From the blue box to luxury make-up

Aluminium packaging has been around for… a long time! Nivea was of course one of the first to"popularize" them. Its cult case was created in the 1920s (in 1911, the date of its creation, the Nivea box was in yellow pewter). And the brand decided to launch a men's version last winter in brushed grey and dark blue aluminium, with a grooved screw lid (Nivea Men Creme, 150 ml can, €3.95).

In the 80s (long after Weleda), L'Occitane had the idea of reusing this metal for its shea butter hand creams (still best-sellers of the brand). Then it will be Aésop's turn to bring the aluminium back up to date for his side. clean and its innocuousness, by using it for all its tubes (last innovations: Purifying and Cleansing Cream, 100 ml, 31 €; Cleansing Mask with Parsley Seed, 60 ml, 33 €; Moisturizing Balm Resolved for the Body, 120 ml, 29 €).

But historically aluminium existed long before in pharmacies! Traditionally devoted to pharmaceutical ointments and ointments and thick textures (from Homéoplasmine™ to cold cream, via Biafine™), aluminium also abounds in aerosols (thermal waters, antiperspirants…) and colouring products. It is still very present in dermocosmetics, but the great novelty is that this summer, it is winning the selective circuit and the trendiest brands. Aesthetic and enhancing, it succeeds in being both design and retro, with this little side vintage who's so seductive. Light and resistant, naturally waterproof, without air return, anticorrosive, its barrier properties protect formulas as surely as a safe! It offers the same safety as glass (weight less). And above all, it is cheap, more economical than PET for example. Whether raw or brushed, matt or shiny, flexible or rigid, aluminium offers a high restitution rate (we talk about a better"emptying"), which avoids waste (we don't lose a drop of the formula!). An international company like Alltub Group (world leader in flexible aluminium tubes) supplies 50% of its production to the cosmetics industry!

In hand creams and cold cream

L'Occitane launches limited editions of its shea butter hand cream each autumn and systematically adds a 30 ml format to its new scent programme. Latest innovation in the Almond range: Mains de Velours, Hand care for youth with native almond cells SPF 15 (75 ml, 19 €).

But the trend is more towards extra-soft aluminium like Alessandro International's I Love Veggie Hand Creams (30 ml, €4.95 , three fragrances: Carrot & Orange, Tomato & Strawberry, Cucumber & Melon, from September). The same goes for La Société Parisienne de Savons Hand Treatment Cream based on propolis, shea butter and cocoa (50 ml, 10.50 €).

In October, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its cold cream range, Avène will pack its cold cream for the whole family in this metal (Cold Cream Face and Body, 40 ml, 7.10 € or 100 ml, 19.90 €). The mark specifies that it is about alu laminated, that is to say made up of several layers of aluminium between two layers of plastic, so that it does not pass in the product.

Aluminium takes on colour

If white remains the rule in pharmacy, it is quite different in Selectif or in franchised shops. From the bright green of Aésop (Geranium leaf scrub for the body, 170 ml, 30 €) to the blue of Thalgo (Cellular invigorating Embruns, 150 ml, 25 €), from the pale pink of L'Occitane's Crème Mains de Velours Amande to Caudalie's new pale green facial scrub, topped by an ash wood cap (Crème Exfoliante Désincrustante toutes peaux, 75 ml, 18.50 €, in September), the trend is towards coloured alu.

The most spectacular? Guerlain in its famous Terracotta range (Terra Magnifica Shadow and Light Tanning Powder for Face and Décolleté, 65 €). This maxi powder in the warm tones of the Terracotta is a great first in perfumery! The gold embossed cover unscrews to reveal a mirror. Guerlain was already using a metal lid to top a blue opaline jar for his Secret de Bonne Femme Cream in… 1904!

In body care, we can also mention the Escales Ephémères Maupiti sea salt body scrub by Thalgo (300 g, 35 €), in its glass jar with a metal lid that can be screwed on, evoking jam jars.

Or the provençal estagnon from L'Occitane (Foaming Bath with lavender essential oil from Haute Provence, 500 ml, 24 €). Melvita's body butter packaging, in bright pink or chocolate metal, consists of two parts: the outer part is made of metal, and the inner part is made of plastic so that there is no interaction between the product and the metal (Argan Oil Body Butter or Muscat Rose Oil Body Butter, 100 ml, 14.90 €).

Surfing the retro wave

This is the case of La Société Parisienne de Savons which offers many products in this metal (cold cream, cologne, lip balms, soaps, dermophilic powders…), decorated with pretty Art Deco decorations (lip balms 7 €, nine perfumes ; Bath Soaps, 16.80 €, nine perfumes, Soap writing, 4 € in nine decorations…).
When will the aluminium face creams be available? A break with the realm of care and its white dictatorship that would surely be madly audacious…

Ariane Le Febvre