Frequently asked questions about nail art
What nail art supplies does ND carry?
More than 700 live products across every add-on category: chrome powders, transfer foils, glitters, flakes, and dried flowers for finishes; line art gel, painting and emboss gel, Pat Pat ombre gel, marble ink, and spider gel for hand-painted work; rhinestones, charms, 3D charm molds, and sequins for dimension; stickers and stamp plates for quick designs; and the wax pens, silicone tools, rhinestone gels, and non-sticky gel that make placement and sealing fast. Each category has its own page linked from this hub.
In what order does nail art go on?
Art goes on a finished, cured color and the top coat goes on last. Finish effects (chrome, foil, glitter, flakes) sit over the cured color and under the top; chrome and foil need a tacky or dedicated base layer. Painted art cures like gel and is sealed with top coat. Rhinestones, charms, and sequins are set in rhinestone or non-sticky gel, cured, and sealed around the base, never over the face of a stone. Stickers and stamped designs go on a cured or dried color and under top coat.
What should a salon stock first for nail art?
The upcharge items clients ask for by name: a chrome powder with chrome base, a 12-grid rhinestone box, a French stencil or stamp plate, and line art gel in black and white. Add the reusable tools once (wax pen, silicone press tool, rhinestone gel, non-sticky gel), then one effect per season: foils and glitter for the holidays, dried flowers and flakes for spring and summer, marble ink and cat eye for fall.
Which brands make the gel-based art lines?
LAVIS (chrome and aurora powders, Pat Pat Gel, line art gel, rhinestone gel, non-sticky gel), LDS (line art gel, rhinestone gel), and A'DOR (Pat Pat cushion ombre palettes, marble ink, mirror and spider gels). The decoration and tool range, such as rhinestone sets, sequins, stickers, molds, foils, and wax pens, is sourced by ND for salon use and sold under the ND listing.
Is nail art sold at wholesale?
Yes. Every nail art product at ND Nails Supply is wholesale-priced for everyone, with no business license, no minimum order, and no membership fee. Most items are light and low-cost, so they add to a gel, lamp, or tool order without affecting shipping. Orders $100+ ship free, and in-stock items ordered before 2pm PT on weekdays leave the same day.
Nail art supplies, every category in one place
This is the nail art hub at ND Nails Supply: more than 700 live products across every add-on a salon sells on top of a manicure. Chrome powders, foils, glitters, flakes, and dried flowers for finishes; line art gel, painting gel, Pat Pat ombre gel, and spider gel for hand-painted work; rhinestones, charms, 3D charm molds, and sequins for dimension; stickers and stamp plates for designs in minutes; and the wax pens, brushes, and rhinestone gels that make placement fast. LAVIS, LDS, and A'DOR carry the gel-based art lines; the rest is the tool and decoration range ND sources for salons. Every category below has its own page with the full listing, and the sidebar filters this hub by type, brand, and price.
The nail art categories at ND
| Category | What is in it | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome nail powder | LAVIS chrome and aurora powders, pearl chromes, chrome base | Mirror, aurora, and pearl finishes rubbed over cured gel |
| Nail foil | Transfer foils in metallic, holographic, and patterned rolls | Foil accents over foil gel or tacky top |
| Nail art glitter | Fine, medium, and chunky glitter jars and mixes | Glitter fades, encapsulation, full glitter nails |
| Nail sequins | 6-grid sequin sets, holographic shapes, mixed glitter sequins | Sequin accents sealed under top coat |
| Nail flakes | Opal, aurora, and shell flakes | Aquarium and opal effects under a jelly or clear layer |
| Dried flowers | Pressed flower sets (GH series) | Encapsulated florals in clear builder or jelly |
| Rhinestones | 12-grid flat-back sets, 3D sharp diamonds, bead mixes, wax pens, rhinestone gel | Accent stones, French smiles, bling nails |
| 3D nail charm molds | Silicone molds for bows, flowers, hearts, seashells, letters, and more | Casting custom 3D charms in gel or acrylic |
| Nail stickers | 3D and 5D self-adhesive stickers, flat decals, stencils | Designs in minutes, no painting |
| Nail stamp plates | Etched stainless steel plates | Repeatable patterns with stamping polish |
| Line art gel | LDS and LAVIS fine-tip line gels | Outlines, French lines, lettering |
| Painting and emboss gel | Pigmented painting gels and emboss gels | Hand-painted florals and raised 3D designs |
| Pat Pat Gel | LAVIS and A'DOR cushion ombre gel palettes | Ombre, aura, and blush nails with a sponge |
| A'DOR marble ink and spider gels | Marble inks, mirror and spider gels | Marble, web, and mirror-line effects |
| Non-sticky gel | Clear non-sticky gel for encapsulation and 3D work | Sealing flakes, flowers, and charms |
| Design accessories | Wax pens, silicone tools, French seals, rhinestone glue gels, charm sets | Placement and sealing tools |
How the categories fit together in a service
- Finish effects (chrome, foil, glitter, flakes): go on over a cured color and under a top coat. Chrome and foil need a tacky or dedicated base layer; glitter and flakes sit in a thin clear layer.
- Painted art (line art, painting gel, marble ink, spider gel): goes on over a cured color, cures like any gel, and is sealed with a top coat.
- Dimension (rhinestones, charms, 3D molds, sequins): set in rhinestone gel or non-sticky gel, cured, and sealed around the base rather than over the face.
- Quick designs (stickers, stamp plates): applied to a cured or dried base color and sealed under top coat.
The rule that runs through all of them: art goes on a finished, cured color, and the top coat goes on last. Art placed into wet color or over an unsealed top coat is the reason most designs fail early.
Stocking nail art for a salon
- Start with the upcharge items clients ask for by name: a chrome powder and chrome base, a 12-grid rhinestone box, a French stencil or stamp plate, and a line art gel in black and white. Those four cover most add-on requests.
- Add one effect per season: foils and glitter for the holidays, dried flowers and flakes for spring and summer, cat eye magnets and marble ink for fall.
- Add the tools once: a wax pen, a silicone press tool, a rhinestone gel, and a non-sticky gel. They are reused across every category.
- Price the art per nail: single accents, full-set effects, and 3D work sit at different tiers, and the categories above map onto those tiers.
Which nail art sells at the desk?
Three things move as retail with almost no selling: flat decals and stencils, because a client can apply them at home over her own polish; a small pot of chrome or a glitter jar in the shade she just wore; and a 6-grid sequin or rhinestone box as a gift item, since most sit under the $10 gift filter. Keep a small display of those three beside the register and a swatch tip showing each one on a nail. The professional-only categories (line art gel, painting gel, charm molds, rhinestone gel) stay behind the desk, because they need a lamp and a technique to use.
How the hub is organized
Every product on this page also lives on its own category page, which is where the full listing, the application steps, and the FAQ for that category sit. Use this hub to see the whole range or to filter across categories by brand or price; use the category pages to stock one type in depth. The sidebar filters here split by type (stickers, foil, line art gel, chrome, rhinestones, painting gel, and so on), by brand (LAVIS, LDS, A'DOR, Joyful Nail), and by the gift-under-$10 and best-seller tags.
The nail art calendar, category by category
| Months | What clients ask for | Reach for |
|---|---|---|
| January and February | Lunar New Year reds and gold, Valentine hearts | Gold foil and gold chrome over red, heart stickers and sequins, a crack gel over a gold base |
| March and April | Easter speckle, pastel aura, bridal pearls | Eggshell gel, Pat Pat pastel palettes with blooming gel, dried flowers under jelly, pearl and opal cat eye |
| May and June | Prom and graduation flash | Aurora chrome, reflective glitter gel, glitter fades, initials in letter sequins |
| July and August | Beach and tropical | Marble ink, shell and iridescent flakes over jellies, neon liner swirls |
| September and October | Moody fall, Halloween | Tortoiseshell, gilded marble, brown and red Pat Pat ombre, spider gel webs over black, Halloween charm molds |
| November and December | Holiday sparkle | Glitter gels, classic chrome, galaxy cat eye, snowflake sequins, gold foil French, cast bows and snowflakes |
A salon that stocks the hub by this calendar buys the year-round tray once (liners in black and white, a chrome and its base, rhinestone gel and stones, a non-sticky clear jar, transfer gel) and adds one or two seasonal items each quarter. The seasonal items are small: a foil set, a sequin box, a mold, a Pat Pat palette.
The three things that make art wear
- The right layer under it. Chrome needs its Chrome Base, foil needs foil transfer gel, stones need rhinestone gel, and sculpted pieces need a clear bed; art that fails in the first week was almost always placed on the wrong surface.
- Encapsulation over anything with an edge. Flakes, sequins, foil flake, dried flowers, and cast charms sit inside a clear builder or a thick top, cured, before the gloss top goes on; a single top coat over a raised piece leaves the edge proud and that is where a snag starts.
- Diamond Top as the last step. Cat eye, wave gel, glitter, and Pat Pat gradients all dull under an ordinary top within a week; a Diamond Top keeps the effect for the wear of the set, and it is the bottle to sell with every art product on this hub.
Selling art from the desk
Art sells when the client can see it before she sits down. Salons that move the most from this hub keep a swatch board of ten accent nails at the desk (a chrome, a cat eye, a reflective, a marble, a flake, a foil French, a stone line, a sticker, a stamp, and a 3D charm), each priced per nail, and offer two of them with every color choice. Most clients take the accent on two nails, which is a minute or two of work and a pinch of product, and the salon's art tray pays for itself in the first month. The hub's sub-collections below are organized the same way, one category per page, so a tech can reorder the exact item that ran out.
Wholesale pricing at ND Nails Supply
Every nail art product ships at wholesale pricing for everyone, with no business license, no minimum order, and no membership fee. Most items are light and low-cost, which makes them the easy add-on to a gel, lamp, or tool reorder. Free shipping on orders $100+, and in-stock items ordered before 2pm PT on weekdays leave the same day.