Case Study · 2025

YSL New Lipstick Launch Custom Acrylic Display Props

Dual-layer acrylic and electroplated mirrored finish

Client
YSL(Yves Saint Laurent)
Discipline
Acrylic Fabrication
Location
Global Retail Stores
Year
2025
ysl lipstick display prop mirror cap electroplated
01 — The Challenge

Where the project began

YSL’s brief was built around a single hero object scaled up: the brand’s new lipstick, enlarged into a stand-alone display prop and paired with an oversized heart sculpture — mirror-electroplated cap, logo-engraved mid-section, dual-layer transparent body.

Working from the client’s reference sample, the first challenge was reproducing three distinct visual layers in one structurally sound prop, without a single bubble or seam breaking the illusion under retail lighting.

From sketch to proposal

Rather than moulding the lipstick as one solid form, we proposed a modular build: an electroplated mirror cap, a heat-formed acrylic logo ring, and a cast resin base holding a high-gloss silver cylinder — with a matching snap-fit seam between cap and body so the whole prop ships flat and assembles clean on-site.

luxury retail brands custom lipstick display design
Materials Craft
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  • Mirror-electroplated cap — replicates the product’s chrome closure
  • Heat-formed acrylic logo ring — embossed with YSL branding, UV high-temperature electroplated
  • 10mm high-transparency acrylic for the lower body — cast bubble-free for a jewel-like clarity under retail lighting
  • High-transparency resin base with an internal high-gloss silver-sprayed cylinder insert
  • FRP (fiberglass) shell over a welded steel core — gives the oversized heart sculpture the rigidity to stand independently
  • Metallic-film logo surface applied to the heart sculpture
  • Dual-layer optical engineering — a high-gloss silver-sprayed cylinder set inside clear acrylic and resin, so the “lipstick color” glows from within
  • Distortion-free electroplating sequence — logo pattern heat-formed first, then plated, to keep the branding crisp
  • Bubble-free, seam-free casting — lower body and base held to a strict clarity standard, since any flaw reads instantly under retail lighting
  • Snap-fit modular assembly — cap and cylinder body engineered to disassemble and reassemble cleanly for shipping and installation
03 — The Craft

The making

Though produced as a limited run, every custom acrylic display prop moved through acrylic forming, electroplating, resin casting, and 3D printing in parallel, with each module dry-fitted and surface-checked at the factory before shipping — the same disciplined process VM Display brings to every custom cosmetic display prop project.

04 — The Outcome

The final presentation

The completed props delivered the precision YSL’s brief demanded — a dual-layer lipstick prop with true jewel-like transparency and a mirror-crisp logo, standing beside a heart sculpture with the strength to hold its pose independently, no visible seams or support in sight.

Zero
Surface defect tolerance
3
Layered visual components
3mm
Acrylic body thickness
ysl custom display props by vm display
Our Process

How we execute the project

A structured workflow that keeps the brand in control from brief to delivery.

01

Brief & Concept Alignment

References, dimensions, quantity and finish confirmed up front.

02

3D Modelling & Scale Drawing

Full renders and technical drawings shared for client sign-off before any physical work.

03

Prototype & Review

A single sample is produced and documented for feedback and approval.

04

Production & Delivery

Approved units manufactured, quality-checked and flat-packed for shipping.

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