Made with just cocoa butter, beeswax, avocado oil, almond oil and chili, Australian-made Formula Five lip balm is an all-natural way to moisturize, nourish and perfect your pout. Created and developed by Sarah James, the balm isn’t…
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Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Annemiek van der Beek has designed a collection of makeup that’s packaged to appeal to men (+ slideshow).
Called Primal Skin, Annemiek van der Beek‘s collection is designed to camouflage small imperfections in the complexion and accentuate the eyes.
“These days men are using more cosmetic products than before and even makeup is a more common topic,” the designer told Dezeen. “For women wearing makeup is a daily ritual and for them it’s much easier to use and buy it because of the big range of products. This new branding experience makes makeup accessible for the modern man.”
The set includes foundation in five colours, powder in five colours, eye pencil in stone black or coal black and eyeshadow in three shades of grey.
The cosmetics are made up of natural ingredients such as coal, clay and mineral stones, and must be applied with specially designed tools that van der Beek says give the experience “a rough and sturdy touch.”
Compacts and brushes are made of black anodised aluminium. “I chose aluminium because the weight and the temperature of the material feels more manly to hold,” she explained.
They come packaged in minimal boxes with rounded corners, made of black-pigmented MDF that van der Beek chose “because it looks like stone, but it is very lightweight.”
“Makeup products are always focused on the female user, but I think a guy wants to experience makeup in a different way,” she added.
Annemiek van der Beek presented the project as part of her graduation show at the Design Academy Eindhoven during Dutch Design Week.
The post Primal Skin makeup collection designed
for men by Annemiek van der Beek appeared first on Dezeen.
The modern woman’s life is a tough one- raising kids, working, taking care of the house… all while staying attractive and beautiful, of course! The Yuca hairdryer is here to help make that part a little easier. The design is ergonomically adapted to be held in the variety of positions required for getting your hairdo just right. Better yet, it can rest flat on any surface, leaving your hands free to comb, brush your teeth, or even use your cellphone. The result is mind-blowing freedom!
Designer: Fanni Csernátony
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(Hands-Free Hairdryer was originally posted on Yanko Design)
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Just a few months after taking her first soap-making class (and after 10 years of practice as an emergency room physician in Carbondale, CO) Dr Sarah Villafranco decided to pursue the idea of making homemade skincare products—using only organic ingredients whenever possible—and created…
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Royal College of Art graduate Lauren Davies has designed a range of copper, maple and glass tools to make scented oils, creams and cosmetics at home (+ slideshow).
The Alchemist’s Dressing Table project by Lauren Davies features a three-tier distiller for making scented oils, a scent infuser for creating creams and balms, and a double-sided copper bat for mixing eyeliner.
“The tools I’ve designed will enable women to forge a stronger connection to their personal beauty rituals and a more magical relationship with nature’s intricate mysteries,” said Davies.
The three-tier distiller features a glass globe and a stainless steel stand with a cork rim. Water can be boiled in the spun-copper bowl on the base, which is heated by an oil burner positioned underneath.
Steam passes up through scented plants that are placed on the first copper sieve and again through a second sieve. The top compartment is filled with ice and the spun copper funnel acts as a condenser, turning the rising steam underneath into a scented liquid that trickles into a glass, positioned in the centre.
Davies has also created a pan for melting oils and waxes, and for mixing scents and pigments. The pan is made from borosilicate glass and has a maple wood handle. It sits on copper hot plate that is positioned on a stainless steel stand.
For creating creams and balms from scented plants, Davies has designed a scent infuser. “The scent is built up over time as unscented fat traps the airborne scent molecules from the plant material above,” she explained.
The final tool is a copper plate with a wooden handle for making kohl eyeliner. A single disc of copper is place over an oil burner. Carbon collects on the underside and then the disk is flipped over for making the eye makeup.
“The black carbon deposit can then be mixed with almond oil for a smudged finish or aloe vera and witch hazel to allow a brush drawn line and used as eyeliner,” Davies explained.
Davies’ collection also includes a pair of copper tongs for picking up plant material, a maple wood stirrer, a mixing tool and four copper measuring spoons.
All the products are made from five materials. “The palette of copper and maple wood are chosen for their traditional and folkloric symbolism respectively,” said Davies. “Cork is used for its insulating properties, borosilicate glass for its heat resistance and stainless steel for strength,” she added.
Here’s a short movie featuring the alchemist’s table:
Other Royal College of Art projects we’ve featured recently include a field that was digitally printed with patterns and a collapsible paper dress that expands and changes shape with body movements. See all our stories from Show RCA 2013 »
Here’s further information from Lauren Davies:
The Alchemist’s Dressing Table
The Alchemist’s Dressing Table is a collection of analog tools for the production of natural cosmetics at home, inspired by beautiful ancient rituals and the transformative powers of alchemy.
The palette of copper and maple wood are chosen for their traditional and folkloric symbolism respectively. Cork is used for its insulating properties, borosilicate glass for its heat resistance and stainless steel for strength. All components are fabricated in collaboration with London-based craftsmen.
Together, the tools form a statement piece; reigniting a dialogue about our relationship with nature and the materials we use. I believe this could be the future of cosmetics for the modern woman who has a desire to be more in control of what she uses on her skin and the impact they have on the environment.
The tools I’ve designed will enable women to forge a stronger connection to their personal beauty rituals and a more magical relationship with nature’s intricate mysteries.
The distiller can be used to make hydrosols and essential oils. Water is boiled in the spun copper bowl using an oil burner. Steam then passes up through the scented plant material sitting on the handcrafted sieve above. The top compartment is filled with ice allowing its spun copper base to act as a condenser. The steam carries the scent particles up through the second sieve and hits the condenser where it cools, turns into liquid and drips down into the collection glass below.
Oils and waxes can be melted in the pan over the hot plate and mixed with scents and pigments. The scent infuser is for the cold maceration of volatile scented plants to make creams and balms. The scent is built us over time as unscented fat traps the airborne scent molecules from the plant material above.
The kohl plate is for the preparation of black kohl eyeliner. Carbon collects on the underside of the copper plate from the almond oil burning in the oil burner below for a period of time. This black carbon deposit can then be mixed with almond oil for a smudged finish or aloe vera and witch hazel to allow a brush drawn line and used as eyeliner.
The hand held tools comprise of a pair of copper tongs to be used with plant material in the distiller or scent infuser, a stirrer for the pan, a mixing tool for use with the kohl plate and a set of measuring spoons (TBSP, TSP, 1⁄2 TSP, 1⁄4 TSP) to be used where accuracy is needed.
The post The Alchemist’s Dressing
Table by Lauren Davies appeared first on Dezeen.
At the height of summer, with seemingly endless weekends sprawled out on lawns and beaches, it’s hard not to succumb to apathy and ignore sun care. Even if you haven’t worn sunscreen all summer, it is never too late to start protecting your skin from harmful rays and to incorporate…
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Gently scented conditioners to tame your facial mane
As the fashion of rugged refinement grips the menswear scene, grooming products have had to accommodate a curious new cosmetic—beard oil. Part cologne, part conditioner, the oil has become steadily more common as an alternative to cream-based beard conditioners. These lightly-scented oils add just the right amount of shine and musky fragrance to manly mugs.
Dude No. 1 ($65) by MCMC Fragrances was one of the early beard oils to hit the market with its launch in late 2010. The refined scent includes spicy notes of Virginia cedarwood, green coriander and pink peppercorn. Applied through a convenient roller ball tip, the liquid itself is composed of hempseed, American jojoba and essential oils. Classically trained perfumer Anne McClain developed Dude No. 1 in her Brooklyn studio with the purpose of tricking her bearded beau into wearing a scent.
Portland General Store has been a major player in heritage men’s grooming movement, creating everything from shave jelly to cleansing mud. Their “Tobacco” beard oil ($68) offers a hearty dose of earthy fresh tobacco scent balanced by sophisticated floral tope notes. Billed as a “cologne for the beard,” the blend is made from jojoba, hempseed and marula oil.
Inspired by naturalist John Burroughs, the pristinely packaged Burroughs Beard Oil ($28) from Prospector Co. is a well-balanced, woodsy scent for men of any age. The blend of argan, grapeseed, cedarwood, sandlewood and essential oils functions as both moisturizer and oil-base cologne. Slightly sweet with notable traces of leather, the scent hits a nice balance between rugged masculinity and citrusy appeal to wake up the face in the morning.
Softening whiskers with skin-friendly almond oil, Wild Man Beard Conditioner ($14) is an all-natural grooming solution from Phoenix-based Wild Rose Herbs. The concoction is scented with rosemary, lavender, cedar and lime, and is fortified with vitamin E. Bushy beards will benefit from Wild Man’s viscosity, which helps to tame unruly and bushy beards. The affordable price point and strong cedar scent sets this apart from the pack as a nice introduction to conditioners.
From newsprint walls to a city-based campaign, Aesop’s holistic design in their new NYC store
Since its inception in 1987, Australian skincare line Aesop has gone to great lengths to ensure quality. Everything from manufacturing to distribution, including of course their all-natural, socially-conscious products, is the result of a thoughtful, detail-oriented approach. When it comes to opening retail locations, the brand focuses on meshing seamlessly into its surroundings, drawing on elements from the locale to incorporate them into the space. In the case of their 40th standalone location, which opened 7 September 2011 in the Nolita neighborhood of New York City and is one of three opening in the city over the next few months, they applied the concept quite literally.
Designed by local architect Jeremy Barbour, he adopted the same solution as when he created Aesop’s Grand Central Station kiosk, constructing the wall displays and counter out of re-purposed editions of the New York Times. The material, layered to form what look like large paper bricks, gives the space unprecedented texture, creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere. Beyond the visual component, the soft, weathered feel of it compliments the product line nicely, as well as grounding it within the city and community. In a nod to Aesop’s appreciation of the arts, the store will screen Criterion Films on the paper walls, so customers can enjoy world-class cinema projected over years of the written word.
The new boutique also introduces the latest in their 30-day-long store opening series, Thirty Views of New York, in which I was recently one of thirty participants from the arts, publishing, fashion, and music. Each day through the 11th of October, a contributor will reveal a favorite (and possibly secret) location in NYC, including galleries, museums, restaurants, stores and other hidden gems. As part of Aesop’s ingenuity when entering a new space, the campaign allows consumers to learn about the hidden richness in a classic landscape.
Ergonomic, luxury nail trimmer promises the smoothest cut
One of the the most satisfying interactions with a tool is when designers reinvent something you use all the time but don’t think too much about. The Klhip nail trimmer is a shining example of such an innovation, transforming a mundane concept by applying design principles to make it more useful. The Klhip uses a reversed lever to give the user greater control when clipping and also requires less pressure to cut through nails. This makes for a super-smooth nail edge, essentially eliminating the need for filing afterwards.
Made in the U.S.A. from surgical grade stainless steel, Klhip delivers what it promises in a sleek, functional package. It sells from the online store for $70 or $95 with a leather carrying case, and includes a lifetime warranty.
Japanese designers Nendo have designed stackable packaging for a range of products by Japanese cosmetics brand THREE.
The bottles have been designed to resemble blocks of stone that can be displayed together in any configuration.
The products can be displayed by stacking them in different ways.
Light and dark shades of grey distinguish the different products.
Photographs are by Masayuki Hayashi.
Read all our stories about Nendo in our special category.
Here’s some more information from the designers:
We designed packaging design for Japanese cosmetic brand “THREE”
“THREE” designed by nendo / Design concept
The packaging design for cosmetics brand THREE. The brand name refers to the three keywords that describe THREE’s fundamental values: ‘natural, honest and creative’.
The brand honours the bounty of nature by using natural ingredients whenever possible. It is honest about its ingredients, allowing no genetically modified products, artificial scents or colours.
And it respects the creative generation of style that is free and unconstrained by existing attitudes.
Our motif for integrating these three core values into the packaging was the image of blocks carved from natural stone.
Blocks of stone are a natural material shaped patiently by human hand; stacked together, they become architecture, freely formed by human creativity and the attributes of the materials.
The final design for the products is a simple one that resembles a block of stone.
The different bottles can be stacked horizontally or vertically, and fit together perfectly, a pleasant surprise.
The rubber finish feels moist in the hand, and the edges are soft and rounded, as though worn away over time. These and other small, thoughtful touches make the products an unexpected delight to use.
We used two different warm shades of grey to distinguish between the skin care and makeup lines, but pared away all other design elements to the bare minimum to bring out the appeal of the products themselves.
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| Clear Perfume Bottle by Nendo for 1% | A Scent bottle by Arik Levy for Issey Miyake | More stories on Nendo on Dezeen |
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