Hermes Lipstick: how the case was made

Known for its chic clothing and fragrances, Hermes celebrated the autumn relaunch of its signature fragrance, with the introduction of Rouge Hermes, a singular, limited edition lipstick color chosen for its special connection to Hermes fashion. The red color, synonymous to Hermes clothing since the 1930s, was used as a dye for fabric and leathers. The special celebration calls for special product packaging, so Hermes tapped Henlopen, part of the Techpack Group, to produce its lipstick case. Made of buffed and lacquered solid brass, the airtight Slim Line case is decorated using a Roll and Arbor technique that required detailed attention.

'We start with flat artwork that is transferred to a steel plate that will be formed around a round lipstick tube,' says Sophie Chevalier, Henlopen's vice president of marketing and sales. 'The lettering itself may not look difficult but careful calculations are required in order to master the spacing between each character in the design.' Adding the letters is extremely difficult because the metal needs to be held tightly and spun at the same time, allowing the letters to be rolled onto the brass.

Decorating the brass case proved challenging because it was heavier than traditionally used aluminum and used no other accent colors, other than the natural brass color. The run also required Henlopen to double-check its brass supply to ensure that there we no color variations between products. Following the successful production of the lipstick package, Hermes also commissioned Henlopen to produce a slightly larger, airtight aluminum Slim Line package to house a complimentary fragrance stick.

[full story at <http://www.cpcpkg.com/00/11/feature2.html>]

Doesn't this make everyone better about buying it?

It does me. (Not kidding!)