Named for a lyric taken from the song "Barbie Girl" by Danish-Norwegian dance-pop group Aqua, the album saw Aspaul team up with long-time collaborators, Gil Lewis and MNEK.

Described as a "monster pop record"[1] and a "party from start to finish",[2] Life in Plastic received acclaim for its consistency and "Y2K aesthetic", as well its eclectic influences.

[4] Initially working as a songwriter for artists such as Becky Hill and Kylie Minogue, Tom Aspaul released his debut album, Black Country Disco in 2020.

On 17 October 2022, the album was re-released as Life in Plastic, It's Expanded, a deluxe edition with eight new tracks and a music video for the song "Thessaloniki".

"[15] In a review for Albumism, Quentin Harrison describes the record as "Tom Aspaul levelling up" with particular praise for "Thessaloniki", "arguably one of his finest performances to date.