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Rant & Rave: Glass Packaging
This Week’s Topic: GLASS PACKAGING!
Your Mission: Tell us what you love, hate, or are otherwise indifferent to about beauty products packaged in glass. When does it work? When doesn’t it?
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I think it’s fine if it’s something you won’t take with you but if it’s something meant to be portable like lip gloss or a rollerball perfume (those are SO fragile too) it drives me crazy if it’s glass, and that might be a deal breaker.
This!
Many parfums/colognes won’t remain stable and not take on chemical element out of the plastics if they were packaged in plastic over glass – thus the preference industry wise for glass with regard to fragrance.
It’s just plain annoying, it’s heavy and not practical.
I love the way it looks, because it feels elegant and I like to display them. However, it is so hard to get all of the product out. Unless it is a short, fat pot, I usually have to either bust it open if its super expensive or throw it out.
I turn all of my glass bottle treatments upside down in their cupboard place they ‘live’ for at least 2+ weeks in the end of that bottle’s lifetime. I get gobs more out doing this.
I love when foundations are packaged in glass ( like my Chanel foundations) it just feels so luxurious! I for one don’t mind when things are in glass because I tend not to bring my makeup or anything on the go with me anywhere unless I’m traveling, and in that case things are always securely packed so I never worry about them breaking.
It’s definitely elegant, though unpractical for travel. While a bottle of chanel perfume looks better in a glass bottle than a plastic one, it isn’t practical to travel with and end up bringing mists (that are typical packaged in plastic) with me on vacation than a perfume.
Agree with glass (esp skin care) being an issue for traveling. I use little plastic containers (often I think made for pills), pump a little of each glass bottle item I will be using while gone into and use up what is in them when I get home, wash and save for next trip. I save those plastic sample things Sephora makes up a sample for you, and also ask for a few extras when I am in a S store purchasing and/or getting samples. Never been turned down. These work really well for a top line skin care item I need to take with me for a week at least – often longer.
Glass packaging is actually “healthier” than plastic: the products deteriorate a lot faster in plastic, specially in the heat. That goes for everything, from food to cosmetics. When it’s cream or liquid products, I prefer glass packaging, and usually the glass is thick enough so it won’t break easily, but i can see how it would be too heavy to travel with.
this
Fare easier for recycling to clean and process glass packaging from cosmetics over plastics that have to be tossed due to contaminates that would leach out of the plastics in recycling. So agree – glass over plastic from recycling standpoint.
It’s ok and even nice while I don’t need to take it with me when traveling.
I love glass packaging! Yes it is impractical to carry but I dont think it breaks any easier than plastic (er, did I put that right?) I mean I’ve broken a couple of plastic bottles because I dropped them. I havent dropped any glass ones.
It is so elegant, so pretty to display and so nice to touch.
I like the look of most glass-packed products, but they tend to be impractical, since they are a lot heavier than products in plastic and its practically impossible to get all the product out. So unless it’s foundation (I don’t usually travel with it) I do not buy products in glass packaging.
I dislike glass packaging but it’s not a dealbreaker for me. Other then the extra weight, I find that glass for foundations is often thick, which is both good and bad, and one of the bad things is that it’s usually larger, and more awkward to fit into my smaller makeup drawers. And I would hardly say the MAC foundations bottles are elegant, lol.
For travel I prefer plastic because of product weight so if i have a glass packaged product I’ll usually transfer to smaller, plastic containers. However, I don’t like when I spend a lot of money on a product and it comes in a cheap plastic container. I work in the beauty industry (manufacturing & distribution) and I know their cost of goods is not every high when they produce hundreds of thousands of products. It is much more expensive for them to use glass instead of plastic so where is the money going?
It makes me nervous, but I don’t dislike it. Especially if it’s perfume. I love perfume, but wouldn’t it suck to shatter the bottle everywhere?
Glass packaging definitely is a more luxurious feeling, though it is not very practical when traveling. For example, I really love the paint pot glass packaging, but I hate how heavy they are when putting them in my travel beauty case.
Dropped a nearly-full MAC Pro Longwear Concealer and it shattered in a million pieces. What a mess!… I’m definity negative on glass packaging!
All my skincare is glass! (Laneige) I like it, but I feel it’s abit wasteful *sigh*
Always pick glass over plastic. If I need to travel with it, I put some in a sample container.
I don’t mind it. I just have to be more careful with it because I’m a klutz and don’t want glass shards all over my bedroom floor
I don’t particularly care either way. I honestly practically abuse some of my cosmetics, and which foundation packaging broke on me when I dropped my make-up bag? Not the one in the glass bottle.
About the only time I care what the packaging is happens to be perfume. Anything with a higher concentration of essential oils than a body mist or room spray I would never buy if it came in plastic. Strong concentrations of essential oils eat through plastic over time. Which does nothing for the quality of the scent over time. Also, if the packaging is being deteriorated by the product, after some time, it’s actually more likely that the plastic bottle on a perfume will break. So, all in all, I much prefer glass packaging, though for travel perfume sprays I’d recommend bypassing the rollerball and getting one of those tiny metal purse spray tubes that you can fill with your own scent.
I love things in glass packages. Probably for the same reason I like to store food in glass rather than plastic containers- I think that it preserves the quality of the ingredients. Anyway when I travel, I put makeup and skincare stuff into small containers anyway. I just use my little la mer spatula to get the product out, so I don’t have to use my fingers.
I REALLY dislike glass packaging!! Especially when it doesn’t have a pump, because i feel like so much product is being wasted, and i always drop it when im pouring it out!!!!
I’ve never actually owned something with glass packaging, but I lovve the way it looks! However, I can imagine a huge portability issue, and since I’m a bit of a clutz, it would just drive me NOTS having to be so careful all the time!! (like with my perfume and nail poligh bottles- I’m always scared that I’ll drop and break them -_-)
i mostly love glass packaging because of its more expensive luxury feel. I think it works really well for face creams or anything that can appropriately come in a tub form with a screw-top lid or whatever. However, glass packaging has really irritated me with products like foundations which typically come in circular or square bottles that have smaller openings, so when the product has run low and can no longer be squirted out the pump or tipped out it makes it really difficult to scrape out the remaining product which is a waste of money! i love glass perfume bottles though sometimes i worry about throwing some of the glass rollerballs in my bag :/
I hate glass containers…because I’m clumsy. LOL! I will buy a product in a glass container but ONLY if I feel I really need it, otherwise I pass on them for sturdier containers
Glass is absolutely necessary when it comes to nail polish. I hate to see a lot of waster Lucite type plastic dressing up a bottle of skin care. However, having worked as a clinical chemist, I know there is a reason for this ‘extra step’ to packaging as it makes it much harder to have counterfeit product pop up, vs. it be sold in a plain tube, plain plastic whatever. Still it’s a pet peeve of mine to see what I still feel is a lot of wasteful package dressing.
My perfume music from gwen stefani’s line. Broke in my suitcase. 6 months later it still smells like it!
I don’t mind at all if it’s glass, especially if it’s in a jar or bottle but it’s not like I buy products just because it’s glass. I actually keep the containers for other items or recycle them. I rarely travel anyway, but if I did I would favor plastic over glass because of it’s non-fragile-ness. 🙂
its not good…
i smashed a brand new bottle of mac foundation that cost me aus $70!
how is that cool… also I apply my makeup in the bathroom sometimes which is tiled..
what if i drop a paint pot or a l/e item
not cool
I’m more or less indifferent to glass. It looks nicer than plastic, but as I’m not the type of person to put my cosmetics and skincare on display, that’s not really a big deal to me. The only time glass really bugs me is when it’s used to contain larger, heavier items like body scrubs. I get that glass is a healthier, more attractive means of packaging, but one shouldn’t have to worry about their beauty products causing them injury which slippery fingers and heavy glass jars can spawn!
i love foundations that are packaged in glass as they rarely need to be portable. but oh BOY does it hurt when you drop them, my butter fingers have lost a Chanel Mat Lumiere and a Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk that way =(
It would make me nervous for bottles in the shower, but I far prefer the weightiness of glass. I like that it’s recyclable, too; some plastic recycling isn’t available everywhere.
I like glass packaging. I rarely take foundations and such with me daily and as someone else said if I’m travelling it’s securely packed. My “holy grail” foundation…Lancome’s Teint Miracle…feels soo luxurious and heavy which I love.
I enjoy glass. I wish more things came in glass. It just feels better. Id love lip gloss in glass tubes instead of plastic! Im not one to saw open plastic containers to get the leftovers when i just out i just get a new one so not being able to hack into a glass container to scrape it dry is not a concern to me. Where i live its very hard to find recycling facilities so i would feel better about throwing away glass (that just crunches up and becomes dirt) rather than throwing away plastic which lays around for thousands of years!
I generally prefer glass to plastic. For some products I like squeezable tubes, but for bottles/jars, give me glass.
I don’t mind glass. I guess it only bothers me at the end of the product but I flip it over. When I travel, I usually put all my products in travel size containers anyway, so I never had a problem with it breaking. Some things just don’t feel the same unless it’s in glass.
Frankly I hate it. I dont really wanna use the word “hate” but I have yet to see the positives of glass packaging. They’re heavy so they’re pretty much a pain to travel with. And if you were to drop it a few times. its gonna crack and pretty much leave a mess. Now I know they’re pretty to look at and the feel expensive but i think its a little unnecessary
I like glass packaging because of the feel and I know it will not be altered by heat, etc, but I am so clumsy and drop everything! I can’t count how many times I have dropped my Revlon Colourstay foundation and it hasn’t broken though.
Rave: Of course, glass packaging looks, feels, and sounds (clinking together glass pots is too fun) so luxe.
Rant: Breakage (lack of portability) and increased difficulty in using up aaall of a product.
dont mind if its a really high end product
Glass packaging works when it sits all pretty and gorgeous-looking on your table or bathroom counter. It doesn’t work when it’s smashed to pieces all over your floor.
glass packaging is beautiful, but INCREDIBLY impractical. i always make sure to have a nice stock of travel-sized plastic containers so i can travel w/ my glass-enclosed products
I find glass packaging in everything, other than perfume, a pain. I bought a jar of Lush lip scrub last week, then it got knocked of the kitchen counter, SHATTERED! Grr…
dont get me started on the estee lauder doublewear glass bottle with no darn pump, i instantly transfer it to a great muji pump bottle that does the job perfectly.
It’s fine for eye cream, perfume and cream liners. I don’t like it for hair products or skin care products though. I had Burt’s Bees Tomato Toner and the bottled splipped out of my hand and broke my bathroom sink. I mean like a 12 inch long large starburst crack, so that toner cost me hundreds of dollars to replace the sink…just not a fan.
I love glass packaging if it’s something I have in my vanity, or something I apply before I head out, which I DON’T need to carry.
For example, I really like the the Chanel foundation packaging, because it has this luxury, and heavy feel about it.Other products, like cream eyeshadows, with glass packaging, just makes me feel that my makeup is more sturdy, and I do like the feeling of heavy makeup items. YET, I don’t like it when you are carry a heavy lipgloss, because it’s made out of thick glass, just so it looks a bit shiny, and more high quality.
I also haven’t ever see glass skincare, but that would be just plain stupid. Because glass tends to break when it drops, and slides everywhere when wet, there isn’t much to comment on broken skin care lines in the bin from a small crash 🙁
It is more elegant and classier than plastic, but I am so afraid it will break when I take it with me if I am travelling. I am also afraid that I will drop it. With plastic you can just pick it up and keep using it, but with glass (if it breaks) you need to throw it away because if tiny pieces of glass that have gotten in the product.
It’s nice as long you don’t drop on your bathroom floor OR YOUR FOOT!!
All Sabon body products are in glass containers so it increase shipping costs…and Sabon is mainly sold in the NYC and Chicago area…so I have to have all the products shipped. SO I have to buy enough to be eligible for free shipping.