Every word the salon assumes you know.
BIAB, cat-eye, slip solution, smile line — nail vocabulary in plain English, one honest minute per term. No account needed, no jargon left standing.
Aura nails
A soft airbrushed glow — colour blooming from the centre of the nail with no hard edges.
Builder in a BottleBIAB
A soak-off builder gel worn as a strengthening overlay on natural nails.
GlossaryBuilder gel
Thick, structural gel used to strengthen, build an apex, or sculpt extensions.
GlossaryCat-eye
Magnetic gel polish — a magnet pulls a ribbon of light through the wet colour.
GlossaryChrome
Ultra-fine metallic powder burnished over cured gel — a true mirror finish.
GlossaryCuticle oil
The highest-leverage habit in nail care — flexible skin at the seal edge protects the seal.
SNSDip powder
Colour built by dipping into pigmented powder over resin — no lamp needed.
Electric file, efile, nail drillE-file
The electric rotary tool used for removal, refill prep and cuticle work.
GlossaryEncapsulated
Art sealed inside clear product — flowers, foil or glitter suspended in the nail.
GlossaryFreehand
Art painted directly with a brush — no stamps, no stickers, pure brushwork.
GlossaryFrench tip
A line at the free edge dividing the nail into base and tip — grammar, not one manicure.
Soft-gel extensions, full-cover gel tipsGel-X
Full-cover soft gel tips bonded over the whole nail — extensions without sculpting.
GlossaryGlazed donut nails
Sheer milky base + fine pearl powder + gloss — a glow that seems to come from inside the nail.
GlossaryMatte top coat
A top coat that scatters light instead of bouncing it — any colour becomes velvet.
Acrylic liquidMonomer
The liquid half of acrylic — mixed with polymer powder to sculpt a bead that air-cures.
GlossaryNail prep
The unglamorous first ten minutes that decide whether a set lasts three weeks or one.
GlossaryOmbré
A smooth gradient from one colour to another along the nail, with no visible seam.
GlossaryOverlay
Product over your natural nail at its natural length — strength without extension.
GlossaryPress-ons
Pre-made nails applied with adhesive — the zero-commitment set.
Fill, infillRefill
The ~3-week maintenance appointment: regrowth filled, structure rebalanced.
GlossarySculpted
Extensions built freehand on a form — no plastic tip, pure shaping skill.
GlossarySlip solution
The wetting liquid that makes polygel workable — slip for the brush, not a solvent.
GlossaryStamping
Transferring engraved designs onto the nail with a squishy stamper — crisp pattern, fast.
GlossaryTop coat
The clear seal over everything — where gloss, matte and durability actually live.
Fluent already? Go design something.
Every finish and technique worth knowing is easier to understand on a photo of your own hand. Nailly is coming to the App Store for the US and Canada.