Custom Lipstick Boxes & Lipstick Packaging
Lipstick is a small product with a big margin and a very crowded shelf, which means the carton is doing serious selling work. It also has to survive being knocked around in a handbag display and stacked six high in a warehouse. We print a lot of lipstick packaging at ZEE Packaging, and the brief is usually the same, make it look premium at a size where premium is hard to pull off.
Small Panel, Big Expectation
A lipstick box is one of the smallest cartons we run. Every millimetre of that panel counts.
- Keep the front to logo, shade name and finish, nothing more
- Shade swatch printed as a solid block, buyers scan for color first
- Finish stated, matte, satin, cream or gloss
- Net weight in oz and g
- Full INCI list on the back or a side panel of the lipstick packaging
- Batch and expiry area left blank for inkjet coding
Cramming six elements onto a 0.9 inch wide face is the most common mistake we see in lipstick packaging.
- Reverse tuck end cheapest lipstick box, fine for volume
- Straight tuck end cleaner front face, slightly better shelf presence
- Seal end carton glued, gives tamper evidence
- Sleeve over a tray feels more considered, popular for premium lipstick packaging
- Rigid lid and base luxury and limited edition lipstick box
- Drawer slide nice for a two or three shade gift set
Sizes We Run Constantly
Every lipstick box is built to your bullet tube, but these come up over and over:
- 0.9" x 0.9" x 3.25" for a standard slim bullet
- 1" x 1" x 3.5" for a wider tube, our most ordered lipstick box
- 1.1" x 1.1" x 3.75" for chunky and magnetic cap tubes
- 3.5" x 1" x 3.5" for a three shade set
- 5" x 4" x 1.5" for a flat gift set lipstick packaging
Measure the tube with the cap on, add a hair of tolerance, and send it over. We build the dieline from that.
Board Choice
- SBS C1S for smooth printed lipstick boxes, our default
- 18pt to 22pt, this is the sweet spot for a tube of this weight
- Kraft board for clean beauty and refill ranges
- Rigid greyboard 36pt or 48pt for luxury
- Metallized or pearlescent stock when you want shine across the panel
Below 16pt a tall narrow lipstick box starts twisting on the shelf, and that reads cheap immediately.
Finishing Is Where The Money Shows
At this size the finish does more for perceived value than the print does.
- Soft touch lamination, easily the most requested in lipstick packaging
- Foil stamping, gold and rose gold dominate this category
- Blind deboss on soft touch, understated and it looks expensive
- Spot UV over matte for a shade swatch that pops
- Metallic ink and pearlescent effects
- Printed interior on the tuck flap, small touch, gets noticed
Holding The Tube Still
- Snug internal fit, a rattling lipstick box feels cheap
- Paperboard insert on wider cartons
- Tissue or foam pad on rigid gift boxes
- Divider when two or three bullets share one lipstick box
Greener Options
- Recycled kraft lipstick boxes with no film
- FSC certified board, certificate on request
- Soy based inks
- Uncoated finish that recycles curbside
- Right sized lipstick packaging so you ship less air
How We Work
- 100 unit minimum on any lipstick box design
- Free 3D mockup and flat proof
- Free dieline from our inhouse designer
- 5 to 8 business day urgent turnaround
- Free shipping worldwide
Frequently Asked Questions
How small can the ingredient text go?
6pt is our floor and we prefer 6.5pt. Below that the INCI list starts breaking up on press and it becomes a compliance risk.
Can you match the shade swatch to the actual bullet?
Give us a Pantone or a physical tube and yes. Printed colors never match wax exactly, but we get close enough that nobody notices on shelf.
What’s the price of a lipstick box?
Our lipstick box packaging cost starts from $0.18 to $0.60 per unit for folding cartons and $1.80 to $6.50 for rigid at moderate quantity. Foil and soft touch push the carton toward the top of that range. Shipping is included in our price. This is estimate only, so ask our team for a exact quote.
Will foil crack on the fold?
Not if the score is set right. We adjust score depth when foil runs near a crease, and this is one reason we always proof first.
Do you supply the outer shipper too?
We do. Lots of clients order the retail carton and a corrugated shipper together so the whole run arrives in one go.
Can you print inside the tuck flap?
Yes, and it costs very little. A shade name or a short line inside the lipstick packaging is a nice touch people remember.
How do we stop the tube rattling?
Right internal sizing does most of it. On wider cartons we add a simple paperboard insert.
