Manucurist: from a Parisian salon in 1996 to semi-permanent polish at home

It all begins in 1996, in Paris, in a manicure salon that already bears the name Manucurist. Thirty years on, that name belongs to a nail polish and nail care brand present in many countries, whose pine-green bottles make it recognisable at a glance. It has made home application its own ground: kits that bring together base coat, colour, top coat and lamp, and a removal that the brand wants free of sanding and acetone.

The story

According to the brand, the salon’s founder is Fanny Lebrat. Her daughter, Gaëlle Lebrat Personnaz, says she grew up in that world, listening to women talk about the lack of time for themselves, the disappointment of ordinary polishes and the damage caused by applying and removing gels. After years at major luxury houses, including Louis Vuitton, Prada and Yves Saint Laurent, she took over the family business in 2016, wanting to add her taste for colour and a shift towards better formulas.

Her ambition, she says, was to create the first alternative to traditional semi-permanents. The Green Flash range was born in 2019, according to the brand. Gaëlle Lebrat Personnaz is now co-managing director, according to Presse Agence, which also presents her as the brand’s founder. The brand’s Paris shop is on rue d’Enghien, in the 10th arrondissement; it also offers in-store collection of orders.

The range

Manucurist builds its range in systems. Green is its classic, air-drying nail polish, with a base coat, a top coat and drying drops. Green Flash is the semi-permanent: it cures under an LED lamp and is sold in bottles of colour as well as in starter kits, which contain the base coat, top coat, remover, removal clips and the lamp. According to the brand, Green Flash kits give access to step-by-step video tutorials.

Active, finally, is a range of polishes that the brand presents as both care and beautifier, with make-up-inspired effects: Gloss, CC Polish, Highlighter and others. The house also offers nail and cuticle care, food supplements, files and brushes.

The know-how

According to the brand, its products are made in France, except for the LED lamps. It explains that it did not find a European manufacturer for these and has them brought in from abroad. It also says its formulas follow a charter stricter than regulation, with a share of ingredients of natural origin which it quantifies, depending on the range, with a percentage shown on its product pages.

What the brand stands for

The brand speaks of “clean” beauty and bio-based formulas. It states that its products contain no animal-derived ingredients and are not tried on animals, and that they have been HEMA-free and TPO-free since 2019. These claims are the brand’s own. It presents its removal as a gesture to do at home, without acetone, sanding or abrasion, using clips and a remover.

It also cites awards for Green Flash, including the Beauty Game Changers and the Holy Grail Award in 2023, and says it has worked with salon professionals since its beginnings.

Right now

At the end of September 2026, Manucurist announced that the investment fund Inflexion was coming into its capital as a minority shareholder, according to Presse Agence. Dealroom, drawing on Business of Fashion, mentions a 49% stake and specifies that the founder and her husband remain majority shareholders. The priority of the deal, according to Presse Agence, is international expansion, led by the United States, strengthening distribution in pharmacies and in retail, and investing in research and development.

This same autumn, the brand celebrated its tenth anniversary and launched the Xtrem Flash top coat, according to Premium Beauty News. It is this top coat that gives the Xtrem Flash kit its name, for a wear time the brand states as up to 21 days.

For readers in Switzerland

Manucurist’s online shop offers a version intended for Switzerland, in French and in Swiss francs, and in its frequently asked questions the brand states that it delivers to homes in Switzerland.