Manucurist: A Paris Salon, Her Mother's Idea and Polish That Cares for Nails

Manucurist: A Paris Salon, Her Mother's Idea and Polish That Cares for Nails

Manucurist began as a professional nail salon in Paris in 1996, and its polishes still think like a salon does. Here are the treatment polishes, the Green Flash gel system, and the hand and cuticle care I pair with them.

Manucurist started in Paris in 1996, when the mother of the founder, Gaëlle Lebrat Personnaz, opened her first professional nail salon under that name. Gaëlle worked in fashion before she took the business over in 2016. But the point of view is pure salon: care first, color second.

That is why the first grid is the Active line, treatment polishes that behave like nail care with a little color in them. Active Glow Raspberry and Active Glow Blueberry are nourishing treatment polishes, the ones I wear when I want nails that look clean and nothing more. Active Smooth is a strengthener and ridge filler, so it makes a good base on uneven nails before any color goes on top, or by itself for a bare finish.

Active Plump comes in Pink and Aqua, both glazed and collagen-infused polishes made to give a plumper, glossier look. I find a glazed finish easier to wear than a solid color on short nails.

Apply two thin coats and let each one set. Treatment polish looks best the thinnest, and a thick coat only smudges. Wait a couple of minutes between coats, and finish with a drop of oil at the cuticle once the last layer is dry to the touch. File the nail first, wipe it clean, and you will get a smoother result from any of these bottles.

Collage of Manucurist treatment polishes, gel color with base and top coat, cuticle oil and hand creams beside a close-up photo of a fresh manicure, and a mood photo of Manucurist polish bottles on white sheets with a burgundy bow.
Manucurist's treatment polishes and Green Flash gel, plus cuticle oil and hand creams from other houses.

Manucurist Active treatment polishes

Green Flash, the gel alternative

Green Flash is Manucurist's LED gel alternative, and the brand says it launched it in 2020. It is a polish you set under an LED lamp, and it comes off with acetone-free remover, which is the part I care about most. Anyone who has watched a gel manicure be soaked and scraped off knows why.

The brand describes Green Flash as vegan and HEMA-free, and says it lasts up to 10 days. That is the claim as they make it, and my experience is that thin coats and careful prep are what get you near it. Skip either and the polish will lift sooner.

The system here is three pieces. The Green Flash Vitaminized Base Coat goes on first, to give color something smooth to hold on to. The Green Flash LED Gel Nail Polish Color is the shade itself, a glossy, even color in two thin layers. The Xtrem Flash Long-Lasting Gel Top Coat seals it all with shine. Set each layer under the lamp as directed, and cap the free edge of the nail with every coat, a quick swipe along the tip, because that edge is where chips start.

The first time you use it, keep the color away from the skin around the nail. A small clean-up with a brush before the lamp saves you from lifting at the cuticle a few days later. Work one hand at a time, so the polish you painted first is not sitting wet while you fuss with the other.

Manucurist Green Flash gel

Hands and cuticles, from other houses

A polish is only as good as the nail under it, and that is where these other houses come in. Hand and cuticle care is the quiet routine that makes a manicure look polished without much work, and I use it every day.

L'Occitane's Strengthening Shea Nail and Cuticle Oil is the one I keep on my desk: a small oil that you massage into the base of each nail. Caudalie's Hand and Nail Cream is the one I keep by the sink for daytime. Clarins' Hand and Nail Nourishing Treatment Cream is a nourishing option for dry winter skin. Clinique's Deep Comfort Hand and Cuticle Cream is the one for the end of the day. Dior's J'adore Hand, Nail and Décolleté Cream is the small evening pleasure of the group.

What I would skip: cutting or pushing back the living cuticle, and picking at hangnails and loose skin until they sting. The cuticle protects the new nail, so leave it in place, and use oil to keep it soft instead. Also skip scraping off polish with your fingernails, because it takes the top layer of the nail with it. Soak a cotton pad in remover, hold it on the nail for a moment, and wipe gently instead.

If a nail turns painful, swollen or changes color, have a doctor look at it.

Cuticle oils and nail care from other brands

Making a manicure last

A good manicure comes down to a few habits. File in one direction, prep the nail with a clean wipe, and apply thin coats. Finish with oil or cream every night and the nails stay supple, which means fewer snags and fewer breaks.

The test I use is simple: look at your hands in daylight. If the polish looks smooth and the skin around it looks calm, the routine is working. If the edges are lifting or the skin looks dry, go back to thinner coats and more oil.

I like to treat the Active polishes as the everyday routine and save Green Flash for weeks with plans. Take polish off gently, nourish after, and give your nails a break between colors now and then. Short, clean nails with a glossy finish look polished with very little work, and a fresh coat of treatment polish on a Sunday night is often all the color I need for the week ahead.