Maesa designs skincare range for Benefit inspired by 19th century apothecary bottles
Sean Brosmith, chief creative officer for Maesa US, said the company worked closely with the marketing team at Benefit to create a range that is a mix of both modern and classical sensibilities to appeal to a wide consumer demographic.
The bottles were sprayed with a blue-green colored tint and the vintage aspect was reinforced by specially designed grooves on each bottle to provide the consumer with a tactile experience, according to Maesa.
Hydographic process used to produce cork decoration on caps
A hydrograpic process was used to give the injection moulded PCTA caps with a PP foam liner the appearance of being made from cork in order to give a modern touch to the line.
“This process uses a extremely thin photographic film floated on the surface of a water bath, an adhesive is sprayed on the film, and the part is dipped into the water bath wrapping the photographic film around the part,” Brosmith told CosmeticsDesign.com USA.
He explained that this technique was originally developed for the automotive industry to simulate the appearance of wood on dashboard parts, adding that Maesa has been pioneering the technique in the cosmetics industry and that the Benefit program is the result of many trials.
Challenges in creating the b.right line
The biggest challenge in creating the b.right line was getting the hydrographics to work as desired, said Brosmith.
“We created multiple versions of the cork pattern before we were able to find the one that read like real cork, and worked with the color of the bottles and jars,” he explained, adding that colour matching proved to be challenging too as Maesa ended up using both glass and plastic in the line.
Meeting the production requirements of a big line like b.right also required work, Brosmith noted. “The hydrographic process is a relatively slow manufacturing process, so we needed to develop and modify the equipment to meet the production rates we needed to meet delivery.”
The Benefit b.right line scooped the top prize in the Prestige Skincare category at the HBA International Packaging Awards in July 2011.
