Packaging and application device comprising a container having an internal space (12) in which the product (P) is contained, an application element (16), a housing (14) for housing the application element and a permeable wall (23) placed between the said housing and the internal space containing the product. The application element and the housing are both designed in such a way that the application element has, when it is in the said housing, at least one surface portion (16a) located, without any appreciable axial compression, opposite an opening (25) in the permeable wall. The internal space is a variable-volume space, compression means being provided for making the said internal volume pass selectively from a first volume, greater than the volume of product, to a second volume, smaller than the first, this reduction in volume being accompanied by an overpressure which is conducive to transferring product through the said permeable wall towards the application element.