Probably the best ...

If there’s a green bottle in the fridge labelled Carlsberg, but the first sip tastes more like shampoo or cream, then something has probably gone wrong. It means that it’s not a refreshing pint, but its younger brother. However, the stuff does have something in common with that popular thirst-quencher, but you’d be well advised not to drink it. It’s actually a member of the Carlsberg bodycare line, which includes beer shampoo, beer conditioner and beer body lotion. All of them share some of the same ingredients as the famous beer: barley, hops and brewer’s yeast. Each product in this limited beauty line contains 0.5 litres of original Carlsberg beer. All the other ingredients are more specific to bodycare and have been made by the cosmetics company Urtegaarden.

So what sort of packaging appeals more to men? Unlike women, men are not very keen on rounded or curved shapes. They prefer clear, geometric contours. And instead of warm colours – red, yellow or pink – men are drawn to cool tones in cosmetics. Blue and black are therefore used most frequently. Also, bodycare-conscious males want to see simple graphic elements that highlight the most important product features – definitely not decorative elements or even squiggles. Moreover, it needs to be handy. The packaging must be easy to open and to recycle.

But beauty products have also been discovered by other food companies. The most popular drink of the world – even more so than beer – can give customers a wonderfully explosive experience not just in liquid form, but also as a solid lip balm. The beverage giant Coca-Cola entices above all women who simply love a sweetish taste on their lips during a drinks break, and so they are offered a choice of Fanta Orange, Coca-Cola, Cherry-Coke, Fanta Strawberry, Sprite and Vanilla-Coke. The design of the packaging naturally reflects that of the equivalent drink and is available in lots of cheerful colours.

It’s finger-lickin’ good! It may be a matter of debate whether the innovative product from KFC is in good taste or not. One thing is certain: it’s totally new: an edible nail polish that tastes of hot & spicy chicken bits. So if you feel like something to make you tingle, why not put some red nail polish on your fingernails? Or do you feel more like some original KFC spice mixture? Then their beige polish is ideal for you. This wacky idea is also reflected in the packaging. The deliberately scruffy white lettering “It’s finger-lickin’ good” that dominates the square glass container of Anny nail polish is a real eye catcher on a cosmetics shelf.