Editors’ Choice Award Winner: Cosmetics
Volume Shocking Mascara
by L’Oréal Paris
Volume Shocking Mascara by L’Oréal Paris is a unique mascara package that has been attracting lots of attention in stores. The package’s design might have taken some cues from the look of a yin-and-yang symbol.
The package’s design allows two full bottles of product to fit together side by side. The champagne-beige bottle contains a primer and has a brush applicator. The black bottle contains the mascara and has a comb applicator. “There are many other double-ended packages on the market, but most of them contain only two half-size bottles connected together. This package provides the customer with more product,” says a L’Oréal spokesperson. The bottles are made from polypropylene blended with high-density polyethylene.
Attention to detail helps make this package special. A polypropylene biinjection-molded connector piece makes it possible for the two bottles to fit together. The bottles are assembled into the connector without using any glue, which was a great production feat. In order for assembly to be completed without the use of glue, there must be a precise fit between each one of the packaging components—making engineering more difficult.
The angled caps have a twist-and-lock orienting feature. An audible click lets customers know when the cap is fully closed. The caps are designed to line up perfectly in the right position each time they are closed. The bottles are decorated with gold hot stamping.
When a mascara package contains a brush or comb applicator, the interaction between the wiper and the applicator must be precisely engineered to ensure the applicator picks up the right amount of product. When developing the packaging for Volume Shocking Mascara, two completely different application systems had to be engineered—one for the brush and another for the comb.
The wiper system for a comb applicator must be made a little differently than the wiper system for a traditional brush. A special, extra-soft material is used to ensure the wiper is compatible with a hard comb. This allows the comb to pass through the wiper more easily.
Awards panelist Maureen Kelly, founder of Tarte Cosmetics, says this type of package provides users with a few benefits. “Women adore buying two-in-one products. They are so easy to use, and they are very convenient to carry around,” she says.
Mascara is one beauty product for which packaging greatly affects how well the formulation works. The experts at L’Oréal are certainly aware of this. The company is known in the industry for having its own patented custom mascara application systems, which often work so well that other companies try to duplicate them.