Boxing Day is a distinctly British tradition. No matter where you are in the country, or how you celebrate the holiday season, the general consensus is that it’s considered a national day for doing not very much at all, if possible. Whether you’re currently spending today on the sofa, eating, drinking, and relaxing, or even if you’re on your way elsewhere, take a moment to scroll through the Wallpaper* shortlist of seductive beauty packaging from the past year.
There’s Lucia Pica’s First Emotions collection for Byredo (which won Wallpaper’s 2023 design award for best use of colour), Hermès’ debut eyeshadow launch (captured by photographer Ivona Chrzastek on the pages of our November 2023 art issue, alongside an interview with the creative director of Hermès Beauty, Gregoris Pyrpylis), and more.
Boxing Day: seductive beauty packaging from 2023
Byredo’s First Emotions collection by Lucia Pica
Okay, so if you want to be pedantic, Byredo’s First Emotions collection, designed by the brand’s creative image and make-up partner Lucia Pica, was technically launched in 2022. However, for the Wallpaper* 2023 design awards issue, we gave the range of products the top spot for ‘best use of colour’. It goes without saying that the packaging also deserves a mention, which includes designs for a Kajal eye pencil and mascara in burgundy, a five-colour eyeshadow palette with gold, auburns and metallic pinks, and two lipsticks.
Celine’s bath and body collection
Inspired by the ritualistic Parisian art of bathing, Hedi Slimane realised a new Celine bath and body collection in 2023. Infused with the scent of fragrance Cologne Céleste (which launched earlier in the year containing notes of orange blossom, angelica, sweet lemon essence, petitgrain, neroli, ambrette, and orris butter) the bottles are also pieces of art unto themselves, with weighty glass bottles and metal lids that turn any bathroom into a little slice of luxury.
Hermès’ eyeshadow debut
Designed by Pierre Hardy in keeping with the entire Hermès Beauty range, the packaging for the first collection of eye products was highlighted on the pages of Wallpaper* November 2023, celebrating form as well as function. Called ‘Le Regard’, the selection of products is comprised of eyeshadow palettes and brushes, and a selection of mascaras in six different shades. As Greek make-up artist and creative director of the storied house’s beauty line Gregoris Pyrpylis told Mary Cleary: ‘I don’t want to impose a certain look on someone … I want them to amuse themselves and have a nice moment. Make-up shouldn’t feel like an obligation.’
Rabanne’s new make-up line
‘The nice thing about the products is that they’re very interchangeable. You can mix them, and there’s a lot to play with. There’s definitely that playfulness, that avant-garde spirit and a little bit of sophistication, while still being playful and young,’ said make-up artist Diane Kendal, in a Wallpaper* interview marking the launch of Rabanne’s gender-neutral make-up line, and her subsequent appointment as its creative director, in August 2023. ‘People want to have fun and have products they can play with.’ Of course, a Rabanne product wouldn’t be a Rabanne product without design references to the iconic chainmail that the Spanish brand is renowned for, evidenced in the metallic packaging for foundations, lipsticks, eyeshadows, amongst others.
Ann Demeulemeester’s first ever fragrance
September 2023 marked a first for Belgian designer Ann Demeulemeester (her namesake brand was founded in Antwerp in 1985), when the label put out its first-ever fragrance. Simply titled ‘A’, and described as ‘darkly romantic’ with notes of clove, cumin, Ceylon cinnamon, Sicilian lemon and Calabrian bergamot, and ‘narcotic’ jasmine, the bottle played into the gothic minimalism inherent to the fashion line, with a sleek black design crafted from glass. ‘The box itself – evocative of a blank canvas – is designed to recall the designer’s Antwerp boutique, while a portrait of the designer by husband Patrick Robyn in 1992 is fixed to the interior,’ wrote Wallpaper’s fashion features editor Jack Moss upon the perfume’s arrival.
