Dezeen Magazine

Berber lipstick Kim Ramain-Colomb

Traditional Moroccan cosmetics updated for smartphone generation

Industrial designer Kim Ramain-Colomb's brightly packaged Habibi cosmetics range is based on traditional Moroccan makeup.

Created as part of Ramain-Colomb's diploma project at ECAL, the makeup is held in small poured clay pots – which resemble the tiny terracotta bowls that hold Berber lipstick.

Berber lipstick Kim Ramain-Colomb

The designer referred to typical swiping gestures used on smartphones to create paper sleeves that wrap around the terracotta.

The packaging features simple embossed geometric shapes and colours that depict the product it contains.

Berber lipstick Kim Ramain-Colomb

"I thought about the shapes which allow the objects to be integrated into our everyday life: compact, small and with all the information about the origins of the products," Ramain-Colomb told Dezeen. "The sliding gesture is a very intuitive movement for us now."

The makeup is made from traditional Aker Fassi pigment, which includes poppy extract and can be applied without brushes or sponges. The designer discovered the cosmetics while on a trip to a market in Morocco.

Berber lipstick Kim Ramain-Colomb

"It's used directly on the lips with a wet finger," explained Ramain-Colomb. "When this surprising combination presented itself to me, I decided to reinterpret this object by integrating it in a modern context, and incorporating it into our everyday life."

"I was interested by the material, which is very surprising for a cosmetic," she added. "We are used to seeing a lot of plastic, very clean and smooth."

Berber lipstick Kim Ramain-Colomb

The designer has adapted the lipstick into further Habibi products – eyeshadow, blush and mixed compacts – all of which are housed in palm-sized terracotta containers.

Other recent alternative approaches to makeup design include a collection of cosmetics packaged to appeal to men, and a dressing table that lets users experiment with creating their own products at home.

More images

Berber lipstick Kim Ramain-Colomb
Berber lipstick Kim Ramain-Colomb
Berber lipstick Kim Ramain-Colomb
Photo is by Bruno Ramain
Berber lipstick Kim Ramain-Colomb
Photo is by Bruno Ramain
Berber lipstick Kim Ramain-Colomb
Photo is by Bruno Ramain
Berber lipstick Kim Ramain-Colomb
Photo is by Bruno Ramain
Berber lipstick Kim Ramain-Colomb
Photo is by Bruno Ramain
Berber lipstick Kim Ramain-Colomb