‘Wearable Cosmetics’ Is The Next Trend In Beauty. Here’s What You Need To Know

Form meets function in the next wave of beauty products moonlighting as accessories, like perfume pendants and scented bracelets. Here’s everything you need to know about the “wearable beauty” movement.

A swipe of lipstick or a spritz of perfume has long been the finishing touch to many an ensemble, the sweet-scented or brightly hued accessory applied before setting foot out in the world.

But now, future-focused brands have blurred the lines between fashion and beauty even further. Fragrances and lipsticks have been re-imagined into wearable beauty items, tapping into our on-the-go lifestyles by housing products in convenient, visually appealing packaging.

This fusion has positioned beauty products as the new must-have accessories. Brands have responded by launching perfume vessels that dangle from a necklace or can be worn like a bracelet, swing-tag lip balms or key chain lipsticks.

Cosmetic phone cases are another category entirely.

Wearable beauty was one of the prevailing beauty trends that cosmetic chemist Stacey Fraser shared with Viva earlier this year, explaining beauty packaging looked set to become an extension of fashion.

The Design Practice Teaching Fellow at the University of Canterbury was right, as evidenced in the hundreds of products flooding shelves that straddle the line between practical beauty item and fashion accessory.

“Stylish packaging boosts brand perception and loyalty, appealing to consumers who value design,” explains Stacey.

Cosmetic manufacturer Zymo explained in a post shared on LinkedIn: “Modern consumers are seeking convenience without compromising on aesthetics. This shift has given rise to innovative packaging formats where lip balms, solid perfumes, skincare, mini highlighters, or tint capsules are now housed in charm bracelets or bangles, pendant-style necklaces, key rings and key chains, and purse-friendly bag charms. These wearable formats allow consumers to carry and use cosmetic products on the go - effortlessly integrating beauty into their daily wardrobe.”

The post went on to explain how wearable formats act as an emotional and sensory extension of a brand. For example, a perfume housed inside a pendant transforms a quick spritz into a sensual ritual.

Stacey agrees, adding that the concept of beauty packaging as something “wearable” has birthed infinite new ideas and disruptive designs that allow for discreet reapplication on the go.

For example, K-Beauty brand FWEE boxes its Lip & Cheek Glowy Jelly Pot, $38, as a set with a random colour key chain. While you can select your Jelly Pot shade, you can’t choose your key chain, capitalising on the blind unboxing that has caused a stir on social media platforms like TikTok.

Each apple-shaped pot comes with the option of one of seven key chain colours, which can be filled with the Jelly Pot and used on-the-go.

Similarly, Kaja’s Jelly Charm, $25, sees its buildable lip and blush stain twinned with a glittering heart-shaped key chain design to dangle from your keys/backpack/purse/belt/wherever.

The idea, according to the tagline, is that users can “get glazed, anytime”.

Braye houses its lip formulations inside a shiny silver swing-tag reminiscent of a dog tag (a more elevated take, obviously).

The “Wearing Coolness” tab features Braye’s Lipsleek, $24, a two-in-one lip and cheek tint, sold with a separate Lipsleek Multi-Strap in two different lengths.

The lid slides open to reveal the product inside, and the design includes a hole to fasten to the Multi-Strap so the product can dangle like a necklace.

There’s a caveat, though, with a warning issued that the product’s high oil content means it can melt upon contact with body heat (like being around your neck?).

Perfume necklaces offer a promising option for those too sensitive to don fragrance on their skin, with the option to dab your signature scent or essential oil blend onto a refillable pad that diffuses scent but doesn’t sit directly on skin.

Fashion designers Sophie Buhai and Victoria Beckham offer perfume pendants, which sit proudly at the intersection of function, fragrance and fashion.

Seen dangling from the necks of the French fashion set at Paris Fashion Week back in March, these perfume pendants have quickly been adopted into the zeitgeist.

Victoria Beckham created brushed gold bottles and flasks to house her eau de parfums – Portofino ’97, Suite 302 and San Ysidro Drive.

The Exclusive Perfume Bottle Necklace, approximately $540, is crafted in Italy and comes with a bespoke dropper to make the transition from accessory to perfume vessel an easy one.

Sophie Buhai adopts a more modernist take, with her sculpted sterling silver Perfume Choker, about $1500, designed to hold essential oils. The pendant unscrews to house smelling salts or perfumes and hangs from an adjustable silk cord.

The designer also offers a Perfume Collar and a shell-shaped Coquille Pendant, which can be filled with fragrance and worn day-to-day.

But you don’t have to look far (or spend hundreds of dollars) to wear your signature scent around your neck, with a handful of local, independent fashion brands falling in step.

Irma from Free Spirit handcrafts her perfume bottle necklaces in Kawerau, using a macrame cord, lapis and gold rutilated beads.

Tia Products offers a silver Wāhine perfume necklace in either stainless steel or sterling silver, with a circular pendant which holds a refillable scent pad inside. The pendant is emblazoned with the word “Wāhine”, designed to remind women daily of their strength and spirit.

At Artisan Boutique, you can wear a sodalite gemstone or rose quartz perfume bottle necklace from a gold pleated chain.

Rather wear your scent on your wrist? Enter Diptyque’s monochromatic Eau Capitale Perfumed Bracelet, $151. The black-and-white twisted friendship bracelet is infused with the brand’s best-selling scent – with notes of chypre, rose, bergamot and patchouli.

The bracelet can be wound once or twice around the wrist and secured with Diptyque’s shiny gold clasp.

An oval-shaped dispenser with an in-built blade allows you to cut the bracelets to length. One dispenser is said to contain up to 30 bracelets (a slightly vague metric given wrist sizes differ greatly).

Hailey Bieber’s Rhode will always be renowned for its Lip Case, a silicone bubble case that wraps around an iPhone but features a holder for the brand’s Peptide Lip Treatment or Tint.

While Rhode still isn’t available in Aotearoa, a few brands have followed suit by releasing dupes of the now-viral phone case, including Willway Trends with its Peel And Stick Silicone Cover, $23, which is compatible with Rhode’s lip products and with any smartphone.

What’s next in wearable beauty? Rings with hidden compartments for nail polish? Earrings that double as vessels for concealers? Those might be slightly far-fetched, but as far as the beauty industry goes, nothing is impossible.

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