butter LONDON

butter LONDON is a nail and colour-cosmetics brand founded in London in 2005 by British entrepreneur Sasha Muir and the fashion manicurist Nonie Creme [1][5]. Built around nail lacquers made without several ingredients common in conventional polish, it grew from London salons into a US-operated e-commerce business. Since July 2018 it has been owned by the Atlanta-based group Astral Brands, under which it continues to operate [4].

Although the name and early marketing lean on London heritage, the company today runs from the United States. The brand site states it was "founded in 2005 by a British entrepreneur and London's premier fashion manicurist" [1], while editorial coverage describes it as "based in Atlanta, Georgia" — the headquarters of its parent — and notes that the name's British association reflects origin and positioning rather than current operations.

The brand was launched in 2005 by Sasha Muir, described in trade coverage as a British entrepreneur, working alongside Nonie Creme, a London fashion manicurist [4]. According to the company, butter LONDON set out "to reinvent nail colour with high-performance formulas free from toxic ingredients" [1]. Its first lacquers were marketed as "3-Free" — made without three ingredients then common in nail polish — which positioned the brand within an emerging movement toward what is now usually called clean beauty.

butter LONDON began with its original 3-Free lacquers, sold through London salons before expanding internationally. In 2013 it introduced a "10-Free" range, which the company and editorial reviews describe as excluding a longer list of ingredients, among them formaldehyde, parabens, gluten and TPHP [1]. The most significant corporate change came in 2018, when the brand was acquired by Astral Brands; the deal was announced on 23 July 2018 [4].

Since 2018, butter LONDON has been owned by Astral Brands, an Atlanta-based company whose portfolio also includes CosMedix and Aloette [4]. At the time of the acquisition, Astral's executive chairman and chief executive, Robert K. Cohen, said the company was "excited to work with the team at Butter London to continue its great success," and framed the purchase as a way to expand the brand's makeup range with greater digital and financial resources. The parent company is also the source of the recurring question over the brand's base: its operations sit in the United States rather than the United Kingdom, and the brand's own contact page lists a Seattle-area telephone number — the brand's original US base — while later editorial coverage places it at Astral's Atlanta headquarters [3][5].

The company positions butter LONDON as "good-for-you" makeup, body and nail care guided by what it calls a "skincare-inspired ingredient philosophy." It describes the brand as built on the belief that "beauty should be bold, better, and never boring," and uses the registered line "Feel Good Beauty you can trust." The clean-beauty framing extends to packaging: according to the brand, its Patent Shine 10X lacquer is designed "without folding cartons or plastic wrap to minimize waste," with recyclable glass bottles.

Nail lacquer remains the core of the range, alongside colour cosmetics and body care. Signature products named by the company and in press coverage include the Patent Shine 10X and Pure Colour 21X lacquers, the Melt Away Cuticle Exfoliator, the Horse Power Nail Rescue Basecoat and the Nail Blush Restorative Treatment [2]. The brand markets these lacquers as proprietary formulations and states that its products are cruelty-free and vegan [5].

butter LONDON has appeared in nail-focused coverage across consumer beauty titles including Allure, Glamour, Byrdie, Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan, typically in seasonal nail-colour round-ups and pieces on nontoxic polish. Editorial features have also linked the brand's shades to manicures worn by Selena Gomez [2].

butter LONDON is an acquired brand and operates as an active label within Astral Brands [4]. It remains commercially live, selling directly through its own site and via wholesale partners, with recent editorial coverage and ongoing product launches. Its operating base is in the United States, while its founding heritage and name remain tied to London.