COSMETIC APPLICATOR

Abstract

A cosmetic applicator having bristles which are prevented from becoming rough and spreading. The cosmetic applicator has a shaft section and bristles. The shaft section has at least one recess formed in the outer circumferential surface of a head of a cylindrical shaft body along the longitudinal direction of the shaft section. The bristles are arranged in at least one row along the longitudinal direction and project from interior of the recess beyond the outer circumferential surface of the head of the shaft body.

Description

CROSS REFERENCED TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is the U.S. national phase application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2008/001870 filed Jul. 11, 2008, which claims the benefit of Japanese Application No. 2007-185293, filed Jul. 17, 2007. The International Application was published on Jan. 22, 2009 as International Publication No. WO/2009/011115 under PCT Article 21(2). The contents of these applications are incorporated herein in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a cosmetic applicator, and in particular to the structure of a bristle comb.

BACKGROUND ART

Among conventional applicators used for applying a mascara liquid on eyelashes, a type of applicator includes an applicator section for applying a mascara liquid on eyelashes and a comb section for removing so-called “lumps” of the mascara liquid from the eyelashes with the mascara liquid applied thereon with the applicator section, or for separating the individual eyelashes adhering to each other (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-095091). The applicator section has, for example, a brush or grooves provided at the outer circumferential surface of a head of a cylindrical shaft. The comb section has a plurality of bristles provided at the outer circumferential surface of the head on the side opposite from the applicator section via the shaft.

This type of applicator is usually sealed with the head of the shaft being dipped in the mascara liquid contained in a container body. When the mascara liquid is applied on the eyelashes, the head of the shaft is pulled out from the container body with the mascara liquid adhered thereto, and the amount of the adhering mascara liquid is controlled with a limiting member formed at the container body when the head is pulled out to be used.

However, since the comb section of the applicator is formed with a relatively high hardness to comb the eyelashes and the spacing between the bristles is relatively large, the mascara liquid adheres around the comb section or into the spaces between the bristles when the comb section is pulled out from the container body, making it difficult to comb the eyelashes in a successful manner.

In order to address this problem, the present applicant has proposed to reduce the size of a limiting aperture 6a of the limiting member 6, as shown in FIG. 12A for example, to increase a force to remove the mascara liquid adhering to the comb section. However, with this structure, when the head is pulled out from the container body in the Y direction, as shown in FIG. 12B, root portions of bristles 3a′ abut the limiting aperture 6a and the bristles 3a′ bend at the root portions in alternating directions, as shown in FIG. 12C. This may cause the bristles 3a′ to become rough and spread.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above-described circumstances, the present invention is directed to providing a cosmetic applicator having bristles thereof prevented from becoming rough and spreading.

The cosmetic applicator of the invention includes: a shaft section having a cylindrical shaft body and at least one recess formed in an outer circumferential surface of a head of the cylindrical shaft body along a longitudinal direction of the shaft section; and a plurality of bristles arranged in at least one row along the longitudinal direction and projecting from interior of the recess beyond the outer circumferential surface.

In the cosmetic applicator of the invention, a distance from base ends of the bristles to the outer circumferential surface is preferably 0.5 mm or more, and more preferably within the range from 0.5 to 2.0 mm.

In the cosmetic applicator of the invention, the recess is preferably a groove extending along the longitudinal direction.

In the cosmetic applicator of the invention, the shaft section preferably includes, at an area on the outer circumferential surface of the head of the shaft body other than the recess, an applicator section for applying a cosmetic.

In the cosmetic applicator of the invention, the bristles are preferably disposed at a base member for holding basal portions of the bristles.

In the cosmetic applicator of the invention, spacing between the bristles in the longitudinal direction is preferably in the range from 0.1 to 2.0 mm, and is more preferably 0.2±0.02 mm.

In the cosmetic applicator of the invention, the bristles preferably project from the outer circumferential surface by a length ranging from 2 to 5 mm.

In the cosmetic applicator of the invention, an entire length of each bristle is preferably in the range from 3 to 6 mm.

In the cosmetic applicator of the invention, the bristles preferably comprise a thermoplastic elastomer as a main component, and it is more preferable that the thermoplastic elastomer is a polyester elastomer. It should be noted that, in the invention, the bristles may contain inevitable impurities.

The cosmetic applicator according to the invention includes: a shaft section including a cylindrical shaft body and at least one recess formed along the longitudinal direction in the outer circumferential surface of the head of the cylindrical shaft body; and a plurality of bristles arranged in at least one row along the longitudinal direction and projecting from interior of the recess beyond the outer circumferential surface. Therefore, the base ends of the bristle can be positioned lower than the outer circumferential surface of the shaft body, and when the head of the shaft section with the cosmetic adhered thereto is pulled out from the container body, the base ends of the bristles do not abut the limiting member formed at the container body. Thus, a load imposed on the base ends of the bristles can be reduced.

With this structure, when the shaft section is pulled out from the container body, the bristles are prevented from being bent at the root portions in alternating directions by the limiting member, thereby preventing the bristles from becoming rough and spreading.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an enlarged view illustrating the main part of a mascara applicator,

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the mascara applicator shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the mascara applicator with a partial section taken along line A-A in FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part of a comb section,

FIG. 5A illustrates another embodiment of bristles,

FIG. 5B illustrates yet another embodiment of the bristles,

FIG. 6 illustrates a head of the mascara applicator being pulled out from a container body,

FIG. 7 shows results of roughening of the bristles of the mascara applicator of the invention and of a conventional mascara applicator for each material forming the bristles,

FIG. 8 shows results of roughening of the bristles of the mascara applicator of the invention and of the conventional mascara applicator for each grade of PELPRENE (registered trademark),

FIG. 9A is a sectional perspective view of the main part of a mascara applicator of a second embodiment,

FIG. 9B is one example of a sectional side view of the main part of the mascara applicator shown in FIG. 9A,

FIG. 9C is another example of a sectional side view of the main part of the mascara applicator shown in FIG. 9A,

FIG. 10A is one example of a perspective view of a comb section,

FIG. 10B is a front view of the comb section shown in FIG. 10A,

FIG. 11 is a sectional side view of a mascara applicator of a third embodiment,

FIG. 12A is a diagram for explaining a problem with the conventional mascara applicator (I),

FIG. 12B is a diagram for explaining the problem with the conventional mascara applicator (II), and

FIG. 12C is a diagram for explaining the problem with the conventional mascara applicator (III).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Now, a cosmetic applicator according to one embodiment of the invention is described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the cosmetic applicator is described as a mascara applicator by way of example. The invention is not limited to mascara applicators, and may be applicable, for example, to eyebrow applicators used to apply a cosmetic on the eyebrows. FIG. 1 is a side view of a mascara applicator 1 of this embodiment, FIG. 2 is an exploded view corresponding to FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a perspective view with a partial section taken along line A-A in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part of a comb section 3 shown in

FIG. 1. FIG. 5A shows another embodiment of bristles, FIG. 5B shows yet another embodiment of the bristles, and FIG. 6 shows a head of the mascara applicator 1 being pulled out from a container body. For convenience of description, the side to which the tips of bristles 3a face, i.e., the upper side in FIGS. 1 to 4, is referred to as the upper side.

As shown in FIG. 1, the mascara applicator 1 of this embodiment includes a shaft section 2, a comb section 3, an applicator section 4 and a cap 5.

As shown in FIG. 2, the shaft section 2 includes a substantially cylindrical shaft body 2a. The shaft section 2 further includes, at the head portion of the shaft body 2a, an opening 2b which is provided along the longitudinal direction for receiving a later-described applicator section 4 attached thereto, an attachment section 2c, which is in fluid communication with the opening 2b and receives a base member 3b of the comb section 3 attached thereto, as shown in FIG. 3, and a groove 2d which is provided in the outer circumferential surface of the head of the shaft body 2a to extend along the longitudinal direction and in fluid communication with the attachment section 2c.

A depth d of the groove 2d is preferably 0.5 mm or more, since, when the head of the mascara applicator 1 was inserted and pulled out a hundred times into and from a container body (not shown) including the limiting member 6 (see FIGS. 12A, 12B and 12C) described above in the “BACKGROUND ART” section, the bristles 3a, which will be described later, became somewhat rough when the depth d was 0.2 mm, and did not become rough when the depth d was 0.5 mm. The depth d is preferably 2 mm or less so that the diameter of the shaft body 2a does not become too large. Therefore, the depth d of the groove 2d may be in the range from 0.5 to 2 mm. The depth d is 0.5 mm in this embodiment.

Further, the cap 5 is connected to the tail of the shaft body 2a. The cap 5 is removably attached to the opening of the container body (not shown) containing the mascara liquid, and the cap 5 is adapted to be usable as a handle to be held by the user. The container body includes the above-described limiting member 6 (see FIGS. 12A, 12B and 12C).

The shaft section 2 is formed, for example, through injection molding from a material containing any one of PBT (polybutylene terephthalate), PA (polyamide) and PP (polypropylene) as the main component. The material is selected as appropriate depending on the ingredient of the cosmetic.

The comb section 3 is used to remove so-called “lumps” of the mascara liquid from the eyelashes with the mascara liquid applied thereon, or to separate the individual eyelashes adhering to each other. The comb section 3 is formed, for example, through injection molding from a material containing polyester thermoplastic elastomer (TPE: Thermoplastic Elastomer) as the main component. Specifically, PELPRENE (registered trademark) P-280B and/or E-450B available from Toyobo Co., Ltd., is used as the material in view of ease of molding, such as injection, extrusion or blow, fatigue resistance, chemical resistance, and since it has both properties of gum and a engineering plastic material. The material used to form the comb section 3 will be described in detail later.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the comb section 3 includes the plurality of bristles 3a arranged in a row in the longitudinal direction, and a base member 3b having a rectangular cuboidal shape, which holds basal portions of the bristles 3a vertically arranged on the base member 3b.

As shown in FIG. 4, each bristle 3a has, for example, a circular sectional shape with a diameter A1=0.2 mm, and an entire length L of 3 to 6 mm. If the length L is excessively long, a so-called short mold may occur, which is a phenomenon where the resin fails to fully fill the mold and the molded piece does have its complete shape, and molding of such long bristles is difficult from the restrictions of the diameter of the mascara applicator 1. If the length L is excessively short, the bristles do not reach the eyelashes and usability of the applicator is degraded.

As shown in FIG. 4, the spacing D between the bristles 3a in the longitudinal direction is 0.1 to 2.0 mm, preferably 0.2±0.02 mm. Since the thickness of each eyelash of a human is generally around 0.15 mm, although there are differences among individuals, only one eyelash enters each space D between bristles 3a when the comb section 3 is used to treat the eyelashes, and thus the individual eyelashes can be separated from each other.

It should be noted that, although the bristles 3a of this embodiment have the circular sectional shape as described above, the invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, a larger width may be provided in the direction substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the bristles 3a are arranged, i.e., in the application direction. For example, the bristles may have a sectional shape with rounded corners where the width A2 is 0.2 mm, and a width A3 in the substantially perpendicular direction to the width A2 is 0.3 mm or 0.4 mm, as shown in FIG. 5A, or may have an ellipsoidal sectional shape having the similar dimensions as those described above, as shown in FIG. 5B, or may have a rhomboidal or triangular sectional shape.

The bristles 3a of this embodiment have a straight shape, i.e., have the same sectional shape from the upper end to the lower end. However, the invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the bristles may be tapered to have pointed tips.

The applicator section 4 is used to apply the mascara liquid on the eyelashes, and is formed, for example, through injection molding from a material containing any one of PBT (polybutylene terephthalate), PA (polyamide) and PP (polypropylene) as the main component. The material is selected as appropriate depending on the ingredient of the cosmetic.

As shown in FIG. 3, the applicator section 4 has a substantially semicircular sectional shape, and extends in the longitudinal direction by a length attachable in the opening 2b of the shaft body 2, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the applicator section 4 includes, at the lower end thereof, a plurality of application grooves 4a arranged along the longitudinal direction. Each application groove 4a is formed along the circumferential surface in the direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. Further, the applicator section 4 includes, at the upper end thereof, at least one protrusion 4b formed along the longitudinal direction to protrude from the upper surface.

Next, how the above described shaft section 2, the comb section 3 and the applicator section 4 are assembled is described. First, as shown in FIG. 3, the base member 3b of the comb section 3 is inserted into the attachment section 2c from below the shaft body 2a such that the bristles 3a project from the interior of the groove 2d of the shaft body 2a beyond the outer circumferential surface of the shaft body 2a, to position the base ends of the bristles 3a lower than the outer circumferential surface of the shaft body 2a. Since the depth d of the groove 2d is 0.5 mm and the upper surface of the base member 3b abuts the upper surface of the attachment section 2c, as shown in FIG. 3, the distance from the base end of each bristle 3a to the outer circumferential surface of the shaft body 2a is 0.5 mm.

Since the base ends of the bristles 3a are positioned lower than the outer circumferential surface of the shaft body 2a, the base ends of the bristles 3a do not abut the limiting aperture 6a of the limiting member 6 when the head of the shaft section 2 with the mascara liquid adhered thereto is pulled out from the container body, as shown in FIG. 6, and thus the load imposed on the base ends of bristles 3a can be reduced.

With this structure, the bristles 3a can be prevented from being bent at the root portions in alternating directions by the limiting member 6 when the shaft section 2 is pulled out from the container body, thereby preventing the bristles 3a from becoming rough and spreading.

Then, the applicator section 4 is attached in the opening 2b from below the shaft section 2 with the protrusion 4b facing upward. At this time, the applicator section 4 and the shaft body 2a are removably secured to each other via engaging sections (not shown) which are formed, for example, in the form of depressions and protrusions that engage with each other. The applicator section 4 and the shaft body 2a may further be welded through ultrasonic welding or radio-frequency welding, for example. As shown in FIG. 3, the comb section 3 is held by shaft body 2a and the applicator section 4 from above and below with the upper surface of the base member 3b abutting the upper surface of the attachment section 2c and the lower surface of the base member 3b abutting the upper end of the protrusion 4b. The mascara applicator 1 of this embodiment is assembled as described above.

With the above-described structure of the mascara applicator 1 of this embodiment, the base ends of the bristles 3a can be positioned lower than the outer circumferential surface of the shaft body 2a, and the base ends of the bristles 3a do not abut the limiting aperture 6a of the limiting member 6 formed at the container body when the head of the shaft section 2 with the mascara liquid adhered thereto is pulled out from the container body. Thus, the load imposed on the base ends of the bristles 3a can be reduced.

Thus, when the shaft section 2 is pulled out from the container body, the bristles 3a are prevented from being bent at the root portions in alternating directions by the limiting member 6, thereby preventing the bristles 3a from becoming rough and spreading.

Next, results of comparison between the above-described mascara applicator 1 and a conventional mascara applicator 1′ with varying the material forming the comb section 3 are described. FIG. 7 shows results of roughening of the bristles 3a and 3a′ of the mascara applicator 1 and the conventional mascara applicator 1′ when the mascara applicator 1 and the conventional mascara applicator 1′ were inserted and pulled out a hundred times into and from the container body including the limiting member 6. Each of the mascara applicator 1 and the conventional mascara applicator 1′ has the comb section 3 made of PBT (polybutylene terephthalate), PA (polyamide resin) such as nylon, or polyester thermoplastic elastomer. In the conventional mascara applicator 1′, the base ends of the bristles 3a′ stand from the outer circumferential surface of the shaft body 2a′, as shown in FIGS. 12A, 12B and 12C.

As specific materials, NOVADURAN (registered trademark) 5010TRX5, available from Mitsubishi Engineering-Plastics Corp., as the PBT, LEONA (registered trademark) nylon 66 fiber 1300S, available from Asahi Kasei Corp., as the PA, and PELPRENE (registered trademark) P-280B, available from Toyobo Co. Ltd., were used The bristles 3a and 3a′ were tapered. The pictures of the bristles shown in FIG. 7 were taken at an angle of 45° with being magnified to 50 times. In FIG. 7, the degrees of roughening are indicated by the cross, the triangle, the circled triangle and the circle, in the order from the highest.

As shown in the table in FIG. 7, with the comb section 3 of the conventional mascara applicator 1′ which does not include the groove 2d, i.e., the recess, in the shaft section 2, the bristles 3a′ became rough in all the cases where PBT, PA and the polyester thermoplastic elastomer were used.

In contrast, with the comb section 3 of the mascara applicator 1 of the invention including the groove 2d, i.e., the recess, although the bristles 3a made of PBT or PA became rough, the bristles 3a made of the polyester thermoplastic elastomer, namely, PELPRENE (registered trademark) P-280B available from Toyobo Co., Ltd., did not become rough.

As can be seen from the above results, the comb section 3 is preferably made of the polyester thermoplastic elastomer.

Further, the shaft section 2 of the mascara applicator 1 is preferably made of a relatively hard material. In contrast, the comb section 3 is preferably made of a resilient material in order to remove the mascara liquid adhering to the bristles 3a. Therefore, forming the comb section 3 of different materials containing PELPRENE (registered trademark) of different grades, comparison was made between the different materials similarly to the above by inserting and pulling out the comb section 3 a hundred times into and from the container body. The results of the comparison are shown in FIG. 8. The grades of the PELPRENE (registered trademark) were P-150B, P-280B and E-450B in the order of the hardness from the lowest. In FIG. 8, the degrees of roughening of the bristles are indicated by the cross, the triangle, the circle-triangle and the circle, in the order from the highest according to the same criteria as those shown in FIG. 7, although the cross is not present in FIG. 8.

As shown in the table in FIG. 8, with the comb section 3 of the conventional mascara applicator 1′, the bristles 3a′ became rough in all the cases of the different grades of PELPRENE (registered trademark). With the comb section 3 of the mascara applicator 1 of the invention, only the bristles 3a made of PELPRENE (registered trademark) of grade P-150B, which has the lowest hardness among the above grades, namely, the surface hardness of 57D measured with the ASTM D2240 test method, and the flexural modulus of 289 MPa measured with the ASTM D790 test method, became rough, and the bristles 3a made of PELPRENE (registered trademark) of grade P-280B which has the medium hardness, namely, the surface hardness of 68D and the flexural modulus of 494 MPa, and PELPRENE (registered trademark) of E-450B which has the highest hardness, namely, the surface hardness of 78D and the flexural modulus of 1267 MPa, did not become rough.

As shown in the table in FIG. 8, the bristles 3a and 3a′ made of P-150B had somewhat insufficient elasticity, i.e., resiliency, and further, it was difficult to open the mold when they were molded. Therefore, in view of ease of molding and resiliency, the grades P-280B and/or P-450B are considered to be more preferable than the grade P-150B.

As can be seen from the above results, the material used to form the comb section 3 preferably has the surface hardness of at least 60D and the flexural modulus of at least 400 MPa.

The comb section 3 of the mascara applicator 1 of this embodiment is made of a polyester thermoplastic elastomer. However, the invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the comb section 3 may be made of a polyamide thermoplastic elastomer. Specifically, DAIAMME PAE (registered trademark) available from Daicel-Degussa Ltd. or PEBAX (registered trademark) available from Arkema-Tokyo Zairyo Co., Ltd. may be used, for example.

Next, a mascara applicator 1-2 according to a second embodiment of the invention is described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the mascara applicator 1 of the above-described embodiment, the comb section 3 and the applicator section 4 are formed as separate parts. In contrast, in the mascara applicator 1-2 of this embodiment, the applicator section 4 and the shaft body 2a are integrally formed. FIG. 9A is a partially sectional perspective view of the main part of the mascara applicator 1-2 of this embodiment, FIG. 9B shows one example of a sectional side view of the main part of the mascara applicator 1-2, FIG. 9C shows another example of a sectional side view of the main part of the mascara applicator 1-2, FIG. 10A is a perspective view of the main part of the comb section of another embodiment, and FIG. 10B is a front view corresponding to FIG. 10A. It should be noted that, in FIGS. 9A to 9C and FIGS. 10A and 10B, components that are the same as those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and explanations thereof are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 9A, the mascara applicator 1-2 of this embodiment includes application grooves 2e serving as the applicator section in the lower end of the outer circumferential surface other than the area of the groove 2d in the shaft body 2a.

With the mascara applicator 1-2 including the application grooves 2e formed in the shaft body 2a in this manner, the comb section 3 may be assembled to the shaft body 2a by, for example, providing an opening, which is in fluid communication with the attachment section 2c, in the head of the shaft body 2a, inserting the base member 3b of the comb section 3 through the opening and sliding the base member 3b of the comb section 3 in the longitudinal direction. In this case, the base member 3b and the shaft body 2a may be secured via hook sections 3c and 2f, as shown in FIG. 9B, which are provided at the trailing end of the base member 3b and the leading end of the shaft body 2a in the insertion direction and engage with each other.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, a plurality of protrusions 3d which protrude outward and are tapered toward the lower ends thereof may be provided along the longitudinal direction on opposite sides of the comb section 3, so that the base member 3b is inserted into the attachment section 2c of the shaft body 2a from above and the shaft body 2a and the base member 3b are secured to each other via the protrusions 3d.

Further, in this embodiment, the shaft body 2a and the base member 3b may be welded to each other through ultrasonic welding or radio-frequency welding, for example.

It should be noted that the mascara applicator 1-2 as described above which is formed by the shaft section 2 and the comb section 3 may be formed by forming the shaft section 2 and the comb section 3 through insert molding.

Next, a mascara applicator 1-3 according to a third embodiment the invention is described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 11 shows a sectional side view of the main part of the mascara applicator 1-3 of this embodiment

Unlike the mascara applicator 1-2 of the above-described embodiment, the mascara applicator 1-3 of this embodiment includes application grooves 3e serving as the applicator section formed in the comb section 3, as shown in FIG. 11. The thus formed comb section 3 is formed integrally with the shaft section 2 through two-color molding, and can be formed, for example, through vacuum injection molding. The shaft section 2 and the comb section 3 may be integrally formed, for example, through injection molding from a material containing a polyester thermoplastic elastomer or polyamide thermoplastic elastomer as the main component

In the mascara applicators 1-2 and 1-3 of the above-described second and third embodiments, the depth d of the groove 2d is in the range from 0.5 to 2 mm, similarly to the mascara applicator 1 of the first embodiment.

In the above described embodiments, the groove 2d is formed in the shaft body 2a. However, the invention is not limited to these embodiments. The recess formed in the shaft body 2a may have any shape as long as the base ends of the bristles 3a are positioned lower than the outer circumferential surface of the shaft body 2a.

In the above described embodiments, the one groove 2d is formed in the shaft body 2a, and the row of bristles 3a is arranged along the groove 2d. However, the invention is not limited to these embodiments, as long as the base ends of the bristles 3a are positioned lower than the outer circumferential surface of the shaft body 2a. For example, the width of the groove 2d in the circumferential direction may be increased to arrange the bristles 3a in more than one rows (for example, two rows) along the groove 2d, or two or more grooves 2d may be formed along the longitudinal direction to arrange the bristles 3a in a row along each groove 2d.

The cosmetic applicator of the invention is not limited to the mascara applicators of the above-described embodiments, and may be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein; reference should be made to the appended claims.

Claims

1. A cosmetic applicator comprising:

a shaft section comprising a cylindrical shaft body and at least one recess formed in an outer circumferential surface of a head of the cylindrical shaft body along a longitudinal direction of the shaft section; and

a plurality of bristles arranged in at least one row along the longitudinal direction and projecting from interior of the recess beyond the outer circumferential surface.

2. The cosmetic applicator as claimed in claim 1, wherein a distance from base ends of the bristles to the outer circumferential surface is 0.5 mm or more.

3. The cosmetic applicator as claimed in claim 1, wherein a distance from base ends of the bristles to the outer circumferential surface is within the range from 0.5 to 2.0 mm.

4. The cosmetic applicator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the recess is a groove extending along the longitudinal direction.

5. The cosmetic applicator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shaft section comprises, at an area on the outer circumferential surface of the head of the shaft body other than the recess, an applicator section for applying a cosmetic.

6. The cosmetic applicator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bristles are disposed at a base member for holding basal portions of the bristles.

7. The cosmetic applicator as claimed in claim 1, wherein spacing between the bristles in the longitudinal direction is in the range from 0.1 to 2.0 mm.

8. The cosmetic applicator as claimed in claim 1, wherein spacing between the bristles in the longitudinal direction is 0.2±0.02 mm.

9. The cosmetic applicator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bristles project from the outer circumferential surface by a length ranging from 2 to 5 mm.

10. The cosmetic applicator as claimed in claim 1, wherein an entire length of each bristle is in the range from 3 to 6 mm.

11. The cosmetic applicator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bristles comprise a thermoplastic elastomer as a main component.

12. The cosmetic applicator as claimed in claim 11, wherein the thermoplastic elastomer is a polyester elastomer.