Nailmatic

Nailmatic is a French cosmetics brand founded in Paris in 2012, known first for plant-based nail polishes and later for a wider range of playful, family-oriented beauty products. It was started by Boris Gratini, described by the company as a beauty-market expert, and Lilian Monnier, a self-taught generalist, who introduced what they say were France's first vending machines selling nail polishes in place of the usual snacks [2]. That novelty gave the brand its name: nail, plus matic for automatic.

The company positions itself around responsible, plant-based and water-based formulas aimed at a broad audience, from young children to adults. It remains independent and active, with current product lines and editorial content running into 2025.

Nailmatic traces its beginnings to 2012 and a single idea: vending machines that dispensed nail polish rather than cereal bars. According to the brand's own account, the concept drew early attention from well-known Paris figures, including the model Inès de la Fressange, who is quoted calling it "the idea of the century," and the blogger and illustrator Garance Doré [3]. The founders, Gratini and Monnier, built the company in Paris, where it remains headquartered.

From the start the brand's distinguishing claim was its formulation. The company says it replaced petroleum-derived solvents with solvents drawn from plants and renewable raw materials such as cotton, corn, potato, wheat and cassava. What began as a nail-polish project gradually broadened into lip and body products and other items for children and families.

Nailmatic's range grew out of its nail polishes into several distinct product families. Its water-based children's polish became the brand's signature: the company says it is formulated so that it washes off with soap and water, without remover [5]. The same washable approach extends to the Tattoopen, a marker the brand describes as combining temporary tattooing and makeup in a roughly 60% water-based formula that rinses off with soapy water [2].

For teenagers and adults, the brand offers plant-based, vegan nail polishes, and it has promoted a polish it calls AQUA nail, which it describes as 54% water-based and free of petrochemical solvent [3]. Beyond nails, the line includes the Rollette lip gloss—made, according to the company, from apricot kernel oil enriched with vitamin E and omegas 6 and 9—and a glitter-based companion for the body, the Body Rollette. The brand also says its glitter is made from wood cellulose rather than conventional plastic.

The company frames its purpose around what it calls "fun cosmetics to savor life together," products meant to be playful and creative while using natural, responsible formulas. A recurring theme in its messaging is children's development: the brand states that stimulating creativity and steering children away from screens and consoles has "somewhat become nailmatic's reason for being" [2]. Its French tagline, provocateur de bonheur, translates roughly as "provoker of happiness."

In market terms, Nailmatic sits in the independent, mid-priced segment rather than the mass or luxury tiers. One reviewer noted that the prices run higher than drugstore polishes, framing this as the cost of non-toxic formulation [6].

Sustainability claims are central to how Nailmatic describes itself, summed up in its motto "less petrochemistry, more magic." The company states that its products are vegan and contain no ingredients of animal origin, and it describes them as cruelty-free, noting that animal testing for cosmetics is banned in the European Union [4]. Independent reviews of the children's range have reported that the polishes are free of phthalates, formaldehyde, toluene and fragrance [7].

On manufacturing, the brand makes two related but separate claims that are sometimes conflated. It says its finished products are "95% Made in France," while separately stating that about 60% of its suppliers are French [4][2]. Production is spread across several French regions—laboratories in Seine-et-Marne and Eure-et-Loir, polish manufacturing in the Yvelines, packaging in the Oise and filling in the Morbihan—with the bath range made in Poland and the cream remover and Tattoopen produced in Italy. The company also says its paper and cardboard packaging is FSC-certified and printed with plant-based inks, and that packaging is assembled by ESAT sheltered-work structures, which employ people with disabilities; brand pages name more than one such partner.

Coverage of Nailmatic has come chiefly from parenting and lifestyle outlets rather than mainstream beauty press, in keeping with its focus on children's cosmetics. In 2017, Cool Mom Picks reviewed the kids' water-based polish and confirmed that it washed off with soap and water, praising its application and packaging [6]. The previous year, Real Mum Reviews assessed the children's line, reported that it was made in France and free of the chemicals the brand cites, and gave it an overall score of 91% [7].

Nailmatic remains an active, independent company. The brand's site carries current seasonal products and "new" pages, with editorial content and promotional activity dated through 2024 and into 2025, and its products continue to be stocked by multi-brand retailers [1]. A milestone the company highlights from recent years is the launch of its first podcasts for children at the end of 2023 [2].