Frequently asked questions
Which lines are in the summer gel collection?
Seven. LAVIS brings 78 shades and carries the bright core, Apres 43 muted editorial tones for clients who want summer without neon, LDS 42 from the value chart including its summer grouping, V Beauty Pure 33 everyday wearable colours, Chaun Legend 27 saturated shades, OPI 11 named seasonal colours, and DND Diva one. Forty-six of the 235 are out of stock at the time of writing. Named groupings inside the page include Summer Breeze with 29 shades and Sweet Pastel Bright with 25.
Why does a bright gel set dent or peel within days?
Almost always because it was laid too thick. Saturated pigment blocks light, so a heavy coat of a neon or a deep bright does not cure through and stays soft under the top coat, which shows as denting, wrinkling, or peeling. Two thin coats fully cured beat one generous coat every time. The other two causes are sunscreen, whose oils soften the surface of a top coat, and a free edge that was not capped, which is where sand and water start the wear in summer.
How do sheer and jelly shades work on a summer wall?
They read as summer because they look like glass over a tanned hand, and they are the easiest way to sell a soft set that does not look bare. Expect three thin coats rather than two, cap the free edge every pass because a sheer shows the edge line, and layer them over a base colour to control depth, which is how one bottle gives several looks. Milky whites stain fastest over a yellowed plate, so put a cover base underneath them.
Which summer shades are worth stocking deep?
Coral and orange, because every wall runs short of both by August, plus one true white, which makes the colours beside it read brighter and acts as the base under every neon. Then the crossovers: 54 shades here are also tagged for spring, 50 for winter, and 22 for fall, and those work most of the year. Novelty brights are bought one bottle deep and displayed while current. Sixteen listings carry the clearance tag, so they sell until gone at the regular price and are not reordered.
What is in the summer gel collection
235 gel polish shades at wholesale, tagged for summer and drawn from seven lines: LAVIS with 78 listings, Apres with 43, LDS with 42, V Beauty Pure with 33, Chaun Legend with 27, OPI with 11, and one from DND Diva. Forty-six are out of stock as this page was written. Everything here is gel colour on its own rather than a duo, so this is the page for a salon that runs a gel wall and buys lacquer separately.
The lines and what each does in summer
| Line | Shades | Character |
|---|---|---|
| LAVIS | 78 | The bright core, including the pastel-bright group and the solid colour chart |
| Apres | 43 | Muted, editorial tones for clients who want summer without neon |
| LDS | 42 | The value chart, including the LDS summer grouping |
| V Beauty Pure | 33 | Everyday wearable colour, the shades booked without a consultation |
| Chaun Legend | 27 | Saturated colour with names like It is Giving, Pretty in Pink, and Artist Pass |
| OPI | 11 | Named seasonal shades clients arrive asking for |
Named groupings inside the page include Summer Breeze with 29 shades, the LAVIS Sweet Pastel Bright group with 25, the LDS summer colours with 16, and Tea Party with 19.
The two halves of a summer wall
Summer colour splits into loud and wearable, and a salon needs both. The loud half is coral, watermelon, orange, turquoise, lime, and hot pink, plus the neons that pop under a camera flash; these sell the accent nail, the holiday set, and the photo that goes on social media. The wearable half is sand, soft peach, milky pink, and a clean sheer white, which is what the same client books when she goes back to work. A wall that is all brights loses the second booking, and a wall with no brights loses the first.
Sheer, jelly, and milky finishes
- Sheers and jellies read as summer because they look like glass over a tanned hand, and they are the easiest way to sell a soft set without it looking bare.
- They need more coats. Three thin passes is normal, and the free edge will still show a line unless it is capped each time.
- Layer them over a base colour to control the depth, which is also how a salon gets several looks from one bottle.
- Milky whites stain fastest against a yellowed plate, so a cover base goes underneath.
- Keep one true white on the wall in summer: it makes every colour beside it read brighter and it is the base under every neon.
Building the summer gel wall
- Start from last July. The shades that were rebooked are the spine; the new drops are the decoration.
- Add a coral and an orange. They are the two families every summer wall runs short of by August.
- Add three or four brights as a set. Grouped on the display they read as a collection and photograph together.
- Add two wearable neutrals. The sand and milky pink that hold the weekday bookings.
- Keep one white and one sheer. Both do double duty as bases and as finishes.
- Write the number on the client card. Summer shades look alike in a holiday photograph.
Why a bright gel set fails early
Almost always because it was laid too thick. Saturated pigment blocks light, so a heavy coat of a neon or a deep bright does not cure through and stays soft under the top, which shows up as a set that dents, wrinkles, or peels within days. Two thin coats, fully cured, beat one generous coat every time. The second cause is sunscreen, which softens the surface of a top coat, and the third is a free edge that was not capped, which is where summer wear starts because of sand and water.
Shades that stay past August
At ND many shades carry more than one season tag, and on this page 54 are also tagged for spring, 50 for winter, and 22 for fall. Those crossovers are the shades worth buying in depth: a milky pink or a sand works most of the year, and a deep coral moves into autumn without looking out of place. The narrow novelty brights are bought one bottle deep and displayed while they are current. Sixteen listings here also carry the clearance tag, which means they sell at their regular price until the stock is gone and are not reordered.
Accent nails and the summer upsell
The reliable summer upsell is not a second full colour but a single finger: a chrome tip, a fine glitter, a hand-painted wave over a bright, or a sheer jelly over a solid. It adds a few minutes to the appointment, it is the nail that gets photographed, and it gives the client a reason to book again in three weeks rather than four. A salon that keeps one shimmer, one glitter, and one chrome beside the summer wall sells that add-on without a conversation about price.
Curing and lamp discipline in a hot salon
Heat changes how gel behaves. A warm room thins the gel in the bottle, which makes coats go on heavier than intended, and a lamp that has been running all day is hotter inside, which makes a thick coat of a dark shade spike on a sensitive client. Two habits fix both: keep the bottles out of the sun and away from the window, and on deep or neon shades use two thin coats with a moment out of the lamp partway through the cure for clients who feel heat. Wipe the lamp's interior weekly as well, because cured residue on the reflective surface cuts the output that a bright shade needs most.
Showing colour to a client with a tan
Skin changes over a summer and the wall does not, which is why a client who loved a shade in May sometimes rejects it in August. Warmer skin pushes cool pastels towards grey and makes corals, oranges, and warm pinks look richer, so the consultation is worth redoing rather than repeating from the client card. Lay the swatch tip flat against the finger in daylight rather than holding a bottle up, and offer two options from the same family instead of ten from across the wall.
The same logic applies to the pedicure. Feet are usually paler than hands even on a tanned client, so a shade that looks correct on the fingers can read heavier on the toes. Showing both at the start of the appointment takes thirty seconds and prevents the repaint at the end of it.
Wholesale pricing at ND Nails Supply
Every gel colour on this page ships at wholesale pricing for everyone, with no business license, no minimum order, and no membership fee. Free shipping on orders $100+, and in-stock bottles ordered before 2pm PT on weekdays leave the same day.