Custom Printed Lipstick Boxes for Bullets, Crayons and Sets

It folds into a square tube with a tuck flap at the top and another at the base.

The bullet drops in from the top and the flap closes over it. On a reverse tuck end the two flaps tuck in opposite directions, which keeps the front panel clean for print. Our guide to cosmetic box styles shows each closure side by side.

Set boxes are a different build. A rigid base and a hinged lid are wrapped in printed paper. A die cut tray inside holds each tube upright, as the gold box in our photos shows.

A new brand with four shades needs a carton that looks finished on a market stall and in a product photo.

Salons and makeup artists who sell their own shade also buy here, usually a few hundred at a time. So do gift companies building Mother's Day and birthday sets.

Lipstick sits inside our makeup, lash and nail packaging range, alongside gloss tubes, palettes and brush sets.

• Indie colour cosmetics brands launching a first shade range
• Makeup artists with a signature red sold at the chair
• Lip balm and tinted balm makers using bullet tubes
• Marketplace sellers who need a carton that survives the post
• Gift set companies boxing six or ten shades together

Most standard lipstick cases are 19 to 22 mm across and 70 to 80 mm tall with the cap on.

Add 3 to 4 mm to each side and about 8 mm to the height. That leaves room for the tuck flap to close without pressing on the cap.

Slim tubes and crayons need their own sizes, as the table below shows. Typical measurements for other containers are listed on our common cosmetic box sizes page.

It is cheap to print, posts in a padded envelope and stands on its end in a counter unit.

A set box earns its keep when you sell shades together. The tray holds each bullet upright, so a customer sees the whole range the moment the lid lifts.

Many brands run both. The carton carries day-to-day sales and the set box covers gifting, bundles and press samples. Larger bundles with a gloss and a liner belong in our cosmetic gift boxes for bundles.

It creases cleanly on a box this narrow and holds a crisp edge on the tuck flaps.

Kraft board gives a brown, matt look that suits balm and natural colour ranges. Metallic board is an option when you want a gold or silver carton without foil over the whole panel.

Set boxes use rigid greyboard with a printed wrap, so the lid stays flat and the magnet closes with a click. Ask us about other boards, rigid builds and finishes when you request a quote.

Keep the shade name on the front, the logo on the top flap and the ingredient text on the back where it belongs.

Soft touch lamination is the finish most lipstick brands pick, because it feels like the velvet case inside. Foil on the logo or a spot UV shade swatch lifts it further, as options.

Inside print is worth asking about on set boxes. The orange lid lining in our photos carries a short line of brand copy that customers read before they see the shades. We explain each finish in our guide to foil, spot UV and soft touch.

A tube that rattles inside its carton can crack the product at the base. A customer who opens a broken lipstick does not come back.

Size the carton tight so the cap cannot move. For set boxes, a foam or card tray cut to the tube stops the bullets knocking together.

Single cartons then go into a mailer for the trip. Our cosmetic mailer boxes for small orders take two or three cartons with tissue around them.

A small window cut-out on the front, or a printed swatch of the shade, solves that at the till.

Cartons stand up best in a tiered counter unit with one shade per column. The unit can carry the same artwork as the carton so the display reads as one piece.

If you are planning a counter unit, our counter display boxes with dividers hold 12 to 24 cartons upright.

Caps add 2 to 3 mm all round, and a carton cut to the bare bullet will not close.

The second is a shade name printed in a tiny size on the base. Put it on the front or the top flap where staff and customers can read it in a drawer.

The third is dark full colour print on kraft board. Reds and pinks go muddy on brown board, so choose white boxboard when the shade colour matters.

Quantities are quoted per order, from £0.25 per unit, and the written quote confirms the figure before anything goes ahead.

If a carton arrives misprinted or crushed, tell us within 10 days with photos and we reprint or refund it. Start on the lipstick box quote request form and attach your artwork if you have it.

1. Email, call or WhatsApp us with the tube measurements and your artwork, or a sketch if you have none.
2. We quote within one business day and our designers lay out each panel for free.
3. You check the free proof, with shade names and barcodes in place, and sign it off.
4. Production takes 4 to 6 business days after approval.
5. Your boxes arrive by free tracked delivery anywhere in the UK, usually in 2 to 3 business days.