- India Anaïs
- Glossary
India Anaïs
Glossary
One clear definition per term, with the guides that go deeper.
65 terms
0–9
A
Almond nailsAlmond nails are a nail shape that tapers from the side walls to a soft, rounded point, like the nut, which…Aura nailsAura nails are a nail art look that uses a soft, circular colour gradient in the centre of each nail, usually…
B
Base coatA base coat is a clear nail polish that is applied to the bare nail before colour, forming a slightly tacky…Beau's linesBeau's lines are horizontal grooves that run across the nail plate, caused by a temporary stop in growth at…Blurred lipsBlurred lips are a lip look with a soft, diffused edge instead of a drawn outline, made by pressing a stain,…Breathable polishBreathable polish is a nail lacquer formulated as a semi-permeable film with microscopic openings that let…
C
Capping the free edgeCapping the free edge is a manicure technique that draws the brush along the tip of the nail with each coat,…Cat-eye polishCat-eye polish is a magnetic nail polish that contains iron-oxide coated particles, which line up into a…Cherry cola lipsCherry cola lips are a lip combo that pairs a deep brown or burgundy liner, blended inward, with a red gloss…Chrome nailsChrome nails are a mirror-like nail finish that is usually made by rubbing a very fine metallic powder over a…Coffin nails (ballerina)Coffin nails, also called ballerina nails, are a nail shape that tapers along the side walls and ends in a…CPNPCPNP is the Cosmetic Products Notification Portal, the European Commission's online system in which the…Crème finishA crème finish is a nail polish finish that is fully opaque and made with pigment only, with no shimmer,…CuticleThe cuticle is the thin band of dead tissue that lies on the nail plate just in front of the eponychium,…Cuticle oilCuticle oil is a light blend of plant oils, usually built on jojoba, sweet almond or vitamin E, that is…
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F
Feathering (bleeding)Feathering is the migration of lipstick or gloss past the edge of the lips into the fine lines around the…Film formerA film former is the ingredient in nail polish or liquid eyeliner that turns from a liquid into a solid,…Free edgeThe free edge is the part of the nail plate that extends beyond the fingertip and is no longer attached to…
G
Gel polishGel polish is a nail colour made of acrylate monomers, oligomers and a photoinitiator that hardens under a UV…Glass nailsGlass nails are a nail look that uses sheer, glossy jelly polish and a high-shine top coat, so the colour…Glazed donut nailsGlazed donut nails are a nail look that pairs a milky, sheer white base with a fine pearl chrome powder…
H
HEMA (hydroxyethyl methacrylate)HEMA, or hydroxyethyl methacrylate, is an acrylate monomer used in gel polish and nail enhancements that is a…HolographicHolographic is a nail polish finish that uses silver particles with a coating that diffracts light into a…HyponychiumThe hyponychium is the skin under the free edge of the nail that seals the gap between the nail plate and the…
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Leukonychia (white spots)Leukonychia is a nail change that shows as white spots, lines or a whole white nail plate, most often caused…Lip comboA lip combo is a set of two or three lip products, usually a liner, a lipstick or stain and a gloss, chosen…Lip oilLip oil is a lightweight lip product made mostly of plant oils such as jojoba, squalane or castor, with a…LunulaThe lunula is the pale, half-moon shaped arc at the base of the nail that marks the far end of the germinal…
M
Magnetic polishMagnetic polish is a nail polish that contains magnetic pigment particles suspended in the formula, which…Matte top coatA matte top coat is a clear top coat that contains silica or other matting agents, which scatter light so…Metallic finishA metallic finish is a nail polish finish that uses a high load of aluminium or bronze-type flake pigments,…Micro FrenchA micro French is a French manicure that paints a very thin line of colour along the free edge only, so the…Milky nailsMilky nails are a sheer nail look that uses a translucent white or off-white polish, so the nail looks softly…MultichromeMultichrome is a nail polish finish that uses interference pigments (mica or borosilicate flakes coated with…
N
Nail matrixThe nail matrix is the tissue under the proximal nail fold that produces the nail plate, forming about 90…Nail plateThe nail plate is the hard, translucent part of the nail that is made of tightly packed keratinised cells,…Nail sluggingNail slugging is a care routine that seals the nails and cuticles overnight under a thick occlusive balm such…NitrocelluloseNitrocellulose is a cellulose-based film former that gives classic solvent nail polish its hard, glossy…
O
Onychoschizia (peeling nails)Onychoschizia is a nail condition that shows as peeling or splitting of the nail plate into thin layers at…OverliningOverlining is a lip liner technique that draws the outline a millimetre or two outside the natural edge of…
P
PAO symbol (period after opening)The PAO symbol, or period after opening, is the open-jar icon on cosmetic packaging that shows, in months,…PlasticiserA plasticiser is an ingredient in nail polish that softens the nitrocellulose film so the dried lacquer bends…Plumping glossPlumping gloss is a lip gloss that makes the lips look temporarily fuller, either through mild irritants such…PolybutenePolybutene is a thick, clear, synthetic liquid polymer that forms the base of most lip glosses, giving the…Press-on nailsPress-on nails are pre-shaped artificial nail tips, sold in sets of graded sizes, that are fixed over the…
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ShimmerShimmer is a nail polish finish that contains fine mica or pearl particles in a coloured base, which reflect…Siren eyesSiren eyes are an eye make-up look that elongates the eye into a narrow almond, with a thin sharp wing pulled…SquovalSquoval is a nail shape that combines a square tip with rounded corners, so the nail keeps the straight,…
T
Thermal polishThermal polish is a colour-changing nail polish that contains thermochromic microcapsules with a leuco dye,…TightliningTightlining is an eyeliner technique that pushes pencil or gel into the upper waterline and between the roots…Top coatA top coat is a clear nail polish that is applied over colour to form a hard, glossy film, which protects the…TPHP (triphenyl phosphate)TPHP, or triphenyl phosphate, is a plasticiser used in some nail polishes to keep the dried film flexible,…TPO (photoinitiator)TPO, or trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide, is a photoinitiator that starts the curing reaction in gel…
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Water-based polishWater-based polish is a nail lacquer that uses an acrylic polymer dispersed in water as its film former, so…WaterlineThe waterline is the moist rim of the eyelid between the lashes and the eyeball, where the openings of the…Winged linerWinged liner is an eyeliner look in which a line along the upper lashes thickens toward the outer corner and…