Custom Printed Cosmetic Mailer Boxes for Online Orders

The lid rolls over the front edge, the front flap tucks down and two tabs on the sides lock it shut.

For a beauty order, the inside is what matters. The customer opens the lid on the kitchen table, so the inside of the lid and the base carry the print, and an insert lays out the products.

The two boxes in our photos show both approaches: a kraft mailer printed with a line of white type inside and a slotted insert, and a pink mailer with a patterned base and a line of type under the lid.

Mailers for monthly editions are a separate product, covered under our beauty subscription boxes for monthly edits. This page is for one-off orders.

• Skincare brands shipping from their own web shop
• Marketplace sellers who want the parcel to look like a brand
• Lash and nail studios posting aftercare kits to clients
• Salons sending products to clients between visits
• Makeup brands posting two or three small items at a time
• Press and creator mailings of a new launch

For many skincare brands that is a serum and a cream, which lie flat in a box of about 160 x 120 x 50 mm. A full routine of four items needs about 240 x 180 x 70 mm.

Depth is the number to get right. A jar lying flat sets it; a 50 ml jar needs 50 mm of inside depth, a 100 ml bottle lying down needs about 50 mm too. Add 5 mm for the insert.

Two mailer sizes cover most shops: a small one for one to two items and a larger one for three to five. The usual container footprints are on our common cosmetic box sizes guide.

A mailer stops crushing but a loose bottle still rolls into the wall. The insert is what protects glass.

A card insert with a round hole for each bottle and a slot for each tube holds everything in its place, and the products arrive in the layout you packed. It is the insert in our kraft box photo, with two slots and a round hole for a jar.

For a single glass item, a tissue wrap and paper fill do the job at lower cost. Inserts are cut on request and we show the layout on the proof.

The outside of a parcel gets scuffed, labelled and handled by a courier; the inside is seen clean by the customer. A full colour inside with a plain or one colour outside is the common split.

If the outside is printed, keep it simple: the brand name on the lid and a pattern or a line of type on the sides. Leave the lid centre clear for the address label.

Mailer board takes CMYK well, and a matt varnish is an option. Foil and spot UV are better spent on the insert card or the product carton inside; our beauty packaging print finishes guide explains why.

It locks without tape, it is one piece, and the courier cannot pull the lid off.

A lid and base mailer looks closer to a gift box and is sometimes used for a premium order, but it needs a band or tape to post and it is two pieces to fold.

If you want the gift feel without the risk, keep the tuck front and print a pattern inside. The opening still lands well. The box styles are compared in our guide to cosmetic box styles.

White type on kraft reads well, as the haircare mailer in our photo shows, and the box looks natural on a doorstep.

White mailer board gives you full colour and a clean pastel. Pink, sage or lilac inside a white mailer looks like a brand, not a parcel.

Board, rigid and finish options are available on request. The quote states the board weight for the size you order, since a larger box needs a heavier board to stay square.

1. Fold the base, raise the side walls and lock the end tabs.
2. Drop the insert in, or lay a tissue sheet across the base.
3. Place glass items in their holes first, then tubes in the slots.
4. Add the note or care card on top, face up.
5. Roll the lid over, tuck the front flap and press the side tabs in.

Most orders are two items, and a big box with two items rattling about is worse than a small one.

Printing the address panel area is the second. The label covers it, so keep the lid centre plain.

Posting a glass bottle with no insert and no fill is the third. The mailer holds its shape, but the bottle still needs something round it. Bath bomb sellers have the same issue and our bath bomb mailer boxes with dividers show the divider approach.

A lash aftercare kit of a cleanser, a serum and a brush fits a 180 x 130 x 45 mm mailer with a three-slot insert, and the studio name goes inside the lid.

Nail studios post a base coat, a top coat and a cuticle oil the same way. The bottles stand in round holes so the caps stay up.

Keep the outside plain for these and print the aftercare steps inside the lid, so the client reads them when the box opens.

If you want an insert, send the products or their sizes.

Our designers lay out the inside and outside and send a free proof before anything is printed. Quantities are quoted per order from £0.25 per unit, with the written quote giving the price for your size and board.

Production takes 4–6 business days after proof approval, and delivery is free and tracked across the UK in 2–3 business days. Misprinted or damaged mailers reported within 10 days with photos are reprinted or refunded; the detail is on our UK delivery page for printed boxes.