Frequently asked questions
What is a DND or DC color swatch stick?
A clear plastic fan of 36 tips, each machine-painted with one numbered DND Duo or DND DC Duo shade and printed with its number and name, covering a run of 36 consecutive numbers; the DND stick 05, for example, runs 546 through 581. A client picks the shade from the tip and the tech pulls that number from the wall. The sticks are sold singly or as full sets of 11 (DND) and 9 (DC).
Is the full set of swatch sticks cheaper than the single sticks?
Yes, when it is in stock: the DND set of 11 and the DC set of 9 are priced below the same count of single sticks, checked on the day of writing. Both full-set options are waiting on a restock at the time of writing, so a salon that needs a whole wall today orders the sticks as singles, which sit at one price each.
What is in the OPI Display Sample Swatch Set?
Seven OPI display fans covering the brand's formats: GelColor, Infinite Shine, Nail Lacquer, and Powder Perfection. It is the sample set for a salon that books OPI by name and wants every format shown at the desk; the GelColor and Nail Lacquer fans held together sell the fingers-and-toes match.
Are there swatches for DND Diva or other brands?
Not on this page. The sticks cover the DND Duo and DND DC Duo lines and the OPI set covers OPI; DND Diva numbers are charted from the bottle caps or from a practice hand painted at the desk. Because each stick carries its own line's numbers, a DND stick does not stand in for a DC or Diva number.
How should swatch sticks be stored and cleaned?
Hang them in number order out of direct sunlight, which yellows the top coat and warms the pale tips, and wipe them with a dry cloth rather than acetone, which strips the paint. A chipped or bent stick is replaced by number as a single rather than as a whole set, and a second stick of the best-selling range at the desk keeps the wall copy on its hook.
Nail color samples: machine-painted DND and DC swatch sticks and the OPI display set
This page holds the color samples ND Nails Supply sells for the salon wall: 19 active listings of machine-painted swatch sticks for the DND Duo and DND DC Duo lines, sold singly or as full sets, plus the OPI display swatch set. A swatch stick is a clear plastic fan of 36 painted tips, one per numbered duo, with the number and name printed under each tip, a run of 36 consecutive numbers that lines up with the Part sets of the line; the DND Duo stick 05, for example, runs 546 through 581. Because the tips are painted by machine with the actual polish, a client picks a shade from the swatch rather than from a bottle cap or a screen, and the number under the tip is the number the tech pulls from the wall. The OPI set is a different format: seven display fans covering GelColor, Infinite Shine, Nail Lacquer, and Powder Perfection. Everything is wholesale-priced for everyone, no license and no minimum.
What is on this page
| Listing | Count | What arrives |
|---|---|---|
| DND Duo Color Swatches, single stick | 8 listings | One 36-tip stick: 01, 03, 05, 06, 07, 08, 10, or the 2016 stick |
| DND Duo Color Swatches Set | 1 listing | The full set of 11 sticks, or any single stick 01 to 10 and 2016 as an option |
| DC Duo Color Swatches, single stick | 8 listings | One 36-tip stick, 1 through 8 |
| DC Duo Color Swatches Set | 1 listing | The full set of 9 sticks, or any single stick as an option |
| OPI Display Sample Swatch Set | 1 listing | Seven OPI display fans: GelColor, Infinite Shine, Nail Lacquer, and Powder Perfection |
None of the 19 listings are out of stock at the time of writing, although the full-set options of the two DND sets are waiting on a restock, so a salon that needs all eleven DND or all nine DC sticks today orders them as singles. The single DND and DC swatch sticks sit at one price; the full sets, when in stock, are priced below the same count of singles (checked on the day of writing), which makes them the one order for a new wall.
Why a salon buys the swatch stick rather than painting its own
- The color is the real polish. Each tip is machine-painted with the duo it stands for, at full coverage, so the swatch reads the way the second coat reads on the nail. A hand-painted chart drifts with the tech's coat thickness.
- The number is on the tip. The number and name are printed under every tip, so the client says 552 and the tech pulls 552; no bottle-cap matching, no wrong shade after the fact.
- One stick per run of numbers. A stick covers 36 consecutive numbers, about one Part set of duos, so a salon that buys DND or DC by the Part buys the stick of the same range and the wall and the chart stay in step.
- Hours saved. Painting 36 tips by hand, two coats and a top, is an afternoon per stick; the machine-painted stick arrives ready to hang.
Building the color wall from the sticks
- Match the sticks to the wall. For every DND Part or DC Part on the shelf, hang the stick of the same number range; a salon with Parts 1 to 6 hangs sticks 01 to 06.
- Hang them in number order. Sticks in order let a client browse from the sheers to the darks the way the line is numbered, and let the tech find a number without reading every tip.
- Keep a desk copy. A second stick of the best-selling Part stays at the desk for the phone booking and the walk-in, so the wall copy is never off its hook.
- Add the OPI set at the front. The seven OPI fans cover the brand's formats in one place for the client who books OPI by name; a salon shows the GelColor fan and the matching Nail Lacquer fan together for a fingers-and-toes match.
- Refresh with the line. When a new Part is added to the wall, order its stick in the same cart; the stick is the fastest way to start selling the new numbers.
DND stick, DC stick, or OPI set
| Sample | Covers | Buy it for |
|---|---|---|
| DND Duo swatch stick | 36 DND duo numbers per stick, 11 sticks in the set | A salon whose wall is built on DND original |
| DC Duo swatch stick | 36 DC duo numbers per stick, 9 sticks in the set | A salon that runs the DC line and its seasonal drops |
| OPI display set | Seven fans across GelColor, Infinite Shine, Nail Lacquer, and Powder Perfection | A salon that books OPI by name and needs every format shown |
The DND Diva line has no stick on this page; a salon that runs Diva charts those numbers from the bottle caps or from a practice hand painted at the desk, and uses the DND and DC sticks for the two lines they cover.
Reading a swatch against the bottle
A machine-painted tip shows the polish itself at an even coverage, which is how the shade reads on a natural nail; a sheer number will read sheer on the tip as it does on the hand. Cream shades match the bottle closely, glitters read as their base color on the tip with the glitter visible under the top, and a shimmer reads lighter on a flat tip than on a curved nail. When a client hesitates between two neighbouring tips, paint both on her thumbnails from the wall bottles, because the stick sits under salon light and her hands will be seen in daylight. Numbers printed on the stick are the line's numbers, so a stick from one line does not stand in for another.
Care and storage
The sticks are polish on plastic and last for years hung out of direct sunlight; a stick left in a sunny window yellows on the top coat and the pale tips read warmer than the bottle. Wipe them with a dry cloth, never acetone, which strips the tip. If a tip chips or a client bends the fan, the single stick is replaced by number rather than the whole set. The OPI fans hang on their ring and stay together; split them by format only if the salon runs a separate lacquer station.
Wholesale pricing at ND Nails Supply
Every color sample on this page is wholesale-priced for everyone, with no business license, no minimum order, and no membership fee. The single DND and DC sticks sit at one price, the full sets below the same count of singles when they are in stock, and the OPI display set on its own tier for seven fans. Free shipping on orders $100+, and in-stock sticks ordered before 2pm PT on weekdays leave the same day; a swatch stick added to a color order ships with the bottles.