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FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for preparing a composite cosmetic product with solid consistency, such as an eye-shadow, a bronze powder, a pressed powder or a blusher (fard), which is at least partially obtained by extruding a paste and subsequently drying the extruded product. By the term "cosmetic product with solid consistency" is meant a cosmetic product having such texture (consistence) and mechanical characteristics to be substantially compared with those of a solid product, though this product can be easily subjected to abrasion, such as by a brush. BACKGROUND ART

It is known to obtain these cosmetic products with solid consistency by means of a method providing preparing a paste by mixing a solvent, preferably water, with fats for cosmetic use and colour powders, then extruding this paste in order to press the latter into cylindrical shapes, and finally subsequently drying this extruded paste in an oven, or furnace, under controlled temperature. This drying operation has the purpose of lowering the amount of water (or other solvent) in the extruded product, for example by bringing the same down to 5% by weight, so as to obtain a product with solid consistency. The International Patent Application WO 03/055453 in the name of the same applicant, describes a similar process for obtaining solid cosmetic products of the type described above. Similarly, in Patent US 4.332.763 a similar method is described for preparing a cosmetic product with solid consistency from the

preparation of a base paste, followed by extrusion and removal of the excess solvent (by drying in atmospheric air), and several compositions are provided which are suitable to obtain this base paste. Both Patent Application WO 03/055453, and Patent US 4.332.763 teach to make cosmetic products with solid consistency that are monochromatic , i.e. not composites.

In the field of cosmetic products with solid consistency, i.e. those obtained by a method as discussed above, it is known to make multicoloured cosmetic products (or composites) by placing tablets in different colours side by side within a suitable container, which are obtained by means of a step of cutting and shaping a number of cosmetic products with solid consistency, after they have been dried. According to this technique, the coloured tablets of dried product, i.e. with low solvent ratio, are either glued to the bottom of the container, or freely arranged within individual seats formed in the container.

Gluing each tablet to the container bottom, or providing seats within the container, and arranging each tablet within its seat, make the manufacture of the end product difficult and laborious, thereby leading to considerable costs. Furthermore, due to the fact that the operations of arranging and placing the tablets side by side (matching) are normally carried out manually, the end product may have some imperfections.

Finally, besides being quite unattractive from an aesthetical point of view, the glue that may be present may also compromise the use of the end product should any glue overflow overlap one or more of these coloured tablets.

Other methods for obtaining multicoloured or composite cosmetic products are also known, such as in JP 2003-306412 (TOKIWA Corp.) or JP 60-067408 (SHISEIDO), which however do not relate to cosmetic

products with solid consistency of the type discussed above, but relate to cosmetic products of the cast (i.e. poured) or pressed powder types.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for making a composite cosmetic product with solid consistency that does not exhibit the drawbacks of the prior art. Consequently, the main object of the method according to the present invention is to facilitate and lower the costs involved in the manufacture of composite, preferably multicoloured, cosmetic products of the type obtained by extruding and subsequently drying a cosmetic paste.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus allowing to implement the method claimed herein, in an effective and time-saving manner. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These and other objects are achieved by means of the method according to the first independent claim and the subsequent claims depending thereon, and by the apparatus according to the independent claim 1 1 , and the subsequent claims depending thereon.

The method for preparing a cosmetic product with solid consistency according to the present invention, comprises the following steps: a) preparing at least one first base paste by mixing colour powders, fats for cosmetic use and one or more solvents; b) extruding said first base paste to obtain a first extruded body; and then c) drying the first extruded body.

Advantageously, according to the present invention, the method provides that, before the step of drying the first extruded body, the

following steps are carried out: d) punching one or more portions of the first extruded body; e) removing these punched portions; and f) matching one or more foreign bodies, other than said first extruded body, with at least one of the volumes (or seats) corresponding to the removed portions of the first extruded body.

Preferably, though not exclusively, said one or more foreign bodies are substantially complementary to at least one of the volumes (or seats) corresponding to the removed portions of the first extruded body.

By coupling, prior to drying, bodies other than the first extruded body within the holes that have been obtained by means of punching in the first extruded body and subsequently drying the composite product thus obtained, a physical bond can be established, which is due for example either to the partial interpenetration among the bodies or geometrical interposition/juxtaposition of parts, between the extruded body and the matched (such as included) bodies, which makes the use of glues or partitions not required within the container of the finished product in order to hold the first extruded body linked to the bodies being matched thereto.

Punching and matching the foreign bodies of the first extruded body before drying the same is obviously facilitated in that this first extruded body still has high contents of solvent (such as water) and accordingly is still in a paste condition. According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the method provides that the foreign bodies to be coupled to the seats obtained by punching the first extruded body are also obtained by punching at least one second extruded body, which is formed from a base paste, which differs from the base paste of the first extruded body at least in

terms of colouring.

When the base pastes of the first and second extruded bodies have a different colour, a multicoloured cosmetic product is obtained. According to a particular aspect of the present invention, furthermore, by punching portions of the first extruded body having in plan a regular geometric shape, the matching with foreign bodies complementary to these regular geometric shapes is facilitated. The apparatus suitable to implement the method claimed herein according to the present invention comprises a support for a paste or extruded cosmetic product, at least one cutting-die for punching one or more portions of the extruded cosmetic product, means for removing said one or more punched portions, as well as means for taking the cosmetic product from said support for the paste/extruded body. These means for taking the cosmetic body from the support, such as comprising a retaining mask for the outer side surface of the extruded cosmetic body and a punch for pressing, at least partially, the upper surface of this cosmetic body, allow transferring the thus formed product within a final container or support base, after punching has been carried out by a shaped cutting-die, and the punched portions have been removed, for example, by suitable moving pins. Repeating the transfer of complementary portions of different extruded bodies within the same final container allows obtaining, in a substantially automated manner, a composite cosmetic product with solid consistency of the type that can be obtained by means of the method claimed herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of the method according to the present invention, and a relating apparatus for implementing the same will be

now described by way of non-limiting examples, with the aid of the annexed figures, in which:

Fig. I a - Ij are schematic illustrations of the operation of a particular apparatus for implementing a particular embodiment of the method of the present invention; and

Fig. 2a, 2b are schematic axonometric views of a composite cosmetic product to be obtained by means of the apparatus and method as outlined in Fig. I a - Ij.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ONE EMBODIMENT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

With reference to the annexed figures, according to a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention, preparing a composite cosmetic product with solid consistency, such as an eyeshadow, a bronze powder, a pressed powder or a blusher, provides a first step of mixing colour powders, fats for cosmetic use, one or more solvents and optionally additives, such as fragrances, binders, thickeners, preservatives, etc, for obtaining a monochromatic base paste.

Particularly, such as taught in the International Patent Application WO 03/055453, this base paste containing non-negligible amounts of solvent can be obtained by mixing a "colour powder" phase, which is substantially monochromatic, with a "fat emulsion" phase previously obtained with fats for cosmetic use and a solvent, such as water. To this slurry there can be additioned additives, such as fragrances or binders.

After the preparation of the base paste has been completed, a subsequent extrusion step of the same base paste is carried out to obtain an extruded body 1 (see Fig. I a - Ij), which usually consists of a regular-section solid cylindrical body, such as a right cylinder with a

square, triangular or circular base, having a certain viscosity, due to the presence of a considerable amount of solvent. This extrusion step is carried out in suitable extruders (not shown), which are already known in the art and used for manufacturing non-composite (or monochromatic) cosmetic products with solid consistency.

By "solid cylindrical body" is meant, both herein and below, a solid body being defined by infinite parallel straight lines (generatrixes) originating from the points of a closed line (directrix), which can either define any regular geometric figure, such as a square, a triangle or a circle, or be any irregular closed line.

According to the present invention, the method provides, after this extrusion step, a step of punching one or more portions of the first extruded body 1 and the consequent removal of the punched portions. Thereby, as may be seen in Fig. 2a and 2b, holes or cavities 2 are formed in the body 1 , which define seats (volumes) in which one or more foreign bodies 3 that are suitably shaped such as to be adapted to these seats can be inserted (or coupled) before the step of drying the extruded body 1. Preferably, the extruded body 1 , after the punching operation and the subsequent removal of the punched portions, can be placed in a suitable container (or support base) 4 having the function of mechanically holding the punched extruded body 1 during the steps of inserting said foreign bodies 3. According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the foreign bodies 3 can be geometrically complementary to the seats 2 that are obtained in the body 1 by means of punching, such as to be substantially close-fit in said seats 2, and thereby facilitate holding said bodies 3, either mechanically or by means of interpenetration, within

the seats 2 of the body 1 , after the subsequent drying step. After these foreign bodies 3 have been inserted in the seats 2 being obtained by means of punching in the first extruded body 1 , the method provides, as is known in the art, possibly after a step of modelling and outer dimensioning has been carried out, drying the composite product 1 , 3, in suitable furnaces under controlled temperature, to the purpose of lowering the contents of solvent within the body 1. By drying the body 1 , most of the solvent is eliminated, and thus the foreign bodies 3 can be hold within the seats 2 obtained by means of punching.

It should be noted that, according to the present invention, a number of foreign bodies 3, also not exclusively for cosmetic use and, if cosmetics, not exclusively with solid consistency, can be inserted within the seats 2 that are obtained by means of punching in the first extruded body 1. For example, either solid or powdered cosmetic products, or objects having an esthetical value can be inserted within the seats 2 of the body 1 . In a particular embodiment of the method according to the present invention, the possible step of externally modelling the extruded body 1 can be carried out by means of peripheral die-cutting (i.e. punching) the extruded body 1 and simultaneously pressing the body 1 , before, simultaneously or after the punching operation intended to make said seats 2. According to another preferred aspect of the present invention, the foreign bodies 3 also consist of one or more extruded bodies, which are formed from base pastes of different compositions, and particularly in a different colour, according to the known method, such as described in WO 03/055453

Accordingly, if α multicoloured composite cosmetic product with solid consistency is desired to be obtained, which consists of only two different cosmetic products, after the first extruded body 1 has been made and after it has been punched for obtaining seats 2 within which the second cosmetic product has to be inserted, as described above, the following steps can be provided: a) preparing a second base paste by mixing colouring powders, fats for cosmetic use and one or more solvents, with different colouring from the base paste of the first extruded body 1 ; b) extruding in a suitable extruder (not shown) the second base paste to obtain a second extruded body; c) obtaining, preferably by means of punching, portions 3 of the second extruded body, which are substantially complementary to the seats 2 of the portions removed from the first extruded body l ; d) inserting the portions 3, punched from the second extruded body, within said seats 2; e) drying the first extruded body 1 , with the inclusions 3 of the second extruded body, to obtain a two-colour composite cosmetic product with solid consistency.

By repeating the method described above with extruded bodies obtained from different base pastes, a multicoloured cosmetic product with solid consistency can be obtained after drying. If the seats 2 that have been obtained by punching the first extruded body 1 are cylindrical seats with bases having a regular geometric shape, matching the foreign bodies 3 to the seats 2 is facilitated. An embodiment of said seats 2 particularly simple to obtain is a cylinder with a quadrangular base: in this case, coloured inserts consisting of different extruded base pastes are provided, which can be

juxtaposed by means of the method described above. With particular reference to Fig. Ia-Ij, an apparatus for punching and moving a paste or extruded body for implementing the method according to the present invention is described below. This apparatus, in a simplified embodiment thereof, comprises a support 101 for an extruded body 1 , preferably cylindrical, a support frame (not shown) and actuators known per se, also not shown, for a cutting-die 102 punching the extruded body 1 , and for means for taking 103, 104 the extruded body 1 from support 101. The cutting-die 102 can be shaped to punch portions of the extruded body 1 , which are both inside and at the side surfaces of this body 1. In the embodiment described herein, the cutting-die 102 is shaped and arranged so as to act inside the extruded body 1. According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, these means for taking the extruded body 1 comprise at least one peripheral retaining mask 103 for the side surface of the extruded body 1 , which is intended to hold the side walls of the latter, and a punch 104 having the function of pressing the body 1 on top. After said retaining mask 103 has been arranged at the side surfaces of the body 1 , any pressure, even a light one, being applied by the punch 104 to the surface of the body 1 opposite the surface resting on the support 101 defines such a deformation on the body 1 allowing the latter, an amount of solvent being still contained therein that is sufficient to maintain it pasty (i.e. suitably viscous), to be anchored to the inner walls (optionally suitably shaped) of the mask 103 and punch 104. Thereby, when the punch 104 and mask 103 are subsequently raised, the extruded body 1 will simultaneously raise from the support 101. It should be observed that, as those skilled in the art will readily

appreciate, any other means known in the field for removing a paste body from the support thereof, such as based on suction or mechanical gripping elements, can be alternatively used. In a preferred embodiment of the apparatus illustrated herein, the peripheral retaining mask can be an outer cutting-die 103 that not only has the function of containing and holding the extruded body 1 , but also punching and shaping the side surface of said extruded body 1. At the punching ends of the cutting-die 102, and at the punching end of the cutting-die 103, if required, the apparatus described herein may also comprise pins 105 which cam move relative to the cutting-dies 102, 103, and intended for removing those portions that have been punched by said cutting-dies 102, 103. These pins 105 can be moved by means of actuators known in the art, not shown. The apparatus described herein can further comprise, automatic control means for the different actuators, also not shown. The operation of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. I a-Ij for implementing the method of the present invention can follow the steps below. A first extruded body 1 resulting from said steps of preparation of a base paste and subsequent extrusion is first (Fig. I a) placed on the support 101 of the apparatus.

Then, as shown in Fig. I b, the peripheral (outer) cutting-die 103 and the punch 104 are forced to press the first extruded body 1 , such as to shape, by peripherally punching the body 1 , the side surface of the latter and ensuring that the first extruded body 1 substantially adheres both to the outer cutting-die 103 and to the punch 104. Subsequently, the inner cutting-die 102 is operated, which presses against the extruded body 1 , (see Fig. I c) such that those portions 2 that have to be removed from the first extruded body 1 are punched.

After the punching operation by means of the cutting-die 102, the apparatus is caused (Fig. Id) to raise the cutting-dies 102, 103 and the punch 104 relative to the support 101 , such that the first extruded body 1 is taken from the support 101. When the first extruded body 1 has been raised relative to the support 101 , the pins 105 are moved to the support 101 in order to remove those portions that have been punched from the extruded body 1 (see Fig. I e). The subsequent step in the processing provides, the body 1 being still raised relative to the support 101 , that the waste material, i.e. the punched portions, are eliminated (such as manually or by means of mechanical means or a suction device) and a support base 4 is then arranged (either manually or automatically by means of an auxiliary device, not shown) at the extruded body 1 (Fig. If). Accordingly, as shown in Fig. I g, by operating the outer cutting-die 103 and the punch 104 towards the support base 4, by placing the punched body 1 within the support base 4, and by subsequently raising, optionally in a disjoint manner, the cutting-die 103 and the punch 104 (Fig. 1 h), those portions of the first extruded body that have not been punched will be arranged within the support base 4. As may be seen in Fig. 2a, the first extruded body 1 , after it has been punched within the support base 4, has seats 2 that can be occupied by complementary portions of one or more extruded bodies 3, preferably obtained from base pastes having different colours. Consequently, by repeating the method seen above for the first extruded body 1 with at least one second extruded body 3, by changing the shape of the inner and outer cutting-dies 102, 103, an extruded body 3 can be obtained such as to be inserted within one or more of the seats 2 of the first extruded body 1.

Accordingly, as may be seen in Fig. I i and in Fig. Ij, after a second extruded body 3 has been suitably punched, after it has been raised relative to the support 101 , and after the waste material from the punching operation has been removed by means of the pins 105, the support base 4 containing the first extruded body 1 , previously punched, can be arranged on the support 101 of the apparatus, and then the second extruded body 3, suitably punched, can be arranged on the support base 4 by lowering the unit consisting of the outer cutting-die 103 and punch 104, such that the portions of the second body 3 are juxtaposed to the first body 1 in the seats 2 . The result thus obtained is outlined in Fig. 2b.

Any juxtaposition of other suitably die-cut (punched) extruded bodies defines the finished composite cosmetic product on support base 4 as desired. The composite cosmetic product on support base 4 is then dried, such as to be subsequently packaged and stocked for final consumption.