logo examples: ASOS, Adidas

Orange

A pop of orange invokes fun, creativity, adventure, and enthusiasm.

Logo examples: Home Depot, Nickelodeon

Yellow

With sunshine on its side, yellow is all about happiness, positivity, optimism, and summer.

Logo examples: Ferrari, IKEA

Blue

With echoes of the sea and sky, blue brings up feelings of stability, harmony, trust, and peace.

Logo examples: Facebook, Walmart

Green

This is a good choice for natural or healthy ingredients, and also invokes money and growth.

Logo examples: Starbucks, John Deere

Purple

You’ll have to be confident to use purple, as it has associations with power, luxury, wisdom, royalty, and spirituality.

Logo examples: Hallmark, Yahoo

Sizing the Label

If you’ve chosen novelty-shaped containers for your product, you’ll be more limited when it comes to the label. Look for a flat surface where you can attach a small round label or something similar. If you’re using standard clear lip gloss tubes, just measure the dimensions. You’ll find plenty of templates online that should fit your packaging perfectly.

Pro Tip

Don’t go overboard and design a label that covers up too much of the tube. You want the color of your lip gloss to show through.

Choosing the Method

Make Your Own

This is where you have a decision to make. Do you want to make your labels yourself? If you’re a DIY enthusiast, you can print your own with an inkjet or laser printer. The main downside is that paper stickers might smear if your product gets sticky or wet—and it will definitely get sticky at some point. If you’re more ambitious, you can even create vinyl labels on a Cricut machine with a video tutorial.

Outsource Online

It’s very inexpensive to upload your design and order custom labels online. Check independent websites for the specifics. Most won’t require a minimum quantity, so you can order different variations to see which labels work best without breaking the bank.

Pro Tip

If you want something with better quality and more durability, printing services can provide you with higher-grade permanent vinyl and UV coats for your labels.

Including More Information

The Food and Drug Administration regulates the cosmetics industry and has several requirements for labeling. Labels must include:

• Recommended usage
• Quantity
• Manufacturer or distributor
• Directions
• Warnings
• Shelf life or expiration date

You may feel like your product is swimming with words, but make sure you include this information.

Listing Ingredients

Your labels should also list the ingredients you use. It might be easier to print these on a box for your tubes or enclose an insert with more details. Start with the ingredient that makes up the highest percentage of your gloss, using its scientific and common name. Follow through until you get to any ingredients that add up to less than 1 percent of the lip gloss. You can group those in any order.

Pro Tip

This is not the place to add words like “natural” or “organic”; the FDA wants the names, not any descriptors.

Applying the Results

One day, your beauty company will demand an assembly line, but as you get started, it’s up to you to put on the labels. Clean your jars and bottles with a lint-free cloth and some alcohol for optimal adhesion. Then, line up your label with the lid or any lengthwise seams. Slowly apply pressure from the middle of the label out to prevent bubbling.

These tips for designing lip gloss labels should simplify the process so you can focus on creative and strategic decisions. No Prob-Llama can help you manage your beauty business with everything from the ingredients to the packaging. We’re a beauty enthusiast’s best friend, and we look forward to being a part of your success.