Compacted cosmetic powders of different colors are frequently packaged in a single container. This provides the user with a customizable cosmetic, because the user may apply to her skin whatever quantity of each color she chooses, thus creating a personal effect. A package with several colors of powder allows the user to experiment until she achieves the look she wants. However, there are practical manufacturing difficulties associated with providing several colors of powder in a single package. Consequently, a container that conveniently holds more than three or four differently colored powders is, to the best of the applicant's knowledge, unknown. Consequently, color shading effects, i.e. amber effects, that may only be achieved with a significantly larger number of colors have been unavailable to the consumer. Here and throughout this specification, the term “ombre effects” refers to the infinite number of gradations of tone that can achieved by mixing in different proportions, a large number of colored powders. Several attempts, have been made to address the various issues associated with providing a large number of powders in a single package. None of these attempts, here summarized, addresses all of the issues as does the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,887,409 and 4,887,410: These multi-colored powder compacts have no dividers between the different colors of powder, giving sharp lines of transition in any desired pattern. The drawbacks of this method include having to fill the pan with loose powder through a specially designed partitioned sleeve, followed by a partial compressing of the powder of each individual color by a specially designed multi-piston assembly, removal of the sleeve and then a second pressing of the complete powder surface by yet another piston. The filling process requires custom equipment and has several steps in which a breakdown in the filling process may occur. The filling process also deals with loose powder. This means that special handling is required to keep the pan and finished compact clean. This is a drawback of the majority of solid powder compacts. The present invention does not require any specially designed filling equipment and filling the case does not deal with loose powder.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,791: In this process different loose powders or different colors are introduced in layers into a relatively deep pan. After each layer is filled, the powder is compressed with a piston and the next layer is deposited. Once all the layers have been filled and compressed, the powder is excavated to reveal portions of the multiple layers and to provide a contoured surface in a desired pattern. While the contoured surface is said to be an aesthetic advantage over the usual flat surface associated with pressed powders, this filling process involves several steps, wastes the excavated powder which is a mixture of powders that cannot be separated and requires a deeper than usual pan so that a specially designed compact would be needed. It also has the drawback of filling loose powder and is practically limited to about five different powders or colors of powder. The present invention does not require “excavation,” does not waste any product in the filling process, may easily be filled with one to fifty or more colors or powders and may have a contoured surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,051: This is a powder container for holding at least two colors of loose powder, each in a separate compartment. An adjustable amount of each powder may be introduced into a mixing compartment through a valve. The mixed powder is dispensed on a brush for application. The asserted advantage here is that the user may custom mix the powder to achieve the desired color or effect. Disadvantageously, this device is complex. It requires the use of spring loaded flapper valves, the flow of loose powder and is practically limited in the number of compartments that may be added for differently colored powders. It deals entirely with loose powder which is messier than compacted or extruded powder. Flapper valves and springs become inhibited with powder, deteriorating their function, especially if the loose powder cakes through absorption of moisture. The present invention does not use valves or springs or any moving parts. It does not require the user to pre-mix messy loose powder.
Dry powder sticks by extrusion are known. See for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,800,034 and 3,972,666, herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. These patents describe a process for preparing dry powder makeup sticks by extrusion. Extruded power sticks offer an alternative to pressed powders, having advantages in handling and filling. One disadvantage arises because the sticks are generally used by directly drawing the stick over the skin. To this end, the sticks must be formulated to meet conflicting requirements, i.e., possess cohesive strength sufficient to prevent breakage when being drawn over the skin, while being soft enough to yield adequate “pay-off”. Pay-off refers to the stick's ability to deposit product as it is drawn over a surface, i.e., the skin. These conflicting requirements place limitations on the chemical composition of the product. Because of their intended method of use, extruded stick powders are not typically applied with a brush and different colors are not typically mixed prior to application. In contrast, the powder case of the present invention, for the first time, permits the use of a brush applicator to mix and apply multiple colors of extruded stick powders. Furthermore, because the sticks are well supported by the case and do not directly contact the skin, they do not have to be formulated to resist breakage to the same degree as the sticks described above. This makes it easier to formulate the sticks to have adequate payoff. Therefore, the present powder case offers more flexibility in the chemical composition of the powder product itself.