Collection: Lavis Cat Eye, All Collections

What is a Lavis cat eye drop?

A themed collection of magnetic gel colors, released as a set rather than as individual shades. Each CE drop holds 13 shades built around an idea, from the neutral and cashmere tones of CE1 through fairy tale, villain, jewel and galaxy themes up to CE18. The magnetic pigment behaves the same way in all of them: paint two coats, hold a magnet over the wet second coat, and the shimmer gathers into a band that is locked in place by the cure.

Buying by drop rather than by shade is the point. A drop gives a salon a wall that reads as deliberate, photographs as a set, and gives clients a name to ask for. This page is every Lavis cat eye drop in one grid; the chips above jump to individual collections.

How the drops are numbered

Two series carry cat eye. The CE series is cat eye only, 13 shades per drop, and runs from CE1 to CE18. The C series is the main Lavis gel color line at 25 shades per drop, and the drops numbered C09 to C16 are magnetic too, which is why they appear here as well as on Lavis Gel Polish C01 to C17.

One thing to watch when reordering: Lavis reissues collections under the same number with a new theme name. CE1, CE4, CE10 and CE13 each exist in an original and a Ver 2, with different shades behind the same number. Always match the full collection name, not the number alone.

Some of the drops

What do you need to use them?

• A magnet, always. Without one the gel cures as a plain shimmer. Bar, ring, double-head and shaped magnets are on Cat Eye Magnets.
• A dark base for the strongest band. A cured coat of black or a deep neutral from SNS Gel Only under the color.
• A glossy top, from Base & Top Gel. The band is sealed inside the gel but the shine is not.
• A lamp that cures fast, because the flash cure is what fixes the band before the pigment relaxes. See Nail Lamps.

How do you pull the band?

1. Prep, base, and an optional dark bed, each cured.
2. First cat eye coat, thin, cured, no magnet. This coat is the color.
3. Second coat, fuller, then the magnet. Hold it a few millimeters above the wet gel for five to ten seconds without touching. One nail at a time.
4. Flash cure the moment the band looks right, then move on and give the hand a full cure at the end.
5. Top coat and cure.

Curing before using the magnet is the one mistake that cannot be undone: once the gel is cured the pigment will not move.

Which drop should a salon buy?

Start with the season you are in, because cat eye sells on novelty as much as on the effect itself. A neutral drop such as CE1 works all year and pairs with everything, which makes it the safe first order; a themed drop then gives you something to promote. If the wall already carries an SNS cat eye line for consistency, a Lavis drop is the right way to add variety without doubling up on the same shades, since our SNS Crystal and Diamond Twinkle lines are numbered rather than themed. The cross-brand comparison is on Cat Eye Gel, All Brands.

What makes one drop different from another?

Not the formula. Every Lavis cat eye shade behaves the same at the brush and under the magnet, so a drop is an edit rather than a different product: someone has chosen thirteen shades that belong together and given them a name. What changes between drops is the palette and how the pigment reads. The neutral drops give a soft band inside a wearable color, which suits clients who want the effect without the drama. The jewel and galaxy drops carry more contrast between the pigment and the base color, so the band reads harder and photographs better, which is what you want on an accent nail or a set that is going on social media. The seasonal drops are the ones to rotate; the neutral ones are the ones to keep on the wall all year.

Stocking and care

• Keep magnets away from open bottles. A magnet sitting beside one pulls the pigment to one wall of the glass and the next coat comes out patchy.
• Roll, do not shake. Air bubbles show as pits under a gloss top.
• Buy the drop, not the singles, if you want the collection to photograph as a set; buy singles to fill gaps in a wall you already have.
• Record the full collection name on your reorder list, because of the Ver 2 reissues.
• Check stock: around 34 of the active shades are out of stock at any time, and 26 more products sit as drafts that never reach the storefront.

Layering cat eye with other finishes

A cat eye nail does not have to stand alone, and the drops are easier to sell when they are part of a set rather than the whole of it. The usual combinations: cat eye on two accent nails with plain gel from the same palette on the rest, which halves the time and keeps the ticket; a chrome nail beside a cat eye nail, both sealed under the same top coat; or a cat eye base with a fine line drawn over it once cured. Because the band sits inside the gel rather than on top, anything applied afterwards has a flat surface to work on. What does not work is a matte top over the deeper jewel drops, which flattens the contrast the band depends on; save matte for the softer neutral shades.

Related collections

• Cat Eye Gel, All Brands Lavis and SNS magnetic gels together.
• SNS Cat Eye Gel Crystal and Diamond Twinkle.
• Cat Eye Magnets The tool that makes the band.
• Lavis Gel Polish C01 to C17 The wider C series, plain and magnetic.
• Lavis Nails, All Products The whole Lavis range.

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