What size eyeshadow box do I need?

How do I measure a single eyeshadow compact or palette for a custom box?

Eyeshadow compacts are deceptive to measure with a flat desk ruler because their walls are rarely straight squares. Most injection-molded acrylic or ABS plastic compacts have a cylindrical hinge barrel protruding from the back spine and a raised thumb-release clasp on the front edge. If you size your carton around the main square body and ignore the hinge and clasp, the compact will bow the front and back carton walls outward and pop the tuck flaps open. Use digital calipers to measure the maximum external length (left to right), depth (front clasp to rear hinge), and height (top lid to bottom base) of your closed compact. Add 1/16 inch (0.0625 in) to all three numbers for smooth hand insertion without internal rattle. When you send those measurements to CubitPack, we generate your custom dieline for eyeshadow packaging boxes with zero die or plate charges.

1. Step 1 (Length): Measure the closed compact or palette from left edge to right edge and add 1/16 inch (0.0625 in).
2. Step 2 (Width across hinge & clasp): Measure from the tip of the front thumb clasp to the back of the rear hinge barrel and add 1/16 inch.
3. Step 3 (Depth / Thickness): Measure from the bottom base to the highest point of the top lid (including domed baked shadow lids) and add 1/16 inch.
4. Step 4 (Perimeter frame allowance): If adding a hollow-wall paperboard shock frame for mail-order protection, add 0.25 inches per side (0.5 in total to length and width).
5. Step 5 (Grain & opening orientation): Set the opening panels on the wider length × depth edges so the compact slides in like a drawer rather than dropping edge-first.

What are the standard eyeshadow box dimensions by compact and palette type?

Although every CubitPack carton is die-cut to your exact inside length × width × depth, color cosmetics suppliers build their tin pans, plastic compacts, and cardboard palettes around a few universal pan diameters (primarily 26 mm, 36 mm, and 59 mm). Use the size chart below to match your hardware format to its standard outer carton or sleeve dimensions. Notice how low-profile compacts list the two large face dimensions first and the narrow thickness last (for example, 2.0 × 2.0 × 0.625 inches), whereas tall liquid eyeshadow wands follow upright bottle sizing with a small square base and a 4.25 inch height.

How do I size sleeves for 26 mm and 36 mm magnetic eyeshadow refill pans?

Refillable makeup systems let shoppers buy individual tin or aluminum eyeshadow pans and drop them into a reusable magnetic palette. Because a bare 26 mm (1.02 inch) metal pan is only 0.08 inches thick and holds fragile pressed pigment, brands first snap the pan into a small clear PET clamshell blister or recessed paperboard carrier before sliding it into a printed outer sleeve. Always measure the outer perimeter of the closed plastic clamshell blister, not the bare 26 mm tin pan. Most 26 mm single blisters measure 1.375 × 1.375 × 0.20 inches, which fits cleanly inside a 1.5 × 1.5 × 0.25 inch paperboard sleeve or tuck envelope. Adding a half-moon thumb notch on the top edge and a 0.875 inch round window in the center of the front panel lets customers see the shimmer shade and slide the blister out without pinching the pan.

What size box or sleeve fits 4-pan quads, 9-pan squares, and 12-pan palettes?

Multi-pan eyeshadow palettes come in two primary constructions: injection-molded plastic compacts (common for 4-pan quads and 6-pan minis) and book-style rigid paperboard cases with magnetic closures (common for 9-pan, 12-pan, and 18-pan palettes). A standard 4-pan quad holding four 26 mm pans measures roughly 2.68 × 2.68 × 0.56 inches and takes a 2.75 × 2.75 × 0.625 inch straight tuck end carton. Book-style 9-pan square palettes typically measure 4.375 × 4.375 × 0.56 inches and take a 4.5 × 4.5 × 0.625 inch outer carton or open-ended slipcase sleeve. Rectangular 12-pan palettes (arranged in three rows of four pans) usually measure 6.125 × 4.125 × 0.68 inches and fit a 6.25 × 4.25 × 0.75 inch box. If your palette ships with a dual-ended eyeshadow brush or an interior mirror, verify whether the lid is thicker at the spine than at the magnetic flap edge.

What size carton fits liquid eyeshadow wands and cream shadow pots?

Not every eyeshadow is a flat pressed powder pan. Liquid glitter and matte fluid shadows use cylindrical PETG or glass vials with a doe-foot applicator wand, while cream-to-powder formulas use twist-up sticks or thick-walled glass pots. Because liquid eyeshadow wands are shorter than mascara tubes, they usually fit a 0.875 × 0.875 × 4.25 inch or 0.75 × 0.75 × 4.0 inch upright carton. You can compare similar tall tube formats on our custom mascara boxes and custom eyeliner boxes pages. Round glass cream shadow pots (typically 4 g to 5 g capacity) have a heavy glass base and a tall screw cap, measuring around 2.0 inches wide by 1.0 to 1.125 inches tall. Those pots need a deeper 2.125 × 2.125 × 1.125 inch carton so the heavy glass jar cannot crush the bottom tuck flap.

How much extra box space do I need for a shock-absorbing insert?

Soft metallic, duochrome, and high-pearl eyeshadow formulas use higher levels of liquid binders and spherical mica, which makes the pressed cake softer and more prone to cracking when a parcel lands on its corner. If you sell direct-to-consumer or ship palettes to retail distribution centers, adding an internal shock-buffer insert inside your unit carton dramatically reduces transit breakage. A folded paperboard perimeter buffer frame wraps around all four narrow edges of your compact or palette, creating a 0.25 inch hollow air cushion between the compact and the outer carton wall. To size your outer box for a perimeter frame, add 0.5 inches to both the length and width of your compact (0.25 inches per side). You can explore custom cradle designs on our custom cardboard inserts page.

What are the most common eyeshadow box sizing mistakes?

Flat compacts and fragile pressed pigments punish even small dimensional errors. Avoid these five sizing mistakes before approving your dieline

1. Leaving 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch of empty slack around a pressed powder compact without an insert, allowing the compact to accelerate and crack on impact.
2. Measuring the square body of a plastic compact and forgetting the protruding front thumb clasp and rear hinge barrel.
3. Sizing a 26 mm magnetic refill pan sleeve to the 1.02 inch metal pan instead of the 1.375 inch clear plastic blister shell that holds it.
4. Putting the tuck opening on the large 4.5 × 4.5 inch front face of a flat palette box instead of the 4.5 × 0.625 inch end panel.
5. Cutting a front shade window wider than the inner pan rim, which exposes the unprinted plastic hinge or glue well around the pan.

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