Frequently asked questions
Which lines are on the summer lacquer page?
Three. LAVIS brings 78 bottles and carries the colour core plus the matching half of gel shades many salons already run, LDS 54 value-priced numbers such as Breakfast at Tiffany's, Just Peachy, and Lavender Ballad, and OPI 44 from the named drops clients ask for and buy to take home. Twenty-seven of the 176 are out of stock at the time of writing. Twenty-nine bottles belong to the Summer Breeze grouping, which is worth displaying as a set rather than filing by number.
Why do summer pedicures print or peel?
Four causes, in order. Oil under the base coat, usually from lotion applied during the massage rather than after the colour. Heat, because a lacquer laid in a hot room skins over and stays soft underneath, so it prints inside a shoe an hour later even though it felt dry. A thickened top coat, which drags the colour below it and never fully hardens. And sunscreen, whose oils soften any air-dry film within days. Toe separators until the client leaves prevent most of the rest.
How should the pedicure rack differ from the manicure wall?
Pedicure clients choose stronger colours than they wear on their hands, keep them longer, and often pick shades they would never wear to work, so the rack in front of the chairs should be built on its own. Coral, watermelon, orange, turquoise, hot pink, and a clean red carry most bookings, with a nude and a soft pink for clients who want tidy rather than loud. Toe colours are used at a fraction of the hand chart's rate, so hold a wide palette in small quantities and keep depth in two or three repeats.
Which summer lacquers are worth buying deep?
The crossovers and the classics. On this page 43 bottles are also tagged for spring, 40 for winter, and 29 for fall, and a coral, a clean red, and a soft nude are ordered in every month of the year. Sixteen listings carry the clearance tag, which means they sell at their regular price until the stock is gone and are not reordered, so anything going onto a client's card should either be a restocked shade or bought in pairs from the start.
What is in the summer nail lacquer collection
176 air-dry lacquers at wholesale, tagged for summer and drawn from three lines: LAVIS with 78 bottles, LDS with 54, and OPI with 44. Twenty-seven are out of stock as this page was written. These are the bottles behind the busiest service of the year, because from June onwards the pedicure chair sets the pace in most salons and the pedicure chair runs on lacquer.
The lines and where they sit
| Line | Bottles | Role on a summer rack |
|---|---|---|
| LAVIS | 78 | The colour core, and the matching half of gel shades many salons already run |
| LDS | 54 | Value-priced numbers such as Breakfast at Tiffany's, Just Peachy, and Lavender Ballad |
| OPI | 44 | The named drops clients ask for and buy to take home |
Twenty-nine bottles belong to the Summer Breeze grouping and 19 to Tea Party, which are the two sets worth displaying together rather than filing into the rack by number.
Throughput is the whole game in July
A summer pedicure column lives or dies on how fast a chair turns over, and the lacquer service is what makes that possible: no lamp, no cure cycles, no soak-off appointment three weeks later. The practical gains come from sequencing rather than speed. Prep and file every nail before any colour goes on, keep the top coat within reach rather than in a drawer, and use the drying minutes at the end of one client to start the soak for the next. A salon that saves four minutes per pedicure gains a chair's worth of bookings across a Saturday.
Sandal season, and the part before the colour
- Heels and calluses. A summer pedicure is judged on the skin as much as on the polish, and the callus work is what gets rebooked.
- Toe shape. Cut straight across and file the corners lightly; short and square wears better inside a sandal than a rounded shape.
- Cuticle work last. Oil goes on after the colour, never before, or nothing sticks.
- A dry plate. Wipe each nail with remover after the soak, because water left under the base is the most common cause of a pedicure that peels in a week.
- Toe separators until fully dry. Most summer pedicure complaints are print marks from a shoe, not chips.
A lacquer pedicure that survives a pool
- Prep dry. Soak, shape, callus work, then wipe every nail with remover so no oil or cream is left.
- Base coat. One thin coat over the whole plate, which is what stops staining from reds, corals, and neons.
- Two colour coats. Thin, each allowed to set, capping the free edge on both.
- Third coat only if needed. Pale shades and neons need it, dark shades laid three times stay soft for an hour.
- Top coat generously. Over the whole nail and across the edge, which is where pool water and sand get in.
- Dry properly. Still air, then drying drops, then separators until the client leaves.
The summer rack in front of the chairs
Pedicure clients choose stronger colours than they wear on their hands, keep them longer, and often pick a shade they would never choose for the office, which is why the rack in front of the pedicure chairs should be built separately from the manicure wall. Coral, watermelon, orange, turquoise, hot pink, and a clean red carry most of the bookings, with a nude and a soft pink for clients who want their toes tidy rather than loud. Because toe colours are used at a fraction of the rate of the hand chart, a salon can hold a wide pedicure palette in small quantities and keep depth only in the two or three shades that repeat.
Retail is easier in summer than at any other time
Lacquer is the one colour format a salon can sell across the counter without teaching the client anything, and summer is when she is most likely to buy: she is going away, she wants a touch-up bottle, and she has just watched the shade go on her own toes. Keep the retail bottles physically separate from the service bottles so a half-used bottle never reaches a client, write the shade name on the receipt so a repeat order takes seconds, and keep the two or three best sellers at the desk rather than on the far wall.
Where a summer lacquer set goes wrong
Oil under the base coat is first, usually from lotion applied during the massage rather than after the colour. Heat is second: a lacquer laid in a hot room skins over and stays soft underneath, so the set prints in a shoe an hour later even though it felt dry. Third is a thickened top coat, which drags the colour beneath it and never fully hardens; that bottle should be replaced rather than thinned with remover, which breaks the formula. Fourth is sunscreen, whose oils soften the surface of any air-dry film within days.
Shades that stay on the rack past August
At ND many bottles carry more than one season tag, and on this page 43 are also tagged for spring, 40 for winter, and 29 for fall. Those crossovers are the shades to buy deep, because a coral, a clean red, and a soft nude are ordered all year. Sixteen listings here carry the clearance tag, which means the shade sells at its regular wholesale price until the stock is gone and is not reordered, so a bottle that goes onto a client's card should either be restocked or bought in pairs.
Storing lacquer in a hot salon
Heat and light are what age a lacquer rack. Keep the display out of the window and away from the door where the afternoon sun lands, wipe every bottle neck with remover before the cap goes on so it seats cleanly, and stand the bottles upright. Roll rather than shake before use, since shaking puts bubbles into the first coat. A bottle that has thickened is replaced or corrected with a proper thinner, never with remover, which leaves a set that stays soft and marks in a shoe.
Matching toes to a gel manicure
Inside one line the lacquer and its gel twin are pigmented together, so the match is close, but the two finishes never read identically: gel cures harder and glossier and looks a shade deeper, which is most obvious in pastels, sheers, and neons. Two coats of lacquer often need a third to sit level with two coats of gel. Across lines there is no match at all, so a shade promised on the hands should be finished with the same brand on the toes rather than with the nearest bottle by eye.
Wholesale pricing at ND Nails Supply
Every bottle on this page ships at wholesale pricing for everyone, with no business license, no minimum order, and no membership fee. Free shipping on orders $75+, and in-stock bottles ordered before 2pm PT on weekdays leave the same day.