Expert Cosmetics . Claire’s Stores . 2013
packaging design, production management
Claire’s Store, Inc. owns two different brands, Claire’s, which focuses on tweens and teens, and Icing, which is for college and post-collegiate women. Icing wanted to create a high-end line of cosmetics to further separate itself from Claire’s. The cosmetics were meant for an older girl with experience applying makeup. After some success with the first few items, we decided to expand the products offered. To further distance the EXPERT line from the basic black packaged cosmetics, I introduced pearlized white paper and components. The EXPERT line continues to be expanded into a variety of products, which at one point made up 15 percent of all Icing cosmetics sales nationwide.
Icing cosmetics generally focuses on trendy makeup items at a lower price point than those at Sephora. The EXPERT eye palettes were created in response to the growing market for eye makeup books focused on a theme, such as Urban Decay’s best-selling NAKED palette. Instead of staying with the monotone EXPERT standards, I took advantage of the opportunity to bring some color into the product assortment. The first two, “Barely There” and “Bold Smokey,” became the two highest selling items in Icing stores nationwide. From there, we extended into glitter and pastel palettes. Another was developed for Icing’s expanded Bridal product assortment.
