Meet "Grammy Mae"
- aquegel
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Meet “Grammy Mae”
The Story Behind Aquegel’s New Logo
How one incredibly loyal customer—and more than 20 years of Aquegel—helped inspire our new look.
If you’ve been an Aquegel customer for a while, you may notice someone new popping up on Aquegel.com, our labels, and eventually our boxes.
Meet our upcoming "Grammy Mae Logo".
She’s classy. She’s sophisticated. She’s smiling.
And yes... she has her finger in her nose.
There’s a very good reason for that.
Meet the Real Mae B.
Grammy Mae was inspired by a very real—and very special—Aquegel customer: Mae B. of Centennial, Colorado.
Mae lives only about 20 minutes from Aquegel’s corporate office and manufacturing facility in Westminster, Colorado. Her relationship with Aquegel goes back more than 20 years, when she originally bought the product at Walmart.
Then ownership changed, and we did not renew our contract with Walmart...they eventually stopped carrying it.
For many customers, that might have been the end of the story.
Not Mae.
Mae tracked down Aquegel’s original inventor so she could continue keeping Aquegel in her nightly routine. And she has been ordering directly ever since.
In fact, Mae has now purchased Aquegel from four generations of Aquegel ownership—the original inventor and three owners since.
And when Mae orders, she doesn’t mess around. Her favorite? Lavender. Five jars at a time!
More Than a Customer
Over the years, Mae has become a little more like family than a customer. Phone calls aren’t simply about placing an order. We hear about her family and how proud she is of her grandchildren. And in classic Mae fashion, she keeps meticulous notes about her calls and orders.
She’s also one of Aquegel’s unofficial—and toughest—quality-control inspectors.
Change something and Mae notices.
If an ingredient seemed different, we’d hear about it: “What changed?”
That attention to detail is one of the reasons Aquegel’s buyers have worked so hard over the years to maintain the same suppliers and preserve the consistency longtime customers expect.
When you’ve used something for more than two decades, you know your Aquegel. And Mae knows here Aquegel.
So... Why Put a Grandma With Her Finger in Her Nose on Our Logo?
Good question.
Marketing Aquegel has always presented us with an unusual challenge. How exactly do you advertise something that is, when you really get down to it, essentially pharmaceutically-made mucus (OR SNOT)?
Nasal issues aren’t glamorous. Dry noses aren’t glamorous. And nose picking? ...Definitely not glamorous.
But Mae gave us an idea.
Every time we speak with her, she exudes sophistication, grace and class. Yet we also know how she applies her Aquegel—with her finger!
And suddenly, the concept clicked. Why pretend noses aren’t a little weird? Why can’t we have some fun with it? And why can’t a classy, sophisticated grandmother remind all of us that sometimes...
You Have to “STICK IT”... So You Don’t “PICK IT!”
That became the inspiration for Grammy Mae.
Creating Grammy Mae: From Pencil Sketch to Aquegel Logo
Grammy Mae didn’t begin in a branding agency conference room. She began with a pencil. One of Aquegel’s owners is an artist, and the idea evolved one sketch at a time.
Step 1: Finding Our “Grammy”
The name itself has two inspirations. “Grammy” is also a little shout-out to Aquegel’s own “Grammy Glo.” Gloria is one of our longtime production staff members and Aquegel’s official grandma. “Mae,” of course, comes from the customer who inspired this whole adventure.
The goal was to create a grandmother who looked sophisticated and classy—with a little personality.
And, believe it or not, it’s surprisingly difficult to find sophisticated and classy reference images of someone picking her nose!
Step 2: The Finger Problem
Then came an artistic challenge we never imagined we’d have: How do you make it perfectly clear that Grandma’s finger is in her nose?
The first sketch didn’t quite work. The lighting and positioning hid too much. So the finger moved to the other hand and nostril. Better. But something was still missing.
Grammy Mae couldn’t simply be sticking her finger in her nose. She needed to communicate something else: Her nose feels GREAT!
Step 3: The “OK” Hand
That led to the breakthrough. An “OK” hand gesture was added. Now Grammy Mae had the personality we were looking for: a mischievous smile, finger to the nose and an unmistakable message from the other hand. Yep. That’s the spot.
Earlier pose  | Revised pose with the “OK” hand  |
Step 4: Grammy Mae Gets Some Color
Next came color. The original artwork was colored by hand using alcohol-based permanent graphic markers. The translucent, fast-drying dye-based ink allowed the colors to be blended while preserving the original drawing.
And Grammy Mae suddenly came alive: red hat, swanky glasses, big smile, & plenty of personality.
Step 5: Turning Artwork Into a Logo
A beautiful illustration isn’t necessarily a great logo. The next step was reducing the detail while preserving Grammy Mae’s shape, personality and presence.
An Illustrator-style outline was created, simplifying the artwork into something that could work across websites, packaging, labels and other Aquegel materials.
The simplified outline created for the final branding process.
Finally, our graphic designer, Janice (https://www.smallyetmighty.com), brought everything together. The Aquegel name, banners and keywords were incorporated around the illustration.
And after sketches, revisions, color, simplification and graphic design...
GRAMMY MAE WAS READY.
The finished Grammy Mae / Aquegel logo.
Why You Won’t See the New Logo Everywhere Overnight
Changing a logo sounds simple. For Aquegel, it isn’t.
Today, Aquegel isn’t just sold nationally...It’s sold internationally. And more than 80% of Aquegel sales are repeat business.
That’s important. Imagine you’ve ordered the same nasal moisturizer for years. Your next package arrives—and suddenly the box and label look completely different. You might wonder: “Did I get the right product?” Or worse: “Is this counterfeit?”
We don’t want that. So Grammy Mae will be introduced gradually during Fall 2026.
The transition will happen in phases:
1. First: Grammy Mae begins appearing on Aquegel.com.
2. Next: She begins appearing on the back of Aquegel labels and jar boxes.
3. Finally: Grammy Mae transitions to the primary logo on the front of our labels and boxes.
Label artwork showing how the branding can be incorporated into packaging.
Jar box packaging concept used during the transition planning.
So if your next order looks exactly like the Aquegel you’ve known for years, don’t worry. And if Grammy Mae suddenly shows up on your box... don’t worry about that either! It’s still us.
Most Importantly: Thank You, Mae.
A logo is usually supposed to represent a company. We wanted ours to represent something more: loyalty, consistency, personality, and the people who have kept a small Colorado company going for all these years.
Mae has trusted Aquegel for more than 20 years. She has tracked us down when products disappeared from store shelves. She has stayed with us through ownership changes. She has noticed when something wasn’t quite the same. She has told us about her family. And order after order, year after year, she kept coming back.
So Grammy Mae is our little tribute to her: classy, a little comical, and definitely not afraid to “STICK IT.”
And Mae, We Have One More Surprise for You...
As of the publication of this blog:
Mae B. will never pay for Aquegel again. 😉Free Aquegel. FOREVER.
Mae, thank you for more than 20 years of loyalty. Grammy Mae wouldn’t exist without you. And neither would quite a bit of the Aquegel story.
Celebrate Grammy Mae With Us!
Mae’s favorite Aquegel is Lavender, so we’re celebrating our newest family member with a special offer:
25% OFF the Aquegel Lavender Multi-PackCoupon Code: MAEB
-signed Aquegel Management
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