If vibrating mascaras were the big beauty tech breakthrough of 2008, spinning mascara wands are the 2011 version. Bourjois Volume Fast and Perfect Mascara, which will be released in May, features a rotating wand that promises to coat each and every lash to give perfect volume and definition. You can watch a video of how it works here.
Meanwhile, Dior introduced a spinning version of the ever popular DiorShow mascara, called DiorShow 360. This product allegedly “mimics a makeup artist’s application technique for a perfect 360-degree lash-styling effect…this mascara features a spinning brush that rotates in both directions to adapt to every need, whether you’re left or right-handed or you want to pump up the upper or lower lashes.”
As with vibrating mascaras, I’m skeptical these would actually work better than a traditional non-moving wand. Still, I think these have more validity than the vibrating ones – I think that the motion could in fact yield better results than a manual wand.
I remember with the vibrating mascaras the mass fear of poking one’s eyes out. Does a rotating wand present the same threat? Hard to say.
(image from sephora.com)
According to this article by Cosmetic Design Europe, a company called RPC Beauté has created two new ways to decorate cosmetic packages: HotFix and EcoCoat. Hotfix is an automated process for setting gemstones into plastic. Up to now, placing stones into plastic had to be done by hand, rather than mass-produced, which upped the price of the finished item. RPC Beauté general manager Gerald Martines noted that with HotFix, “capacity can match typical production outputs for million-unit ‘blockbuster’ launches as well as limited series…by ensuring a uniformity of cost in affixing stones to the pack, the biggest decision facing brands is how much to spend on the
stones themselves.” Does this mean we can get emerald-studded compacts and ruby-encrusted lipsticks for mere pennies? Probably not, but I thought this was a pretty interesting development.
The other innovation is Eco-Coat, a new environmentally-friendly alternative to varnishing on plastic but one that looks just as nice. Eco-Coat does not emit the greenhouse gases the way regular varnish does, and the fact that it is thinner than varnish coats means “logistics and handling are significantly simplified and reduced.” What’s more, it can come in a variety of finishes, including metallic. Shiny AND eco-friendly?! I’ll be waiting to see which company employs this new technique first – will it be the usual suspects (Cargo or Urban Decay) or a cosmetics giant like L’Oreal? Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
