Most prestige foundations ship in a 20–40 ml glass bottle (high-flint, frosted or sprayed) with an 18/400, 20/400 or 22/400 neck and a 0.15–0.2 cc treatment pump that must dose within ±15% per stroke, prime in ≤10 strokes and survive ≥1,500 actuations with the actual pigment-loaded bulk. Airless PP/PETG at 15–50 ml protects the emulsion and doses to ~0.05 ml but carries a ~10,000 floor; an EVOH squeeze tube is the low-cost route at 5,000–10,000 per SKU; a cushion compact is a stock 15 g case where the puff, cup and seal ring decide performance. Stock glass starts in the low thousands; made-to-order glass is 30,000–200,000 pieces.
The four formats, side by side
The component detail below comes from the makeup packaging solutions page and the airless bottle specification; the neck and pump vocabulary is on neck finish and closure standards.
| Format | Parts and materials | Key specification | Stock options |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glass bottle + pump | Glass 20–40 ml (high-flint, frosted or sprayed) or thick-wall PETG; treatment pump 0.15–0.2 cc or foundation pump; ABS or aluminium overcap | Neck 18/400, 20/400, 22/400; pump output ±15% per stroke; priming ≤10 strokes for non-aqueous; output ≥90%; ≥1,500 actuations | Stock glass on public moulds from the low thousands; made-to-order glass 30,000–200,000 with 30–60 days |
| Airless pump bottle | PP (opaque, PCR-capable) or PETG (clear) body; PP piston; decorative outer sleeve in PETG, AS or PMMA never touching the bulk | 15–50 ml is the sweet spot; dose 0.15–0.2 cc; repeatable to ~0.05 ml; no returning air; evacuation ≥93% | Stock ~10,000 pcs per item; 20–30 days |
| Squeeze tube | 5-layer PE/EVOH co-ex, Ø22–Ø30 for 15–40 g, Ø28–Ø35 for 30–100 g; nozzle or flip-top cap with inner plug | OTR 0.2–1.2 (EVOH) vs 150–300 (mono PE); end seal ≥20 N/cm; print registration ≤±1 mm | 5,000–10,000 per SKU; 3,000 sometimes negotiable; 15–20 days |
| Cushion compact | Outer case ABS / SAN; inner cup PP with seal ring and lid; sponge in Rubycell or NBR; puff with PU skin and ribbon; optional metal-plate 'vacuum' cushion | Puff ~54 mm outer diameter, ~6.8 mm thick (≤6 mm on metal-plate cushions); opening force 0.2–0.9 kgf; press 10 times, 0.1–0.3 g per press | Stock cases in 15 g formats; the puff is specified and tested, not assumed |
Dose and compatibility: what a pigment-loaded emulsion does
Foundation is not a lotion. Pigment settles in the dip tube and the valve, silicone-heavy bases creep past loose threads and wick through pump seals, and SPF-carrying foundations bring the sunscreen rules with them. The consequences for the spec:
- Run the pump with the actual bulk. A pump that primes in 5 strokes with water can need 15 with a foundation; the acceptance figures are priming ≤10 strokes, output ≥90% and single-stroke dose within ±15%, run average within 5–10% of spec, weighed over 50 strokes × 3.
- Choose contact materials from the compatibility matrix. Glass, PP and PETG on contact; AS and PMMA only as a non-contact sleeve or overcap; silicone or fluoroelastomer gaskets for silicone-heavy bases; the full rule set is on the formula × packaging compatibility matrix.
- Airless for separation-prone or oxygen-sensitive formulas. No returning air, near-zero residue and a ~0.05 ml repeatable dose, at the cost of a ~10,000 floor and a pump that costs 2–4× a standard one.
- Cushion seal is three parts. The inner cup, the seal ring and the cup lid decide leak performance; a metal-plate cushion needs a puff ≤6 mm thick.
- Test at 48°C for 30 days with the actual bulk in the cup, pump path, sponge and bottle, plus a 24-hour formula soak on decorated surfaces the product touches.
MOQ, tooling and lead time by route
Indicative ranges via partner factories in the glass, airless and colour-cosmetics clusters; the published single-factory floor is 5,000–10,000 pieces per item. Cross-category: MOQ index, lead-time index.
| Route | Indicative minimum | Tooling | Lead time, factory gate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock glass bottle + stock pump, undecorated | From ~500 pcs where a partner factory holds stock; low thousands on a public-mould run; pump assembly carries its own ~500 floor | None | 7–10 days in stock; 30–60 days if a glass run is required |
| Stock glass + screen print or hot stamp | About 2,000 pcs | Screen ≈ USD 0.014 per colour per bottle | Glass cycle + 5–7 days |
| Stock glass + frosting or sprayed colour | 2,000–5,000 per shape | Colour-matching set-up | 30–40 days; forming and decoration are two factories |
| Stock glass + metallised or plated overcap | Around 10,000 for the cap | Racking only | 25–40 days including plating queue |
| Stock airless, standard colour | ~10,000 pcs per item | None | 20–30 days |
| Stock airless + sprayed sleeve | 10,000; spray 2,000–5,000 per shape on top | Colour matching | 30–40 days |
| Stock EVOH tube, printed | 5,000–10,000 per SKU | Plates RMB 200–300 ≈ USD 30–45 per design | 15–20 days from sample-tube approval |
| Stock cushion case, decorated | Low thousands (typical partner-factory range); sprayed 2,000–5,000 per shape; plated ~10,000 | Screen / foil plate; colour matching | 30–45 days with decoration |
| Made-to-order glass, your own shape | 30,000 to 100,000–200,000 pcs | ≈ RMB 4,000 ≈ USD 555 per cavity; 4–8 cavity set USD 2,200–4,450 | 30–60 days from mould approval |
| Private plastic mould (airless body, cap, cushion half) | 3,000–10,000 pcs to amortise; airless 10,000–30,000 first run | RMB 25,000–70,000 ≈ USD 3,500–9,700 per component tool; paid 30/40/30; brand-owned | Tool 45–60 days; programme 90–120 days |
| Buffer | — | — | × 1.3; +15 days across Chinese New Year; sea 18–35 days |
On a first order the glass-plus-pump route is the one that reaches shelf at the lowest quantity: stock glass, a stock pump, a sprayed or frosted finish once the shape clears 2,000–5,000, and the brand in the overcap and the carton. Mould economics for the private route are on mould cost and ownership.
QC thresholds a foundation pack is signed against
Under the four gates and the golden-sample rule on QC standards; the pump-test detail is in lotion pump dose and the 1,500-cycle test.
| Test | Method | Pass threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Pump dose and life | Dose weighed over 50 strokes × 3 after 15 priming strokes; continuous actuation | Single stroke ±15%; run average within 5–10%; priming ≤10 strokes non-aqueous; output ≥90%; ≥1,500 cycles |
| Airless piston | Static: water-filled, stand 4 h; dynamic: dispense to empty | No water passes; piston rises cleanly; contents fully expelled; inner–outer pull ≥50 N |
| Formula compatibility | Cup, wiper, sponge and pump path with the actual bulk at 48°C for 30 days plus ambient and cold controls | No discolouration, swelling, odour or dose drift; decoration soak 24 h in the formula |
| Vacuum leak | Filled, lying and inverted | −0.06 MPa standard; −0.08 MPa for 15 min, loss ≤0.5% for volatile or silicone bases |
| Cushion function | Force gauge; cycling | Opening force 0.2–0.9 kgf; press 10 times, 0.1–0.3 g per press; inner cup retained inverted |
| Thermal cycling, filled | Oven and freezer | 48°C and −15°C, 24–48 h each; no cracking, warping, leakage or colour change |
| Decoration adhesion | 3M 600 over print and hot stamp; 3M 810 over cross-hatched spray, metallising and plating | No lift; hot-stamp loss ≤0.5 mm²; pencil hardness ≥2H sprayed |
| Colour | Signed golden sample under D65 | ΔE within agreed tolerance; bottle, overcap and carton judged in one hand |
| Heavy metals / nickel | Third-party lab | Pb+Cd+Hg+Cr(VI) ≤100 ppm; nickel-release data on plated touch surfaces for EU markets |
Vella is a Guangzhou-based beauty packaging solutions provider — a sourcing partner, not a factory — that specifies, sources, samples, quality-controls and ships foundation glass, pumps, airless bottles, tubes and cushion compacts from vetted partner factories operating to ISO 22716 / GMP, against the thresholds above and a signed golden sample. The method is on how we work; the questions to ask any supplier are in how to evaluate a China packaging supplier.
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