Not super feminine (it is often used in after-shave care for men), nor super practical besides (of cold contact, it ages rather badly and is really not flexible !), but it is perhaps its dented look which seduces thus… that a certain snobbery ! Brought up to date by niche brands like Aésop, most of whose beauty journalists are crazy, the metallic aluminium tube recalls gouache tubes, good old-fashioned ointments (Homéoplasmine™, Avibon™…) and apothecary beauty preparations. It is both serious (its pharmaceutical side) and artisanal.

Very used for toothpastes, it has been adopted by some organic brands (Weleda, Sanoflore…) since the first hour for its protective qualities. It's not only beautiful, it can also be useful! According to Weleda," it reduces the risk of oxidation and product contamination by avoiding any return of air inside the tube after each pressure. This is particularly useful for certified organic cosmetic brands that are free of synthetic preservatives, like us. Covered with a protective varnish on the inside, it guarantees the absence of undesirable interaction between its contents and the metal. This is a classic process used by the pharmaceutical industry to package medicinal ointments. ". The brand, which has been packaging its hand and foot creams in aluminium tubes since the beginning, is back this season with its latest innovation for mature skin: Evening Primrose Revitalizing Hand Cream (50 ml, 9.90 €).

More in a"natural" universe

As it conveys values of authenticity, the aluminium tube inspires brands with a strong"natural" environment and care that is not very technical, rather basic. It's especially in hand creams that he triumphs. Attractive and differentiating (it changes from plastic!), it can tip the balance in the right direction when it comes to choosing your hand or foot cream. In a highly competitive world, what makes the difference is the perfume and packaging and… no doubt, in this segment, it's popular!

L'Occitane in particular has brought it up to date. The success of her shea butter hand cream (bestseller of the brand which proclaims on her website that she sells one every 3 seconds in the world!) owes her a lot! Among other new products, the brand has just released a whole range of limited editions where metal is king (Shea Whipped Hand Cream, 30 ml, 7.50 €; Shea Whipped Shower Foam, 150 ml, 12.50 €; Shea Whipped Body Cream, 125 ml, 22 €). And its next creation on the shelf on 7 February 2015 is still a hand cream packaged in an aluminium tube (Fleurs de Cerisier L'Eau, Crème Mains, 30 ml, 7.50 €). Between the Provençal company and aluminium, it is a love story which goes back to the origin (1976), the brand having also rehabilitated the brushed aluminium estagnon, a metal bottle formerly used in Provence to preserve perfumed essences (Lavender Foaming Bath, 500 ml, 20 €).

Other brands with sensitivity green followed in his footsteps: - Caudalie (Gourmet hand and nail cream, 75 ml, 8 € or 30 ml, 5,10 € ; Foot beauty cream, 75 ml, 14 €), - Durance (Ancian Rosa Hand Protection Cream, 75 ml, € 12.95; Nyons Organic Olive Oil Nourishing Foot Cream, 75 ml, € 13.95), - Aésop, which uses aluminium for all its treatments packaged in tubes (latest new products…): Resolute Moisturizing Body Balm, 120 ml, 29 €; Geranium leaf body scrub, 170 ml, 30 €).

For the holidays, we also see him blooming at The Body Shop, which offers his small hand cream in 10 fragrances (the latest fragrance released: Ice Apple Hand Cream, 30 ml, 5 €) or Roger&Gallet, who has just launched a Hands & Nail Balm Fig Blossom (30 ml, 7 €) and also offers this same product in trio in a Christmas Box (3 x 30 ml, 18,40 €). Finally, Institut Karité, in the wake of L'Occitane, offers a whole collection (named So Wonderful) of its hand cream in 3 Collector editions (Almond & Honey, Lily of the valley or Rose hand cream, 30 ml, 7 € or 75 ml, 19.50 €).

Ariane Le Febvre