For the perfume sector in particular high quality, innovative plastics are becoming increasingly popular as practical and cheaper alternatives to glass. Ileos says its plastic resins have moved towards providing heavier, more transparent, glossier and more resistant plastics that help to communicate a luxury image that imitates natural materials counterparts.
Jardin d'Etoiles - Angel, the leading perfume from Thierry Mugler now showcases this technology. Its cap, produced by Axilone Plastic, a division of the Ileos group, is made of Surlyn enabling it to be moulded into the distinct star shape at the top, while PE has also lent extra flexibility to the moulded clear plastic base.
The company says that because of the weight of the packaging, combined with its unusually high clarity, the perfume user has the feeling that the scent is packaged in a more expensive material than is the reality.
In the cosmetics sector more than in any other, packaging is an essential part of the products overall image, which is why the company said that the development of this packaging has been so comprehensive.
The cap, for example, may look like a simple plastic moulded piece but, the company says it demanded a complex development procedure. This involved a close and ongoing collaboration between engineering and design departments as well as the mould fabrication workshop and the general production unit.
The packaging for Dior Capture is another example of this kind of product that the company has recently worked. The cap it developed for this perfume uses the same plastic materials and design principles to provide an oval-shaped closure with a distinct frosted finish that embodies the perfume's logo.
"Thanks to the characteristics of the plastics involved, designers havethe advantage of a higher freedom in conception, which in turns allows for more creativity in the design process," an Ileos spokesperson said.
Recently Ileos signed signed a privileged partnership with ATT, a leader in numerical safety applied to brands Protection. This means that the company now offers this security system integrated in the fabrication process of its packaging solutions to fight counterfeiting as well as enhancing logistics by ensuring full product tracking.