Mavala in the Press: What the Beauty Editors Actually Said
We have been making nail care in Geneva since 1958, and every so often somebody outside the building says something kind about it. This is the honest record of that: which publication, which product, and what they actually said, kept in one place so you do not have to take our word for any of it.
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Which publications have featured Mavala?
In May 2026 alone, Mavala products appeared in the Mail on Sunday and Mail Online, Marie Claire, HELLO!, Best, Inside Soap, Citizen Femme, Yorkshire Living, and across a large group of regional newspaper titles including the Sunday Mirror, Sunday Express, Sunday People and Daily Star Sunday.
The coverage below is grouped by product rather than by date, because that is how people actually look for it. If you want to know what the press said about one particular Mavala product, find it by name.
What did Marie Claire say about Mavala Ridge Filler?
Marie Claire featured Ridge Filler in a piece on nail ridges published on 8 May 2026, titled "Nail Ridges Are Normal, but Bothersome. Here's How To Treat and Disguise Them for Good". They described it as a "ridge-filling formula [that] evens the surface of the nail for a long-lasting manicure".
That is a fair description of what it is for. Ridges in the nail plate are extremely common and mostly harmless, and a smoothing base coat does not treat the cause. It fills and evens the surface so colour goes on flat and stays put. If your nails are ridged and your polish always looks bumpy, that is the product doing the job Marie Claire described.
What did the Mail on Sunday say about Mavala's nude shades?
The Mail on Sunday's Beauty Director Rosie Green chose Mavala's Mini Colour in 475 Ottawa, a nude, for a feature on the less-is-more manicure. It ran in print and on Mail Online on 24 May 2026 under the heading "Trending: the less-is-more mani", where she called it "a rare time when looking expensive costs less!".
The point being made there is about value, so it is worth saying plainly: the Mini Colours sit at the affordable end of the nail-polish shelf, well under ten pounds. We are not going to put an exact figure here because prices move and the product page is the place for that.
Which Mavala base coat did the national press pick up?
Hydra-Base Coat had the widest reach of anything we had in May 2026. It ran in a syndicated "RETAIL Therapy" feature between 3 and 5 May 2026 across the Daily Star Sunday, Sunday Mirror, Sunday Express and Sunday People, and then through a long list of regional titles: the Leicester Mercury, The Sentinel, Western Mail, Bath Chronicle, Birmingham Post, North Wales Daily Post, Birmingham Mail, Gloucestershire Echo, Derby Telegraph, Manchester Evening News, Grimsby Telegraph, Coventry Telegraph, Nottingham Post, Newcastle Evening Chronicle, Western Gazette, Somerset Guardian and Wells Journal.
That was a product placement rather than a review, so there is no quote to give you. What we can honestly say is that it was the single most widely syndicated Mavala product of the month.
Where is Mavala's nail expert quoted in the press?
Two placements in May 2026 quoted our in-house nail expert Lynn Mason rather than simply listing a product, which is the kind of coverage we care about most.
HELLO! ran a piece on 13 May 2026 titled "The Met Gala declared my favourite nail style 'out', but do I care?", which carried Lynn's comment. Best magazine ran Elsa McAlonan's beauty bargains column on 26 May 2026, featuring the Mini Colour shades Black and Silver Dream alongside Lynn's expert commentary.
Lynn has been with Mavala for fifteen years and is the person journalists ring when they want someone to explain what is actually happening to a nail, rather than just name a colour.
Has Mavala been covered as a brand, not just a product?
Yes. Citizen Femme featured Mavala on 13 May 2026 in "Around The World In Beauty: Discover The Best European Beauty Brands", covering the brand itself and our London presence rather than a single product.
That one matters to us more than a shade credit, because it puts Mavala where it belongs: among European beauty houses with a long record, rather than in a seasonal colour list.
Which Mavala shades have been picked out by name?
Beyond Ottawa, three more Mini Colour shades were named in May 2026 coverage.
Lisboa appeared in a "Must Haves" feature that ran on 14 May 2026 across a regional group including the Daily Post, The Chronicle, Llanelli Star, South Wales Echo, Manchester Evening News, The Journal, Hull Daily Mail, Coventry Telegraph, Grimsby Telegraph, Macclesfield Express, Stockport Express, Teesside Evening Gazette, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner, Cambridge News, Burton Mail and Nottingham Post.
Wichita appeared in Yorkshire Living's "Spring Refresh" on 1 May 2026. Black and Silver Dream appeared in Best on 26 May 2026.
Has Mavala been worn in Vogue?
According to our own record, yes. In November 2023 we reported that Olivia Colman appeared in the December issue of British Vogue wearing our Rococo red.
We want to be straight about the sourcing on this one. Olivia Colman was indeed a cover star of British Vogue's December 2023 issue, which is a matter of public record. The detail that the nail shade was Mavala Rococo comes from Mavala's own reporting at the time and we have not been able to point you at an independent source that confirms it. So treat it as our account rather than the magazine's.
Why does press coverage matter when you are choosing a nail product?
Honestly, on its own it does not matter very much. A shade credit in a colour round-up means a journalist liked the look of a bottle.
What is worth something is the narrower stuff: a beauty desk describing what a product does and getting it right, like the Marie Claire line on Ridge Filler, or a title ringing our nail expert for an explanation rather than a freebie. Those are the ones we have put a quote against above. Where there is no quote, we have said so instead of dressing a listing up as a review.
Frequently asked questions
Has Mavala been featured in Marie Claire? Yes. Marie Claire featured Mavala Ridge Filler on 8 May 2026 in an article about treating and disguising nail ridges, describing it as a "ridge-filling formula [that] evens the surface of the nail for a long-lasting manicure".
Which Mavala product has had the most press coverage? Hydra-Base Coat. In May 2026 it ran in a syndicated retail feature across four national Sunday titles and around seventeen regional newspapers, making it the most widely carried Mavala product of that month.
Who is Mavala's nail expert quoted in the press? Lynn Mason, Mavala's in-house nail expert of fifteen years. She was quoted in HELLO! and in Best magazine's beauty bargains column in May 2026.
Which Mavala nail shade did the Mail on Sunday feature? Mini Colour 475 Ottawa, a nude, chosen by Beauty Director Rosie Green for a feature on the less-is-more manicure on 24 May 2026.
Shop Mavala
Everything the press picked out above, in one place.
Mini Colours, the full shade range — where you will find Lisboa, Wichita, Black and Silver Dream, all named in May 2026 coverage.
Sources
Marie Claire, "Nail Ridges Are Normal, but Bothersome. Here's How To Treat and Disguise Them for Good", 8 May 2026. Mail on Sunday and Mail Online, "Trending: the less-is-more mani", 24 May 2026. HELLO!, "The Met Gala declared my favourite nail style 'out', but do I care?", 13 May 2026. Best, Elsa McAlonan beauty bargains column, 26 May 2026.
Citizen Femme, "Around The World In Beauty: Discover The Best European Beauty Brands", 13 May 2026. Inside Soap, "Beauty Box", 5 May 2026. Yorkshire Living, "Spring Refresh", 1 May 2026. "RETAIL Therapy" syndicated feature, 3 to 5 May 2026, national and regional titles. "Must Haves" syndicated feature, 14 May 2026, regional titles. Mavala UK, "SPOTTED Olivia Coleman Sparkles in Rococo Red!", 24 November 2023.
All May 2026 coverage above is recorded in the Spa PR Company's May 2026 monthly PR report and accompanying press cuttings, held by Mavala UK.
