Goodbye Sameness, Hello Separation: Bella Aura Changes Its Look To Stand Apart From The Clean Beauty Pack

Miron glass packaging has many great qualities, but originality isn’t one of them.

Bella Aura has moved away from it as part of a revamp intended to distinguish the brand from the clean skincare crowds and help it make inroads at U.S. stores. Its updated look features bottles with a single curved side and a renovated logo of the brand’s stylized initials rather than its original colorful tear drop.

“We want the design of our product to stand out so people gravitate to it,” says Greg Jones, head of finance and operations for Bella Aura, and husband of founder Yasmine. “Once people try it, we’re confident they’re going to enjoy what’s inside the bottle. The rebrand was to resolve the issue of the outer packaging not really reflecting what’s inside the bottle.”

Bella Aura reviewed some 50 bottle options from various suppliers over the course of five months before landing on its new bottle. The uniqueness and femininity of the curved container appealed to the Joneses. Glass and dark, it retained the formula protection and recyclability of the Miron glass Bella Aura turned to previously. It also dispensed the brand’s emulsions deftly through its pump.

“This was one of the hardest things we did, and the bottle really fit everything we were looking for. No one else is using it in skincare, and it comes in the sizes we wanted to offer,” says Greg. “Some of the products are thicker than others, so we wanted something that worked well with all of them, and the pump was just perfect. We thought about plastic, but we felt glass is more natural and less susceptible to chemical leaching.”

“We want the design of our product to stand out so people gravitate to it. Once people try it, we’re confident they’re going to enjoy what’s inside the bottle. The rebrand was to resolve the issue of the outer packaging not really reflecting what’s inside the bottle.”

Bella Aura involved a small group of supportive customers and retailers in its makeover. Pointers from customers led to the brand boosting the size of its Daily Repair Moisturizer from 30 to 50 milliliters. They had been slathering the product on liberally and desired an ample amount to suit their prolific application tendencies. The product’s price rose roughly 10% to $99 with the switch, although the price per milliliter dipped.

“It’s a little bit of a fine line because you don’t want to tell the world what you are doing because you are trying to keep it a little bit confidential, but you still want feedback before you make wholesale changes,” says Greg. “We have some really good retail partners that we rely on for positive constructive feedback.”

Yasmine created Bella Aura after grief, stress and sleep deprivation in the wake of her mother’s death weighed on her skin. She visited dermatologists and experimented with countless products to revive her skin, but nothing was effective. So, she decided to develop her own remedies and chose a Swiss cosmetics laboratory to assist with formulation.

“I wanted to blend the sophistication of European skincare science with the radiance of ancient medicinal traditions,” says Yasmine. “It took me five years to create my Core Collection, which involved intensive, unrelenting research and with the help of experts including doctors, scientists, chemists, herbalists, naturopaths and traditional Chinese medicine doctors. They understand the root cause of skin problems and what the skin needs. The Swiss rank number one in the world for skincare, which is why I chose to work with this Swiss laboratory.”

“We made a lot of mistakes and, hopefully, learned. One thing we could have done better was to be more patient and wait to find the right people. We were so anxious to get going and grow, and that makes you often look for a quick solution.”

Bella Aura’s Core Collection priced from $55 to $130 consists of Daily Repair Moisturizer, Gentle Purifying Cleanser, Antioxidant Booster, Night Cellular Renewal and Instant Lifting Eye Contour. Its Custom Care range priced from $99 to $135 has Rapid Repair Clarifying Elixir, Hydra Revive Treatment and Gravity Reverse Body Serum.

“The idea behind the core collection is to provide a complete skincare regimen in which you don’t necessarily have to have 12 to 15 products,” says Greg. “We are trying to simplify the skincare process, and we offer clean ingredients based on efficacy.”

In the three years since the brand launched, Bella Aura has discovered breaking through the clutter in the beauty industry isn’t easy. The brand has stumbled by hiring sales, digital and marketing consultants that didn’t deliver on their promises. It depended on branding agency Pink Moon Co. for its overhaul, an external hire Greg reports was successful where predecessors weren’t.

“It’s a lot more difficult than we thought, and it’s a lot more expensive than we thought,” he says. “We made a lot of mistakes and, hopefully, learned. One thing we could have done better was to be more patient and wait to find the right people. We were so anxious to get going and grow, and that makes you often look for a quick solution.”

“Initially, we told ourselves, ‘Let’s take three years to grow the brand and get everything right.’ In the first three years, we knew we were going to make mistakes, but we wanted to get to a position where we refined everything.”

Today, Bella Aura products are available at around 30 retailers and e-tailers globally. Among them are Safe & Chic in the U.S., Pure & Simple in Canada, Biancotone and Green Soul Cosmetics in Italy, Beauty-Essentials in Switzerland, and Beauty Gallery Macau.

“Initially, we told ourselves, ‘Let’s take three years to grow the brand and get everything right.’ In the first three years, we knew we were going to make mistakes, but we wanted to get to a position where we refined everything,” says Greg. “Now, the goal is to grow the number of retailers around the world, but especially in the U.S. We have a lot of momentum in Europe and Asia, but we need to focus more on the North American market.”