Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a Chisel S code and an OM code?
An S code is a solid: one 2 oz jar, one shade, numbered in release order rather than by color family, so two neighboring numbers are not necessarily neighboring colors. An OM code belongs to the ombre collection, where the number names a pair and the A and B jars are the two powders built to blend into each other. The pair can be a deep and a pale value of one family, or two different hues that share a grind and a shimmer so the fade stays smooth. When only one half of an OM pair is listed, that jar still works as a solid color.
Can these jars be used for acrylic as well as dip?
Yes, that is what 2-in-1 means. On the dip side the jar needs no lamp: bonder, a thin base, dip the nail, tap, brush, repeat for two or three layers, then activator, file, buff, and top coat. On the acrylic side the same powder is picked up as a bead with EMA monomer on a size 10 to 20 brush and sculpted over a form or a tip, which is the route for length and for clients who are hard on product. Keep separate jars and separate brushes for the two stations, because a drop of monomer in a dip jar clumps the powder.
What does the clearance tag on the Chisel powders mean at ND?
It means the shade is sold until the stock is gone and is not reordered. The price is the regular wholesale price, there is no markdown attached to the tag, and the jars are the same product they have always been. Practically it changes how a salon buys: back up the codes that are already in rotation, take ombre pairs whole while both halves exist, and plan the replacement shade from a line that is still produced so the Chisel jars can be used up instead of rationed.
What size are the jars, and is there a salon size?
The color jars are 2 oz, the standard desk size for a dip or acrylic station. Three codes are also listed as 12 oz salon refills for the shade a station repeats every day, and those live on the Chisel pink and white page. A 2 oz jar is right for a color that appears once or twice a week; the refill is right for the daily nude, white, or French shade that empties a desk jar in a month.
What the Chisel powder catalog holds at ND
This page is the powder side of Chisel Nail Art: 252 listings of 2-in-1 acrylic and dipping powder, every jar 2 oz, in one flat wholesale price for the colors. The catalog splits three ways. The ombre collection carries 138 jars coded OM001 through OM102, most of them in A and B halves. The solid collection carries 111 jars coded with an S and a number, running from the low S-numbers up to S286. Three salon refills of 12 oz round it out for the shades a busy station burns through. Every color jar here carries the clearance tag, which at ND means the shade is sold until it is gone and then not restocked; prices are the regular wholesale prices, so there is nothing to wait for and nothing to compare against.
The three groups on this page
| Group | Listings | Format | What a salon uses it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ombre collection (OM codes) | 138 | 2 oz jar, most codes in an A and a B jar | Graduated fades, baby-boomer French, two-tone sets |
| Solid collection (S codes) | 111 | 2 oz jar, one jar per shade | Full-color dip sets, acrylic overlays, encapsulated color |
| Salon refills | 3 | 12 oz jar of a single code | The one or two shades a station repeats every day |
Forty-five of the 252 jars are out of stock as this page was written, which is what a range in run-out looks like: the chart stays on the page so a tech can still read a code off a client card, and the jars that remain are the ones worth backing up.
Reading an OM code and an S code
The code is the whole language of this brand. An S code is a solid: one jar, one shade, numbered in release order rather than by color family, so S102 and S104 sit next to each other on the chart without being neighbors on the color wheel. An OM code is an ombre: the number names the pair, and the A and the B jar are the two powders meant to blend into each other. The pair is not always a light and a dark of one color. OM043 is a deep rose with gold shimmer beside a pale pink with the same shimmer, so the fade stays inside one family. OM086 runs a yellow glitter into a green glitter, so the fade crosses from one hue to the next. Both work because the two powders share a grind and a shimmer, which is the part a tech cannot judge from a swatch photo.
Some OM numbers are listed with only one half in stock. That single jar still works as a solid color, and it still blends against any other powder of a similar grind, but the coded partner is the one guaranteed to fade cleanly, so a salon that runs ombre daily takes both halves while both halves exist.
Finishes on the Chisel chart
- Cream. Flat, opaque color with no sparkle, the base of any French, any full-color set, and any design that needs a clean field to sit on.
- Shimmer. Fine metallic particles suspended in the color, which read as a soft glow under salon light rather than as glitter; most of the ombre pairs are built this way so the two halves catch light the same.
- Glitter. Visible flake in a tinted base, used for the tip of a fade, an accent finger, or a full set for a client who wants sparkle without loose glitter on the brush.
- Neon and bright. High-chroma colors that need two to three layers to reach full opacity, the same as any bright pigment in a powder system.
One jar, two services
A 2-in-1 powder is bought once and used at two stations. On the dip side the jar needs no lamp: a bonder on the bare plate, a thin base, the nail into the powder at an angle, tap, brush the excess, repeat for a second and usually a third layer, then activator, file, buff, and top. That route suits shorter nails and a client who wants to be out of the chair quickly. On the acrylic side the same jar is picked up as a bead with EMA monomer on a size 10 to 20 brush and sculpted over a form or a tip. That route is the one for length and for a client who breaks product, because a sculpted bead is denser than a dipped layer and holds an apex the dip layer cannot.
The practical rule in a salon that runs both: keep the dip jars and the acrylic jars on separate trays even when the shade is the same. One drop of monomer in a dip jar clumps the powder, and a brush that has been in dip base ruins a bead.
Building a shade wall from a range that is not restocked
- Pull the client cards first. Write down every Chisel code the salon has used in the last three months. Those codes are the shopping list, not the prettiest jars on the chart.
- Double the repeaters. Any code a tech reaches for weekly gets two jars, because the second one is the whole notice a salon gets before the shade is gone.
- Take ombre pairs whole. A fade needs both halves; half a pair is a solid color with a confusing label.
- Move the daily shade to the 12 oz refill. A station that does the same nude or the same French every day empties a 2 oz jar fast, and the refill is the format for that slot.
- Fill the gaps from a restocked line. Anything the salon needs permanently belongs on a line that is still produced, so the Chisel jars can be spent instead of rationed.
Stamped nail art with color powder
Chisel built its name on stamped designs cut into uncured powder with Chisel Nail Art 3D stamps, and the powders on this page are the ones that stamp. The design reads by contrast, so the pairing matters more than the shade: a white or pale cream stamped over a saturated solid, a dark stamped over a nude, a shimmer stamped over a flat cream so the pattern catches light while the field stays quiet. Work the base color to full opacity and set it before laying the second powder, press the stamp while that second layer is still soft, then top and activate. A glitter powder is the wrong choice for the stamped layer because the flake fills the cut edges and the shape loses its line.
When a code sells out, matching it on the wall
The swatch method costs an hour and saves a year of guessing. Paint one stick per Chisel code the salon still uses, lay each stick beside the nearest shade from a line that is still restocked, and write both numbers on the client card: the Chisel code the client knows and the replacement number the tech will actually open. When the Chisel jar runs out, nothing is announced and nothing is re-matched at the chair. Keep the sticks in code order in a drawer at the dip station, not in a folder in the office, because the substitution has to happen in the ten seconds before a set starts.
Do not lean on cross-brand color matching between a powder and a gel or lacquer of the same number. Matching percentages hold inside a line that was formulated together; across brands a code is just a code.
Jar care and storage
- Close a jar the moment the dip is done. Powder that sits open takes on moisture, and damp powder drags on the brush and cures gritty.
- Never dip a client's nail into a house jar. Pour into a sanitizing tray or a small pot and return the unused powder through a sifter.
- Store the jars away from the acetone shelf and out of direct sun, upright, lids fully seated.
- Label the lid with the code, not the color name. On a clearance range the code is the only thing that survives the shade.
- Keep one clean soft brush for dusting the nail between layers and never let it touch base or monomer.
Wholesale pricing at ND Nails Supply
Every Chisel jar on this page ships at wholesale pricing for everyone, with no business license, no minimum order, and no membership fee. The clearance-tagged shades sell at their regular wholesale price until the stock is gone and are not reordered. Free shipping on orders $100+, and in-stock jars ordered before 2pm PT on weekdays leave the same day.