Nail Polish Terms Glossary

Shiny A high shine gloss polish.

Cream A polish without shimmer or glitter, a one tone polish, examples are OPI Elephantastic Pink and China Glaze Innocence.

Please do not get Creme and Matte mixed up. OPI's 2009 Matt Collection is a matt finish (see the swatches from the OPI Matt Collection).

Holographic - A polish that has rainbow coloured glitter and they look amazing in the sun! For example China Glaze OMG Collection and OPI Designer Series Fantasy.

Holographic Glitter - A polish that has scattered pieces of glitter than shine different colors of the rainbow. For example OPI Text Me Text You.

Shimmer - A polish that has little bits of different coloured shimmer to the base or very similar to the base colour. These can vary quite a lot. For example OPI Conga Line Coral and China Glaze Limbo Bimbo.

Frosted - A very smooth and fine shimmer. See Suzi and the Lifeguard and Princesses Rule. Pearl - Similar to Frosted but has a somewhat pearl quality to it, like OPI's Pearls Night Out and China Glaze Platinum Pearl.

Glitter - A polish that has chunks of glitter, often bigger and grittier than shimmer. See OPI Midnight Blue Glitter and China Glaze Ruby Pumps.

Duo-chrome - A nail polish that often flashes different colours. Like China Glaze Reggae to Riches and OPI Go On Green.

Irridescent - A shimmer in a polish that is often a different colour, China Glaze Rainbow is a great example of irredescence. Jelly - a translucent polish, usually very very shiny and creme. See China Glaze Summer Days Collection.

Neon - a super bright polish that usually dries matte. If they are sheer, you can layer them over a white. See China Glaze Shocking Pink.

Sheer- a polish that is usually used for French Manicures, designed to show the white tip. Best selling examples of this are OPI's Bubble Bath and Sweet Heart.