Collection: LAVIS CE18 Galaxtic Halo Collection

What is Lavis Cat Eye CE18 Galactic Halo?

CE18 Galactic Halo is the eighteenth drop in the Lavis Cat Eye series, 12 magnetic gel colors in one palette. Deep celestial tones with an aurora-like halo: a wide iridescent ring of cosmic light wrapped around an obsidian black base, so the nail glows from the edges in. One shade is a black base lit by a warm gold-copper halo, and the drop is made for galaxy nail sets all year.

All 12 are formulated without HEMA and without TPO, come in the standard 0.5 fl oz (15 mL) salon bottle, and cure in 60 to 90 seconds under a UV/LED lamp. Lavis states they are made in California. We carry the drop as 12 singles and as one set that holds all of them.

The 12 shades, as singles or the full set

Each single is one bottle, numbered CE18-01 through CE18-12, and every one shares the same magnetic base. The CE18 Galactic Halo set listing has a Style selector, so it doubles as a second way to buy any single shade or to take the Set 12 option and put the whole drop on the wall at once.

Each code links to its own page with swatch photos; the short description is Lavis's own note on the shade. Screens shift a shade more than a swatch does, so if a client is between two codes, swatch both on a tip before committing.

Who is CE18 Galactic Halo for?

Lavis pitches this drop for all year. In the salon it tends to book for:

• Halo and aurora nail art: the ring of light comes from the pigment, not from hand painting.
• Black-base clientele: every shade keeps obsidian at the center.
• Warm and cool galaxy hands: gold-copper halos next to cool iridescent ones in one drop.
• Techs finishing the cosmic trio: CE18 is the halo counterpart to CE16 and CE17.

Within the series, CE17 Stellar Shift is the shifting galaxy drop, CE16 Double Vision the twin-line one.

How do you apply Lavis CE18 cat eye gel?

1. Prep and base. Push cuticles back, buff the shine off, wipe the plate clean. Apply a thin gel base and cure it. Our base and top gels are under Base & Top Gel.
2. First coat. A thin, even coat of CE18 Galactic Halo, cured for 60 seconds. This coat is the color bed, so do not use the magnet yet.
3. Second coat and the magnet. A slightly fuller coat. Before it cures, hold a cat eye magnet about 2 mm above the wet gel for three to five seconds. Do not touch the surface. The pigment lines up under the field and forms the streak.
4. Flash cure, one nail at a time. The particles start to drift as soon as the magnet moves away, so the nail goes under the lamp within a second or two. Full cure once all five are done, 60 to 90 seconds.
5. Top coat. Seal with a glossy gel top and cure. The line sits inside the cured color, so it lasts as long as the top coat does; Lavis quotes up to 21 days with proper prep.

Cat eye magnets are in our Magnet collection; lamps, files and prep tools are under Nail Tools & Accessories.

Straight, diagonal or double: where the magnet goes

Hold the magnet lengthwise over the center of the nail for the classic single streak, or angle it so the line crosses on a diagonal. For a double line, make two short passes on either side with a flash cure between them. A magnet held flat over the whole nail, or no magnet at all, gives an even shimmer with no line.

A dark cured underlayer makes any cat eye line pop. A cured coat of black or a deep neutral from SNS Gel Only under CE18 Galactic Halo strengthens the streak; skip it when you want the shade's own base color to show.

What do HEMA-free and TPO-free mean on this page?

HEMA is the small monomer in most gel products and the one most often named when a client reacts to gel. TPO is a photoinitiator, the ingredient that turns lamp light into a cure. Lavis formulates CE18 Galactic Halo without either, and we state that as what is left out, not as a promise that nobody can react; no cosmetic can honestly make that promise. For a tech, it answers the client who has had trouble with gel before and still wants a cat eye.

Lavis CE18 Galactic Halo next to SNS Crystal Twinkle and Diamond Twinkle

We sell more than one cat eye line, and they are built for different jobs. Our own SNS Cat Eye Gel comes in two 24-shade lines: Crystal Twinkle for a fine, sharp light-shifting line, Diamond Twinkle for a bolder three-dimensional sparkle across the whole nail. Lavis CE18 Galactic Halo is a twelve-shade drop built around one palette, aurora halo shimmer wrapped around obsidian black, with the 9D magnetic pigment that, in Lavis's words, gives a sharper and deeper line the closer the magnet is held.

Pick CE18 Galactic Halo when the brief is aurora halo shimmer wrapped around obsidian black with a cat eye inside it. Pick an SNS line when the client wants a specific shade outside this palette, or the cat eye itself to be the point of the nail.

Wear, removal and keeping the bottles right

• Wear: the line is locked inside the cured gel and does not wear off. When the top coat dulls, a fresh glossy top brings the shine back without touching the line.
• Removal: a normal gel soak-off. File the top thin, wrap in acetone, wait, push the softened gel away. Never pry.
• Magnet storage: keep the magnet away from the open bottles. Left beside one, it pulls the pigment to one side of the glass and the next coat comes out uneven until you shake it back.
• Shelf: caps tight, out of window light, at room temperature. Magnetic pigment settles a little between uses; roll the bottle before the first coat of the day.

Related collections

• SNS Cat Eye Gel Crystal Twinkle and Diamond Twinkle, 24 shades each.
• Cat Eye Magnets Bar, stylus and dual-line magnets for the streak.
• Base & Top Gel The base under and the glossy top over a cat eye.
• SNS Gel Only Solid gel color for underlayers and plain nails in the same set.
• Nail Art Chrome, glitter, ombre and rhinestones to finish the set.

Related reads

• How SNS approaches a safer UV gel manicure
• Dip powder vs gel vs acrylic: how to choose
• Gel or dip powder manicure: which is right for you?