TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a cosmetic compact for holding and delivering a cosmetic composition.

BACKGROUND ART

Cosmetic compositions such as a foundation are often applied using a cushion sponge. The product is taken up from a container of the product, by contact of the cushion sponge with the product, before being applied.

US2014023689 describes a cosmetic device comprising a polyester-based urethane foam impregnated with a cosmetic composition to be applied. The foam may comprise flocking.

WO2013154391 discloses a cosmetic composition carrier for impregnating a cosmetic composition and comprising one or more foams. The foams may be flocked.

KR2020110011162 is related to a cosmetic puff for applying a cosmetic composition. The puff has a flocked application face on which patterns are formed.

JP2010154876 discloses a cosmetic disposable nonwoven cloth for applying or removing a cosmetic substance to a human body. The nonwoven may comprise flocked areas.

WO2015122643 discloses a cosmetic container for charging and discharging a cosmetic composition. The container may include a flocked sheet.

JP3122901U discloses a cosmetic applicator comprising protrusions for stimulating the skin.

WO2011156735 discloses a pad comprising a plurality of beads adhered thereto for producing surface abrasion and stimulating tactile sensation to the skin of the user.

CN203424529 describes a non- woven fabric cotton pad with massage points.

W02009066086 discloses a resiliently deformable friction pad defining a friction face and comprising a net-like layer provided at said friction face.

W0200753204 discloses a two-side personal-care appliance comprising a first interbonded fibrous layer having three-dimensional contours on both faces of the layer and second interbonded fibrous layer comprising a high-loft material. KR2018/0055332 discloses an impregnation unit comprising an impregnation portion, a film, and an adhesive layer between the two. The film comprises a plurality of pores and three-dimensional member arranged according to a pattern and that protrude towards the adhesive layer. The three-dimensional members help to improve the adhesion between the film and the impregnation portion.

KR2018/0025541 discloses a mesh on which letters or patterns are applied by sublimation transfer.

WO2018026228 discloses a mesh on which characters or images may be formed to enhance the esthetics

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

In some compacts, the product is stored within a porous material that acts as a reservoir. This porous material may be a NBR foam, with is not well suited for being embossed, for example by heating, in order to create decorative patterns on the surface thereof.

In some other compacts, the product is dispensed through a mesh.

It is desirable to provide such compacts with further decorations.

There is also a need for improving the way the product is dispensed, whenever necessary, for example for concentrating the composition in the center of the surface where it is taken up.

The present invention aims to improve further cosmetic compacts and meet the need for improved decoration and/or better control of the way the product is dispensed.

According to one aspect, the invention provides a cosmetic compact comprising a permeable material defining a surface for taking up a cosmetic composition, this surface comprising a visible pattern devoid of flock fibers and made of a solid deposit adhered to the permeable material.

In the present invention, the solid deposit may be used to form a decorative pattern.

It may also be used, if desirable, to create on the surface of the compact a sealing layer which allows the composition under the surface to pass through only selected areas of the surface where no solid deposit is present. In this way, the invention may allow in some instances to optimize the distribution of the composition towards the center of the compact by sealing some of the surface near to its periphery.

In the prior art known foams are often provided with flock fibers on their surface.

When impregnated with the cosmetic composition, the flock fibers tend to stick to the surface thus negatively affecting the distribution of the cosmetic composition. In the present invention, the absence of flock fibers on the surface allows better control of the distribution of the cosmetic composition.

Furthermore, if flock fibers are present on the surface, the fibers will be impregnated with the cosmetic composition after several uses and thus negatively affect the visibility of any pattern present on the surface. On the contrary, in the invention, the pattern formed by the deposit is devoid of flock fibers and may be more easily apparent.

The permeable material of the present invention is not configured for applying directly the cosmetic composition to the face of the user. A separate applicator may be necessary for this purpose. Product may also be taken up on the surface with the finger.

The compact preferably comprises a body for housing the permeable material.

The body may comprise an upper opening. Preferably, the compact comprises at least one retaining element at an upper opening thereof, the retaining element being configured to retain the permeable material inside the body of the compact.

The visible pattern may be applied in the form of letters, logos or barcodes. The letters may be alphanumeric. The logo may represent a person, an animal, a plant, a landscape, inter alia. The logo may be the trademark under which the compact is commercialized.

The permeable material preferably comprises an NBR foam, a felt, a textile or a mesh such as a woven screen.

The permeable material may be an open cell of synthetic rubber material, preferably NBR. The invention thus overcomes the difficulty of decorating NBR.

The solid material may comprise a thermofusible material, preferably a polyolefin, more preferably PE, or an expandable ink, such as one containing thermo-expandable microspheres. The visible pattern may be a three-dimensional pattern, having for example pattern elements of variable thickness along their height.

The outer surface of the solid deposit may be smooth.

The outer surface of the deposit may be flat or rounded. The pattern formed with the deposit may have a planar top surface, or a rounded top surface.

The permeable material may be pre-impregnated with the cosmetic composition before the first use of the compact. In this case, the permeable material serves as a reservoir of the cosmetic composition. In other words, the permeable material contains all the composition to be applied.

In a variant, the compact may comprise a reservoir of the cosmetic composition arranged under the permeable material. The permeable material may be configured to be loaded with the cosmetic composition present in the reservoir, for example by being pushed towards the reservoir at the first use of the compact.

The reservoir may be closed by a cap.

The surface of the permeable material for taking up the cosmetic composition, when observed from above, may have an area of between 2 and 80 cm ² .

The outline of the surface may be circular, but other shapes are possible, for example polygonal.

The visible pattern is preferably colorful. The visible pattern may have at least two different colors, preferably at least two contrasting colors. The visible pattern may be of a color that is different from the color of the composition and that is different from the color of the permeable material.

Preferably, the color(s) of the visible pattern is in contract with the color of the cosmetic composition and/or the color of the permeable material. For example, when the product is a foundation, the visible pattern may have a bright beige color which is lighter than that of the foundation, in order to contrast with the color of the foundation. Other possible colors of the visible patter may include, among others, white, red, brown, gold, silver, bronze, black, ... , depending on the color of the foundation and the desired appearance of the compact.

The appearance of the visible pattern may change as a function of the quantity of the cosmetic composition left in the permeable material or the reservoir. Initially, when the composition is present in excess on the outer surface of the porous material, the color of the pattern may be at least partly masked by the composition and is not clearly visible. When the reservoir or the permeable material is empty, there is little or no composition present on the pattern, the color of which is thus clearly visible. The visible pattern may comprise different parts of different height.

The area of the surface on which the visible pattern is present may vary according to the shape of the pattern. The pattern may have a pure decorative purpose or in variant may serve also to control the distribution of the composition on the outer surface of the porous material. The area of the surface on which the visible pattern is present may be less than 10% of the total area of the surface.

A height of the visible pattern is preferably less than 2 mm and/or preferably more than lmm, more preferably between 1 and 2 mm. Such a value helps the pattern be visible while still enabling the user to easily take up the composition. The deposit may comprise a reinforcing ring at the periphery of the surface. This may help to retain the permeable material within the body. It may also allow to strengthen the permeable material and makes the latter more resistant during use.

The compact may comprise a cover. The body of the compact may be in a

thermoplastic material. The cover may be screwed or hinged to the body. A magnetic or snap fastening locking system may be used to maintain the compact in closed configuration. The compact may comprise a mirror and a housing for receiving an applicator member, if necessary.

The permeable material may be retained via any means in the body, and for example by a retaining lip arranged on the body of the compact.

According to another aspect, the present invention provides a method for producing a compact as defined above, comprising forming the solid deposit on the permeable material via application of a precursor of the solid deposit through a mask having at least one opening in the shape of a pattern to be made with the solid deposit, or by printing, preferably serigraphy or inkjet printing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[Detailed description]

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve explaining the principles of the invention:

Fig.l is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary embodiment of a cosmetic compact according to the invention;

Fig.2(a) and 2(b) are cross-sectional views of other embodiments of a cosmetic compact according to the invention;

Fig.3 is a cross-sectional view of a further embodiment of a cosmetic compact according to the invention;

Fig.4 is a top view of another embodiment of a permeable material according to the invention;

Fig.5(a) is cross-sectional view of a variant of an embodiment of a cosmetic compact according to the invention;

Fig.5(b) shows the cosmetic compact of Fig.5(a) after decrease of the quantity of the cosmetic composition in the compact, and Fig.6 shows in top view a variant embodiment of a permeable material according to the invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The compact 1 according to the invention, illustrated in Fig.l, comprises a casing 2 having a body 3. The casing 2 also comprises a cover 5 which is for example hinged to the body 3 or fixed otherwise, for example by screwing thereto.

The cover 5 may comprise an applicator-carrier 6, which is for example hinged to the body 3 along a same rotational axis as the cover 5. The applicator 7 resting on the carrier 6 is for example a puff, which may comprise a foam sponge.

The above example is given for reasons of illustration. It is not necessary to have the applicator 7 received inside the compact 1.

In the example of Fig.l, a cup 4 is received in a housing 8 of the body 3. A permeable material 10 is received in the cup 4.

In a variant, the cup 4 may be formed monolithically with the body 3.

The casing 2 may comprise a retaining element in the form an annular rim 9 which bears against the top of the permeable material 10 for retaining the latter inside the housing 8.

In the embodiment of figure 1, the permeable material 10 comprises an NBR open cell foam defining an upper outer surface 15 for taking up the cosmetic composition.

This surface 15 comprises a visible pattern 12 formed by a solid deposit adhered thereto. The visible pattern 12, which may be in the form of a logo, prevents the passage of the cosmetic composition through the corresponding areas 50 of the surface 15. In this way, the distribution of the cosmetic composition through the surface 5 may controlled by the shape given to the visible pattern 12.

The masking power of the composition may be high enough to prevent the user to clearly see the true color of the pattern 12 when there is some cosmetic composition remaining on the surface 15 and on the pattern 12. However, after use of the compact, when there is little composition left within the material 10, the true color of the pattern may be more visible as there is less composition to hide it. This may help the user to notice at an early stage the decrease of the quantity of composition left in the compact.

As shown in the variant illustrated in Fig.2(a), the visible pattern may have, in a cross- section perpendicular to the surface 15, a tapered shape. Thus, when the quantity of the cosmetic composition decreases, an apparent thickness of the visible pattern may change. A top portion 26 of the visible pattern may have a color that is different from a bottom portion 27, preferably a contrasting color. When the quantity of the cosmetic composition decreases, the bottom portion 27 of the visible pattern 2 may become more visible. In this way, a variation of the quantity of the cosmetic composition in the permeable material results in both a change in the apparent thickness, when viewed from above, and the color of the visible pattern 2.

In a variant as illustrated in Fig.2(b), the visible pattern 2 may comprise different parts 22, 23 of different height and possibly of different colors.

In the embodiment of figure 3, the body 3 comprises, below the permeable material 10, a reservoir 25 for storing initially the cosmetic composition. The permeable material 10 may be pressed against the reservoir 25 at first use of the compact to get loaded with the composition.

The permeable material 10 may be in the form of a mesh, as illustrated in Fig.4. The mesh lies over the reservoir of composition, and the latter is delivered through it.

Fig.5 (a) and 5(b) show an embodiment where the mesh is configured to move downward progressively towards the bottom of the compact 1 as a function of the variation of the quantity of the cosmetic composition left in the reservoir 25. The mesh is configured to follow the surface of the cosmetic composition in the reservoir. Thus, when the level of the cosmetic composition descends, the mesh descends accordingly.

In the example of Figure 6, the visible pattern 12 comprise a peripheral part 29, for example in the form of an annular ring when the surface 15 is of circular outline. The peripheral part 29 helps to concentrate the distribution of the product towards the center of the surface 15 and may further increase the rigidity of the mesh at its periphery.

The solid deposit may be formed on the permeable material via application of a precursor of the solid deposit through a mask having at least one opening in the shape of the pattern to be made with the solid deposit. The precursor is then cured to obtain the visible pattern.

In a variant, the solid deposit may be formed by printing, for example serigraphy or ink jet printing.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that examples be considered as exemplary only.