Puttin’ on the glitz
RPC beauté in France pulled out all the stops when it designed packaging for Color Fever Gloss − a lip gloss from Lancôme.
To make the
vials, collars, and caps, RPC uses
coinjection, overmolding, ultrasonic
welding, and a recently developed
technique of partial electroplating
to create a translucentmetallic
finish.
The vial, which is injected in
copolyester, has a strong geometric
shape despite large variations
in wall thickness. The surface is
hot-stamped with the Lancme
logo before it’s overprinted with
a clear tampo print to boost scuff
resistance.
To get the metallic-looking collar,
the neck is coinjection molded
from two polymers, and then partially
electroplated by a proprietary
technique. The insert-molded cap
is also plated, and then overmolded
with high-clarity Surlyn resin from
DuPont, Wilmington, Del. The
complete pack is produced on fully
automated lines with camera inspection
and tests for air tightness.