butter Me Up!
By Melanie Parker
Billing themselves as "3 Free Nail Lacquer," butter LONDON is relatively new to the world of salon-quality nail color. And despite their name, they are based in Seattle, WA. If you are ever flying through Seattle or Sacramento, you may see a butter LONDON kiosk at the airport. Otherwise, you will want to check out their Web site (www.butterlondon.com). At $12 a bottle, 3 free nail polishes can get a little pricey. But if you are worried about the chemicals you are using in your beauty products, this is a safer alternative.
Since I had never seen the butter polishes in person and clicking on a Web site is so easy, I decided to grab the Fashionista's Favorites Autumn/Winter 2007 pack for $45. This seemed to offer a sampling of the season's best color trends.
Then, I added on the four other colors I was most curious about: Charlie Dickens, Teddy Boy, Thames, and Henley Regatta. Here are my thoughts on these colors:
Fash Pack: Hideous in the bottle--mushroom brown with navy veining. This swatches as a dark mushroom creme . I like it, but it definitely would appeal to those who love earth tones.
Chimney Sweep: The sleeper hit of the order. It's a dark gunmetal gray with mini-prismatic particles. It's like CND Hyde in the Dark with pixie dust!
Eastender: A pale cream sheer.
Mariner: A dark navy crème. It's almost black in the bottle and it is black in the swatch.
Queen Vic: A magenta crème polish. I bought this pack for this color and was disappointed that it is so similar to OPI All That Razz-berry.
Charlie Dickens: A slightly-lighter-than-Queen Vic berry crème. It's lovely, but again reminds me of OPI Chica-go Get a Manicure.
Teddy Boy: A lovely dusty rose neutral crème polish. I think this one is posh and elegant. It is classic, yet I don't have another polish that is like it.
Henley Regatta: A peacock blue glitter polish. I LOVE it!
Thames: A peacock blue shimmer polish. This one is such a disappointment. It was billed as a green, but it is definitely blue. I would normally think it is pretty, but NYX Jungle is prettier and a fraction of the cost.
Henley Regatta and Thames are so similar in hue. However, Henley Regatta is a glitter while Thames is a shimmer. You definitely don't need both of them.
Disclosure: All products reviewed in this post were purchased by the reviewer, Melanie Parker.
Labels: Butter, Melanie Parker Reviews, Product Purchase
posted by Annieytown @ 7:32 AM
10 Inspired Comments
10 Inspired Comments:
Happy Holidays!!!
Thanks for this review. I have been to the butter london website several times, and was going to order some, but they are not really that great. Thanks, again! You saved me some $$$!
Thank you for so many details. I love the non-toxicity and durability of the product--chips less and last longer.
Hello, Nonie Creme here, creator of the butter LONDON product line. Many thanks for the posting and comments, (even if some of them hurt my feelings!)
When I was working on our colour range, I spent a lot of time thinking about how nails relate to fashion. I didn’t want our range to be the typical “red, pink, and vamp” selection, (although they are in there too.) I looked at the last few seasons’ collections, thought about shoots I had done, celebs I had worked with, and how to tap the consumers’ desire for something unusual and high fashion, but not intimidating. I am extremely proud of our selection, which intentionally challenges the beauty norm, and asks the wearer to “take it to the next level”.
Fash Pack was the hit colour of the season for us in London, where EVERY beauty editor from Vogue to Glamour called in a bottle. It is edgy, unexpected, and off kilter. Very Fashionista. (Sasha Muir, our CEO and myself are Londoners, and Britain is a huge part of our brand.)
Thames is actually billed as a “blue-green” on our site, and I felt it was an important addition for those who might want the colour, but not the glitter.
butter LONDON lacquers DO NOT contain Formaldehyde, Toluene, or DBP. These toxic chemicals have been the industry standard for many years, despite the existence of European formulas that are far safer. As other companies rush to remove the toxins from their products, butter LONDON is proud to be the first to shed light on this dangerous and unethical practice.
I hope you enjoy wearing our beautiful non-toxic products, and wish you all the best!
Xoxo Nonie Creme
Hi Nonie Creme,
I read about ButterLondon and checked out your site. Your site is very nicely arranged and cool to look at.
I bought 6 bottles of polish (before the price jump) and they took over a month to arrive. Not that I expected standard shipping to mean overnight, but 5 weeks seemed excessive.
Fash Pack arrived completely separated in the bottle, which was disappointing, and as cute as the bottles look, the square lids filled with polish during shipping so the insides were gloppy. I had one broken bottle, and while customer service was really friendly, it was over a month before I got my replacement.
The squared lids and short brush make for tricky application as well as it is hard to tell how much polish has collected on the stem of the brush and in the lid before applying to the nail.
Your colors are fabulous, and I applaud the cancer-free formula, but Zoya does it better for $6 a bottle and they arrive in less than 10 days if you order online.
I love the idea of butter LONDON, but I'm finding their polishes to be a bit lacking! I blogged about my experience here, and I was a bit amused/bemused to see a comment in butter LONDON's favor from a seemingly unaffiliated gal whose IP address just happened to trace to their server. I prefer when employees openly identify themselves, like Nonie did here -- she sets a good example that her other gals should follow!
I'm a fan of the toxin-free high-fashion but low-risk concept. I just wish their formulations were a bit tougher and smoother overall, especially given their high price tag and awkward bottles. (Anyone else have trouble getting the cap to screw on without smudging your polish? I really had to fight with it!)
I agree that Fash Pack is kinda scary-looking at first, but I like it for my toenails -- bold and different but still not bright glittery turquoise, ya know? And I love that the butter LONDON line subtler job-interview shades as well as some wilder stuff like Jaffa.
I'm glad their Turn In your Toxins promo allowed me to sample butter LONDON's polishes without paying full price, but I'm not sure if I'll be purchasing more. One thing I'll DEFINITELY steer clear of is their Melt Away cuticle remover -- I read the label in the store, and the active ingredient is sodium hydroxide, aka lye! Very harsh and drying, and fairly toxic in large doses (like through the hyper-absorbent nail bed...). I'll be sticking with my own homemade salicylic acid formula, which is much gentler and less poisonous! Surprised to see this active ingredient from a company that prides itself for toxin-free polishes.
OMG!
I ordered this product last month!!! When is it going to get here?? Nonie Creme, if you're reading this, please explain the loooong wait time for your product!
I mean do you really think I'm going to ever order from you again.
i, too, got my polishes during turn in your toxins and was completely blown away by the quality. they dry RIDICULOUSLY fast, and dont streak at all which is great because i have absolutely no coordination whatsoever and pretty much ruin anything i get my hands on. (and then i reapply a hundred times, wasting toooons of polish..) also fabulous is the pigmentation - i have princes plums, a SUPER purple purple, and i only needed two coats! one if i was a little more competent but i think that dexterity takes time. anyhow, yes there is a minor flaw - the polish peels off my nails! maybe my nails are like teflon or something haha but a good base coat (i use mavala's) remedies the problem! i hope that somebody else's experience is as pleasant as i was, becuase i plan to buy some when i get the chance (even though they are pretty darn expensive haha.) hope that helps :)
It's nice to see that Butter London is consistent with their ridiculously long delivery times. I was so excited to order three of their beautiful colours! $44.50 seemed a bit much, but for I figured it was worth the lack of toxins.
That was in August. It's now nearing October and I've called and e-mailed but have yet to receive the polish, a refund, or even a response. I bought OPI's toxin-free colours (for far less) at my local nail salon and look forward to getting my money back from Butter London.
I feel your pain!! I went with OPI also. Same thing, no toxins, much less $$$ and I get to use my discount at Sephora!! So everything worked out beautifully...
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