Welcome back to our Indian Packaging Design Deep Dive series.

In the last two editions, we explored some amazing packaging designs in India’s Food & Beverage and Alco-Bev sectors, uncovering how design drives first impressions, brand perception, and shelf recall.

In this third edition, we turn the spotlight to the beauty and personal care space where packaging does far more than just holding a product.

Whether it’s a luxurious Ayurvedic serum or a bold Gen Z lipstick, packaging in this category is a storytelling tool. It conveys brand values, brings power, and helps consumers pick their kind of beauty from a sea of sameness.

Here’s our curated list of Indian cosmetic brands that are redefining the shelf experience with design-led thinking and category-smart branding.

1. Forest Essentials

Forest Essentials is a traditional Ayurvedic skincare brand — and one of Artwork Flow’s customers! — with a modern touch. It is one of the most popular homegrown brands in the Indian cosmetics sector. “If you can't eat it, don't use it” is the brand’s philosophy citing the use of plants and plant extracts in the making of all their products. They source their ingredients from local farmers who practice sustainable farming.

What we liked about the packaging design

The jars and bottles have a distinctly premium feel, thick amber glass, gold lids, and consistent label design across the range. Instead of overplaying the “natural” angle, the design leans into elegance with subtle floral illustrations, foil details, and minimal, centered typography.  

Color variants are easy to tell apart thanks to muted color accents, and information like SPF or key ingredients is visible at a glance. It’s a design system that feels indulgent without trying too hard. It is perfect for both shelves and gift boxes.

2. Gunam Beauty

Gunam is the founder’s story of how her necessity for skincare turned into passion. Gunam, in the native language of the founder, Malayalam, means “goodness”. This sustainable brand combines Indian ingredients with French formulation into the making of their products.

What we liked about the packaging design

Gunam’s design is minimal with a packaging design that’s inspired by the lush greens of Kerala, India. They use a muted olive-green base for the packaging with frosted transparency, giving it a clean, calming presence. The white sans-serif typography is clear and left-aligned, letting the product name and function stand out without competing for attention. They also chose to stick to the elegance of the 'French Pharma' influences resulting in a distinctive and memorable design identity for the brand.

3. Juicy Chemistry

Juicy Chemistry is a certified organic skincare brand that focuses on clean, handcrafted formulations. Their entire product line is ECOCERT certified, cruelty-free, and built around sustainability from sourcing to packaging.

What we liked about the packaging design

Juicy Chemistry’s packaging is a study in quiet confidence. Their glass dropper bottles, aluminum jars, and kraft-textured cartons all speak the same visual language, which is simple and natural. Each product pack features hand-drawn botanical illustrations that hint at the primary ingredients, paired with muted, functional color blocks (like lavender, rust, olive) for easy recognition across variants.

Typography is clean and minimal and always sans-serif, giving prominence to the product name and the main active or benefit (e.g., "Cold Pressed Rosehip Oil" or "Hibiscus Shampoo"). What stands out is their commitment to sustainability: recyclable containers, plastic-neutral operations, and refill options in some cases. There’s no gloss or glamour here, and that’s the point. The design is true to the brand’s identity: earthy, functional, and transparently organic.

4. Sova

A homegrown premium Ayurvedic beauty label that bridges ancient herbal wisdom with modern science. Their range spans haircare, body care, and skincare, with each formula spotlighting Indian botanicals and backed by clean, eco-conscious credentials.

What we liked about the packaging design

Sova nails the balance between premium and approachable. Their products come in square PET‑G bottles with a lustrous glass-like finish. It is easy to hold and immediately looks upscale. The colors used in the brand’s packaging are inspired by the 5 elements in Ayurveda representing Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Ether.

Their box sleeves and labels carry botanical illustrations around a centered type of stack, giving a sense of hand-drawn craft without clutter. Plus, every bottle and carton are made from 100% recyclable materials reinforcing the brand’s eco-conscious message.  

5. Kama Ayurveda

A pioneer in luxury Ayurveda, Kama Ayurveda fuses traditional Indian herbal formulas with a refined, vintage-inspired aesthetic and strong sustainability credentials.

What we liked about the packaging design

Kama has a timeless design system. Their bath and body oils come in tall, amber PET or glass bottles topped with ribbed gold-colored caps—a deliberate nod to apothecary-style elegance. The labels are cream toned, framed with fine lines, and printed in serif fonts, which together evoke an old-world, colonial vibe refreshed with botanical sketches.

Gift sets (like the Rose Essentials box) use sturdy, branded sleeves with delicate floral motifs and well-secured interior trays which have a practical, friendly structure that doubles as a stylish keepsake box. You will also find that the brand narrative is consistent across product categories such as oils, soaps, and body butter.

6. Skinvest

Inspired from her own experience, the founder of the Skinvest, Divya Malpani, stepped up to redefine the skincare scene for young Indians and that’s how Skinvest came into the spotlight.

What we liked about the packaging design

The packaging design of Skinvest is so Gen Z. Each tube and bottle come in punchy, solid colors and are distinct, which makes every SKU stand out in a scroll or on a shelf. The matte finish feels fresh and premium. Typography is crisp, sans-serif, with the brand name in horizontal or vertical layouts that give a modern edge.  

The packaging's eco intent is clear too. They minimize plastic and use reusable outer cartons. Overall, it’s a system built for Gen Z sensibilities: vibrant, straightforward, and environmentally conscious.

7. Global Beauty Secrets (GBS)

A premium Indian skincare brand inspired by traditional beauty rituals from cultures cross the world such as Indian, Egyptian, and Japanese, reimagined for the modern shelf. It is headquartered in Mumbai, India.

What we liked about the packaging design

The artwork on Global Beauty Secrets' Indian range is more than decorative—it’s narrative. The design serves a peek into historical beauty rituals. Each product features a woman in local attire, surrounded by cultural symbols that reflect the story behind the formulation. In this case, rose and kewda are the hero ingredients, highlighted in rose-gold foil to mark their importance.

The use of a deep matte black bottle paired with detailed line illustrations gives the pack a rich, tactile feel. It’s a thoughtful packaging that combines ingredient clarity and cultural storytelling without overwhelming the eye.

8. Flossy Cosmetics

Flossy cosmetics is a young, community-led beauty label that was launched in 2022. Flossy inserts skincare benefits into fun makeup formats. It’s built with Gen Z values in mind—cruelty-free, vegan, and vibrant.

What we liked about the packaging design

Flossy nails the “scroll-stopping” look with bold, playful packaging. Their lip glosses, tints, and balms arrive in squat tubes capped with pastel pink lids that look clean, compact, and undeniably Instagrammable.  

The sleek tubes use transparent bodies to showcase real product color. On the functional side, the tubes feel solid yet lightweight, easy to store or toss in a pouch.

9. Nuskay  

Nuskay, meaning “prescription” in Urdu, was launched by a sibling doctor duo after doing extensive research on skincare rituals, ancient remedies, and scientific active ingredients to formulate specific treatment essences. All the Nuskay products are claimed to be doctor-formulated and are again, vegan and cruelty-free.

What we liked about the packaging design

Nuskay’s packaging design is clean and minimal and it gives a ritual-ready feel. Their primary packs, typically glass dropper bottles and airless pumps, use solid block colors (like forest green or blush pink), paired with matte white caps and a strip of gold foil trim for a subtle luxe touch. The label typography is concise, sans-serif, and well-spaced, letting ingredient claims be unmistakable.
Outer cartons mirror the bottle colors, carry minimal iconography, and avoid unnecessary designs, making the pack feel new-age, calm, and easy to recycle.

10. Mcaffeine

India’s first caffeinated personal care brand built for millennials and Gen Z on the move who want products that feel energizing and bold.

What we liked about the packaging design

Mcaffeine’s packaging hits the sweet spot between bold and practical. They blend youthful energy and functional design in their packaging. Thick matte black tubes and jars paired with vibrant teal labels and typography that is bold yet clean. You can also find coffee-inspired graphics, foil accents, and hand-drawn icons to reinforce the caffeine story on-pack.

The packaging is tactile too. Matte finishes feel good in hand, while solid pump bottles and sturdy jars communicate usability.  

11. Plum

Being in the business for over a decade, Plum is India’s science-first, vegan, premium beauty brand. They pride themselves on transparency, sustainability, and clean formulations.

What we liked about the packaging design

Plum’s packaging is neat and purposeful. Their bottles and tubes use solid pastel-and-white color blocks with matte finishes which are simple yet visually calming. Typography is no-nonsense: clear sans-serif that puts product names and active ingredients front-and-center.

Cartons are flexographically printed and fully recyclable, with minimal decorative clutter—another nod to their eco-commitment. Overall, no fancy frills, just thoughtful design aligned with brand values and consumer expectations.

Why artwork management for your packaging matters  

What we understood from the above beauty and skincare brands is that packaging isn’t just about aesthetics but it’s an essential communication tool. It’s where you tell your product’s story, highlight your ingredients, meet compliance requirements, and make that first visual impression count.  

Whether you’re a Gen Z-focused D2C brand or a heritage Ayurvedic label, your pack copy, visuals, and format directly shape how customers perceive your product.

Let alone creating beautiful packaging but managing one that’s compliant is hard work. You have to manage multiple SKUs, ingredient updates, different pack formats, claim checks, and regulatory requirements across regions. And if you’re still doing them through email threads and spreadsheets, then it’s a matter of concern.  

That’s where an artwork management tool like Artwork Flow comes in.

How Artwork Flow can help your cosmetic brand

Here’s how we help cosmetic brands like yours simplify the artwork lifecycle:

1. Centralized proofing & feedback: Review artwork with your NPD, regulatory, and design teams in one place. Use annotations to leave precise feedback and easily compare label versions to see what’s changed.  

Leading cosmetic and beauty brands such as ParagonCorp, Quest Personal Care, and DS Laboratories have been able to streamline their artwork review process to go to market faster with Artwork Flow.

"By using Artwork Flow's proofing tools, teams can speed up reviews with the comparison feature, which helps identify differences between the latest and previous versions. The packaging team and designers can also analyze color composition and review artwork layer by layer."

- Endah Sulistyowati, PID Project Manager, ParagonCorp

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2. Smart compliance checks: With our custom rulebooks, you can automate compliance checks on your cosmetic labels. Our tool flags missing fragrance allergen information, unapproved claims, typos, misplaced imagery, and more.

3. Custom checklists: Build checklists tailored to your pack type (bottle, tube, carton), or brand guidelines. Use these to flag missing claims, incorrect ingredient orders, or outdated certifications.

4. Version control & audit trails: Track every change made to your artwork, who made it, and when. It’s essential for regulated categories like skincare, where documentation matters.

5. Packaging workflows: Create serial or parallel approval paths for faster turnaround where legal, R&D, and creative teams can all collaborate without bottlenecks.

6. Digital asset library: Store your ingredient icons, packaging artwork, and pack formats in a single repository, so your team never works with outdated files.

So, if you're looking to scale your beauty brand without losing consistency or compliance, give Artwork Flow a try.

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