Beauty Gift Boxes and Subscription Boxes for Sets

A subscription box does the same job once a month, through the post, at a lower cost per box. Both need an insert that keeps the pieces in place and a lid that reveals them in order.

This range has two rigid gift formats, two set boxes drawn for specific products, and two mailer formats. The set boxes are the ones most beauty brands order for Mother's Day, Valentine's and wedding favours.

The five products and what each one does.

A brand with a serum and a moisturiser puts them together in a set box for Mother's Day and sells both at once.

Subscription companies order the same mailer month after month, often with a different inside print each time. Online shops need a mailer that holds a bottle and a jar without a separate carton for each. Spas and salons box treatment sets for sale at reception.

For a gift that is not tied to one product, cosmetic gift boxes with a foil lid are the flexible choice: a rigid box with an insert you can change per set.

• Skincare and makeup brands building seasonal sets
• Perfume houses pairing a bottle with a mini
• Monthly beauty subscription services
• Online beauty shops posting mixed orders
• Spas, salons and clinics with retail sets
• Wedding and event favour buyers

The box around it is about 165 x 105 x 60 mm inside. The pink box in our photos is this layout, with the lid hinged on a magnetic flap and the two products in cut-outs.

Add a third product and the insert grows to about 220 mm long, or the pieces go in two rows. The box height is set by the tallest item, usually the dropper bottle at 100 to 110 mm when laid down or standing.

The sizes below are starting points for common sets. Skincare gift set boxes with a magnetic flap are drawn from your actual containers.

The set in our photos has a clear lid over a shaped tray, a satin ribbon and the bottle and a solid perfume held in cut-outs.

A rigid lid box with a printed wrap is the alternative when the brand wants the box itself to carry the design. Foil on the lid and a satin-covered insert inside are the usual additions, priced on the quote.

Perfume gift boxes with a clear lid are quoted from the bottle and the second item, whether that is a mini, a lotion or a candle.

The mailer is the same size and print every month, so the subscriber recognises it on the doormat. The inside print, the fill colour or a card changes with the theme.

The pink mailer in our photos has a message printed inside the lid, crinkle fill and sample tubes laid on top with a card. That layout works because nothing is fixed: the contents change and the fill holds whatever arrives.

Beauty subscription boxes with inside print are quoted per run, and repeat runs with a new inside print use the same dieline and proof quickly.

It arrives assembled, feels heavy, opens with a lift and stays on a dressing table. It costs more per unit and takes more storage space because it does not fold flat.

A mailer is the parcel. It folds from one sheet, closes with a tuck flap and takes an inside print and an insert. It is the right answer when the gift is posted and the box will be opened once.

Many brands use both: a rigid box for the shop shelf and a mailer for online orders of the same set. The insert is often shared between the two, which keeps the layout work down.

A card insert cut with a hole per product is the standard choice and is made from the same board as a carton. Foam inserts suit heavier glass and rigid boxes.

The kraft mailer in our photos shows a card platform with a round cut-out for a jar and slots for two tubes. The products drop in and the lid holds them down. Crinkle fill is the cheaper option when contents change every month.

Cosmetic mailer boxes with a shaped card insert are drawn from the products you list, so send the sizes of every item that will travel in it.

The wrap takes full colour, foil, embossing and a soft touch or matt lamination. Textured and linen wraps are available as options.

Mailers and set boxes use folding boxboard at the heavier end, 400 gsm or so. When heavier glass will be posted inside, a printed sheet laminated to a thin corrugated layer is the next step up.

Foil on the lid is the finish most gift boxes use, as on the gold box in our photos with a script message. Rigid, board and finish choices are quoted as options on request.

The lid lifts, the eye lands on the inside of the lid before the products, and a flat colour or a short line of type there does more than any outer print.

The usual choices are a flood colour that matches the insert, a pattern that continues from the outside, or a short message. The set name and the order to use the pieces in are the two messages brands ask for most. Keep it to one idea; the products are the point.

Inside print on a rigid box is printed on the wrap before the box is made, so it costs little extra. On a mailer it is printed on the reverse of the sheet, and the whole inside can carry colour.

The free proof catches most of it, but these save a round of changes.

• Listing the products but not their sizes, so the insert cannot be drawn
• Changing one product in the set after the insert is cut
• Choosing a rigid box for a set that only sells online
• Printing a seasonal message on the outside of a box used all year
• Forgetting that the tallest item sets the box height
• Ordering a mailer without checking it fits the outer parcel size

The designer draws the insert from that list.

1. List the pieces in the set with the size of each, in millimetres.
2. Choose a construction: rigid lid box, magnetic flap box, clear-lid box or mailer.
3. Pick an insert: cut card, foam, satin-covered foam or crinkle fill.
4. Send artwork for the outside and, if you want it, the inside print.
5. Look over the written quote and the proof, including the insert layout.
6. Approve; making takes 4 to 6 business days and UK delivery is free with tracking.