an applicator for liquid or pasty media , in particular for decorative cosmetics such as mascara has a rod - shaped reinforcing core of a first plastic material which is surrounded at least in the region of its front end by a support sleeve of a second plastic material . the support sleeve has a plurality of radially outwardly projecting fingers which are integrally formed on the support sleeve and also consist of the second plastic material . several fingers which are distributed over the periphery of the support sleeve form a finger collar and a plurality of finger collars with identical finger number are disposed one behind the other in the longitudinal direction of the support sleeve . a particular combination of parameters for the bristles leads to improved combing and application properties .