Custom Printed Cosmetic Boxes in Every Style and Size

It covers the tall carton round a face mist, the shallow lid-and-base box round a palette, the sleeve that slides over a tray of brushes and the drawer that holds a lipstick trio.

Our photos show that spread. One set is a pastel group of a tuck carton, a lid-and-base box and a sleeve and tray in blues and peach. The other is a full table of styles, from a mailer box to a window box to a magnetic cube.

Every one of them is cut to a specific product. The style is decided by what goes inside and where it will be sold.

Here are the usual pairings, which you can change on the quote.

Each closure, with fold diagrams, is explained in our cosmetic box styles guide with drawings.

A typical order has three or four dielines in one quote.

If your line is makeup only, the makeup packaging range for lips, face and lashes narrows the choice to those products.

• Indie makeup brands with lipsticks, a palette and a mist
• Lash and brow studios selling their own lash sets and serums
• Nail studios with a polish range and a cuticle oil
• Beauty marketplace sellers boxing bundles for gifting
• Salons putting their name on a small retail line
• Agencies ordering packaging for a client launch

Add 2 to 3 mm to each width and 3 to 5 mm of height on a carton, and 1 to 2 mm for a rigid box with an insert.

For a palette or compact, measure it closed and note which way it opens. A lid-and-base box should open the same way the palette does, so the customer is not turning it round.

For sets, lay the pieces out as you want them seen and measure the group. Starting sizes for common items are on our page of common UK cosmetic box sizes.

They are die cut, creased and glued on one seam, then shipped flat. Tuck end, auto-lock and window boxes are all cartons.

Rigid boxes use greyboard, roughly 2 mm, under a printed wrap sheet. Lid and base, drawer and magnetic boxes are rigid and arrive assembled.

Sleeve and tray boxes sit in between: a carton sleeve over a carton or rigid tray. Further board, rigid and finish choices can be requested for any style.

Full colour CMYK with a matt lamination handles pattern, illustration and bright blocks, as the pastel wave print in our photos shows.

Spot UV over the pattern picks out a logo or a shape in gloss. Foil on a rigid lid suits a compact or a palette gift box. Embossing works on plain board where the brand is the only mark.

Inside print works on cartons and on rigid wraps, and a printed inside lid is the first thing a customer sees. Our guide to finishes on beauty packaging covers each one.

Inserts fix most of it: a card divider in a carton, a foam cavity in a rigid box or a tray with cut-outs in a sleeve.

Keep the product tight in its own box, then pack the boxes tight in an outer. Tissue between rigid boxes stops the wraps rubbing.

Brands sending monthly bundles usually move to a single outer with a fitted insert; see our beauty subscription boxes with fitted inserts for that format. Card, foam and tissue inserts come on request.

The pastel set in our photos uses three box shapes and still reads as one range because the wave pattern repeats.

Put the product name in the same position on every box, however the box opens. Window boxes go at the front of a shelf, rigid boxes at the back where they stand taller.

For a pop-up or market stall, a window carton and an open rigid box side by side show what the customer gets.

The box costs more than the carton and the margin disappears. Use cartons for the entry line and rigid for the gift edition.

Second, ordering different widths for products that sit together. Match widths where you can so the line shelves neatly.

Third, approving the proof for the carton but not checking the insert drawing. The insert is where fit problems hide.

Faulty or damaged boxes are reprinted or refunded; photos inside 10 days are all we need.

The multi-product quote request takes several products at once.

1. List each product with its measurements and quantity.
2. Tell us the style you want for each, or ask us to suggest one.
3. We quote each box on one written quote, from £0.25 per unit.
4. Our designers lay out the artwork and send a free proof per box.
5. Approve the proofs; production takes 4–6 business days.
6. Free tracked delivery lands them at your UK address 2–3 business days later.