Collection: SNS Pearl Gel Collection 24 Colors

What is pearl gel?

A gel polish with a pearl-like glow built into the color. Not a glitter, not a chrome, and not a magnetic effect: the shimmer is even across the whole nail and reads as a soft sheen, the way a pearl or the inside of a shell catches light. Under a lamp the color looks pastel; at an angle it shifts a little warmer or cooler. It's the finish people describe as "glowy" when they don't know the word for it.

We make the SNS Pearl Gel Collection as 24 of those shades, most of them pastel, sold as 0.5oz gel polish at $11.99 a bottle, or as the full set. It applies like any gel color, two thin coats over base, cured, sealed with top, and it comes off with a soak.

The collection at a glance

The set is the singles added up. It's the way to put the whole pastel wall on the table in one order, not a discount. Most salons then rebuy the three or four shades that book most as singles.

Who pearl gel is for

• Bridal and occasion sets. A pearl pastel reads as finished without reading as color, which is what a client in a white dress usually wants.
• Spring and summer walls. Most of the palette is pastel: the whites, lilacs, blues and pinks that come back every March, with the teal, lime, gold and orange at the end of the range for summer.
• Clients who find a plain pastel flat. The pearl finish gives a quiet nail some depth without turning it into glitter.
• Nail art bases. A pearl shade under a thin line of chrome or a single rhinestone does the job of two colors.
• Anyone who wants one pearl in a solid-color wall. Every shade is sold singly; there's no minimum.

How do you apply pearl gel?

1. Prep and base. Cuticles back, buff the shine off, wipe. A thin coat of gel base, cured. Base and top are under Base & Top Gel.
2. First coat. Thin. The formula self-levels, so let it settle for a few seconds before it goes under the lamp rather than working the brush back over it. Cure.
3. Second coat. The same. Pearl finishes show brush strokes more than a cream does, so the thin-and-level rule matters more here than with a solid color. Cure.
4. Top coat. A glossy top makes the pearl read brighter; a matte top turns it into a soft satin. Cure, and with a no-wipe top the set is done.

Every coat cures under a UV/LED lamp; ours is in tools and accessories. Removal is a soak-off: file the top, wrap in acetone, wait, push. Never peel.

Three ways to wear it

• Full set, one shade. Two coats of a pearl pink or nude, glossy top. The everyday version, and the one most clients mean when they ask for "something with a bit of shine".
• Pearl French. A pearl white (02 or 03) over a milky or sheer base for the tip, or a pearl champagne (01, 12) across the whole nail with a plain white tip. Quieter than a glitter French and it photographs cleaner.
• One accent nail. Four nails in a solid GelStar color from SNS Gel Only and the ring finger in the matching pearl. Because pearl and solid share a base and a top, it adds one bottle to the service and nothing to the time.

Pearl, cat eye or chrome?

Three finishes that get asked for by the wrong name. Pearl is an even glow inside a pastel color, no tool needed. Cat eye is a magnetic pigment pulled into a line with a magnet while the gel is wet. Chrome is a powder rubbed over cured gel for a mirror. If the client says "shiny but soft", it's pearl. If she says "the one with the stripe of light", it's cat eye. If she says "mirror", it's chrome. All three go over the same base and under the same top.

Wear and care

• Wear: a pearl gel wears like any gel color; the glow is in the pigment, not on the surface, so it doesn't rub off. When the shine dulls, a fresh coat of glossy top over the existing set brings it back.
• Chips at the tip: cap the free edge on every coat, base included. Pale colors show a chipped tip more than a dark cream does.
• Yellowing: the whites and champagnes (01 to 03, 11, 12) are the ones to watch on a client who works with hair color or spends the summer outdoors. A fresh glossy top coat and cuticle oil daily are the two habits that keep them clean.
• Removal: file the top, wrap in acetone, wait, push. Never peel; peeling is what takes the surface of the plate with it.
• Bottle: wipe the neck before capping and keep it out of the lamp's light. Pearl pigment settles, so roll the bottle between your palms before a coat rather than shaking it.

Related collections

• SNS Gel Only The solid GelStar colors, every SNS Pro book.
• Gel & Lacquer Duo Gel for the hands with the matching lacquer for the toes.
• Cat Eye Gel The magnetic line effect, two lines of 24.
• Builder Gel Structure under a pearl color for a client with weak nails.
• Base & Top Gel The base under and the glossy or matte top over.

Related reads

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