Brush and tool storage categories show great promise

Anisa Telwar founded the celebrated global beauty tools company over 20 years ago. Now, Anisa International is well recognized for innovating new tool designs and more recently began offering stylish, brand-customized tool storage options.

Anisa International serves clients like MAC, Sephora, Estée Lauder, and Smashbox. And, the company works closely with beauty partners looking to launch new products with a complete product story.

When a client that specialized in mineral powder formulas wanted to launch a serum, for instance, the team at Anisa International helped the brand build a product line that included beauty tools to help educate the consumer about product use and application, Jules Dykes, senior director of marketing and education, tells Cosmetics Design.

Instructional design ​

Anisa Telwar, president of the company has seen the brush category evolve over the years: “One thing that I see changing is that women are more aware that having the right tool is going to make a real impact,”​ she tells Cosmetics Design.

“However, there is a lot more work that needs to be done with women truly being educated on what they are putting on their skin when it comes to a brush.  Fibers are so varied, both natural and synthetic –  and women are getting more curious about who is creating the products that impact their everyday look.”​

While that further education often falls to color cosmetics brands, the responsibility presents an opportunity to build consumer loyalty.

Loyalty points​

Well-designed brushes ease product application and make for happy customers. And tools designed in such a way that makes application intuitive and quick do the work of teaching consumers how to use products to the best effect.

Likewise functional, attractive tool storage containers encourage consumers to care for the brushes they’ve invested in, making those brushes last longer and reflect more positively on the brand, Dykes tells Cosmetics Design. Conversely, brushes tossed in a bag unprotected get spoiled and don’t reflect as well on the brand marked on the handle.  

Plus tools and storage containers alike can be customized to reinforce a beauty brand’s name, logo, color pallet, etc. Anisa International has designed both hard-sided and soft-sided tool storage options that can be branded with custom fabrics, liners, zipper pulls, embossed lids. Even, the elastics that secure tools in place can be color matched to the brand or product line.    

Fibers of the future ​

Anisa International creates brushes that meet industry demand, which means with synthetic fibers, natural fibers, and brushes with a blend of fibers. 

“For all consumer categories, people are much more inquisitive and engaged and want to understand what sort of culture and material is behind what they are purchasing,” ​Telwar tells Cosmetics Design.

“People are more curious and this pushes us, as designers, to really care about the end user and to give them the most effective artistry tool available,” ​she says. The company teamed with DuPont to develop the Natrafil synthetic fiber, which may be the future of brushes as more beauty consumers are interested in so-called cruelty free products. 

Whether natural or synthetic fibers win out in the marketplace, it looks like “the end consumer may be the one that decides which way the industry is moving,” ​says Dykes.