2014-02-20 09:32:34
An Austrian Crystal Bottle for a 24k Polish
2014-02-20 09:32:34
By Marie Redding, Associate Editor
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Package designers are often inspired by the jewelry world when creating a fragrance bottle - but lately diamonds and gemstones are inspiring nail polish and its packaging, in a huge way.
One new luxury nail polish brand, Mine by Mina Atramentum (which means 'ink mine' in Latin), launched in November 2013 and has a bottle inspired by a diamond's facets. But it's no ordinary lacquer - the brand's gold polish gets its shiny hue from 24k gold, and it retails for$500.
Veleta Vancza, the brand's co-founder and creative director, is an artist, conceptual designer, and jeweler. "I have been working on bringing this concept to market since 2007, and now the timing couldn’t be better for its release. The nail market is flooded with small nail companies, but Mine is taking this idea of nail adornment to the next level," says Vancza.
The Bottle
At its high price point, Mine Luxury Lacquer should be in a bottle that looks special, and it is. “The entire experience is reminiscent of ultra-luxury perfumes or Fifth Avenue jewelry,” says Vancza, “old-world refinement and high design have now found a home with nail lacquers.”
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The lacquer is hand-poured into its hand-cut, Austrian crystal bottle.
"The bottle design is based on a cubic crystalline structure found in naturally forming minerals, enforcing the brand’s overall goal of bringing pure luxurious minerals to the user," explains Vancza. The company name, Mina Atramentum, is engraved around the bottle's silver collar.
"The brush applicator features a ferrule for both stability in application, as well as an added luxurious feel," Vancza adds.
The fragrance’s custom-designed black box, hand-wrapped in paper, closes with a wax seal. "The overall packaging was
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designed to mimic the unearthing of minerals. In unwrapping the paper and opening the black box, the customer is ‘mining’ for the precious material inside," Vancza says.
The brand's logo, displayed prominently on the box, reflects the idea of "mining" for jewels.
The Nail Polish
The Mine Luxury collection includes a range of gold and silver hues, which are all hand-mixed, and "5-free," which means they don't contain any controversial chemical-based ingredients.
The brand's Pure Silver lacquer is made with pure silver, and retails for $175. There's an olive-metallic hue called Graphite & Gold, which gets its color from 24 karat gold mixed with graphite. It's priced at $250. There's also a glittery 24 karat topcoat that resembles gold leaf, and costs $150.
There are also a few bold base coats - Crimson Red and Royal Blue, which sell for $100. The brightly colored base coats are fortified with pearl and diamond powder.
Vancza says these colors work well underneath gold, because it's a technique used in traditional gilding applications. "It's called underpainting," she explains. "Using either a red or blue base coat will bring out subtle color variations in the gold lacquer," she adds.
Mine also offers a custom color option to consumers. Its cost depends on the minerals used to color the polish.
Vancza realizes her price points are beyond ‘prestige’. She explains, "Obviously, a nail polish at this price point may not be for everyone, but the consumer is getting what they pay for – because of the precious materials used in the formulations."
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