How does chrome nail powder work?

Chrome is an ultra-fine metallic pigment powder rubbed onto cured but unsealed gel, then locked under a no-wipe top coat. The mirror effect comes from the powder's particles lying flat against the smooth gel surface — which is why chrome only works over gel, not regular polish.

How much do chrome, cat-eye and French add-ons cost?

Most finish add-ons run $10–25 on top of any gel service. Chrome and cat-eye sit at the lower end as all-ten-nails effects; hand-drawn French tips price toward the top because each smile line is painted freehand, and a micro French can add $20–25 for the precision alone.

What is a milky French manicure?

A milky French softens the classic look: a sheer, milky-white base with a subtle white or soft-toned tip, blurring the hard contrast of the traditional French. It reads clean and expensive rather than retro, which is why it has dominated bridal and everyday sets since the early 2020s.

Do finish add-ons like chrome last as long as regular gel?

Yes — chrome, cat-eye and French effects are sealed under the same top coat as the rest of the manicure, so they wear exactly as long as the gel underneath. The finish never chips separately; if the gel lasts four weeks, the finish does too.

Nail Styles · Deep dive · Updated July 2026

Chrome, cat-eye & the French: finishes, explained

Q: What is a cat-eye nail finish?

Cat-eye gel contains magnetic iron particles. After applying the color, the tech holds a magnet over each wet nail for a few seconds, pulling the particles into a band or curve of light before curing it in place. The stripe is three-dimensional and shifts as your hand moves.

Finishes are the last five minutes of your appointment and the first thing anyone notices. Here's how each effect actually works, what a fair add-on price looks like, and how to ask for exactly the version you've been screenshotting.

Gel set with glitter and shimmer finish details — Finish work: the $10–25 layer that changes the whole set.

Chrome: pigment physics, not polish

Chrome isn't a polish color — it's an ultra-fine metallic powder rubbed onto cured but unsealed gel with a sponge applicator, then locked under a no-wipe top coat. The mirror comes from pigment particles lying perfectly flat on the smooth gel surface, which is why chrome only works over gel and why the base color underneath changes everything:

Over black: true mirror chrome — the classic liquid-metal look.
Over white or milky pink: the pearlescent "glazed donut" that has outlived every trend cycle since 2022. Usually the cheapest chrome on the menu and still the most requested.
Over color: an iridescent shift — the aurora and mermaid effects. Ask to see the powder over a cured swatch of your base before committing all ten nails.

Cat-eye: the magnet trick

Cat-eye gel is loaded with magnetic iron particles. The tech applies the color, hovers a magnet over each wet nail for a few seconds — pulling the particles into a band, curve or starburst of light — then cures it in place. The result is genuinely three-dimensional: the stripe sits in the gel and moves as your hand does. Two things to know: placement is freehand skill, so consistency across ten nails is the mark of a good tech, and the effect is most dramatic over dark jewel tones — emerald, sapphire and oxblood are the classics.

The French family tree

The French tip refuses to die because it keeps reinventing itself. The name on the menu is doing a lot of work, so know which branch you're asking for:

Classic French: opaque white tip over a pink or nude base, crisp smile line. Reads deliberate and retro now — which is sometimes exactly the point.
Micro French: a millimeter-thin tip hugging the free edge. The hardest version to paint well — ten identical hairlines, freehand — and priced accordingly.
Milky French: sheer milky base, soft-blurred tip. The bridal default and the "clean girl" standard; if you want expensive-looking and unremarkable in the best way, this is it.
American manicure: the French's quieter sibling — a sheer tip barely lighter than the base, for people who want the shape of the idea without the contrast.
Colored & double French: the same architecture in any color — chrome tips, two stacked smile lines, contrast outlines. This is where French crosses into nail art pricing.

How to ask for what you want: bring the screenshot — good techs love reference photos — and name three things: the base (sheer, milky, opaque), the tip thickness (micro, classic, deep), and the finish (glossy, chrome, velvet). "Milky base, classic tip, glossy" gets you a bridal French anywhere in the country with no further explanation.

The rest of the finish menu

Velvet / sugar: magnetic shimmer gel (velvet) or matte textured powder (sugar) — soft-focus finishes that photograph beautifully and hide minor tip wear.
Matte top coat: the $5–10 sleeper. Any color, one swap, completely different set. Ask for glossy on an accent nail for contrast.
Aura: an airbrushed or sponged halo of color blooming from the nail's center — technically art, priced like a finish at most salons.
Glitter placement: from a dusted ombré fade to individually placed flakes. Fades are finish pricing; placed work is per-nail art pricing.

What it costs, and how long it lasts

Almost every finish here runs $10–25 on top of any gel service — chrome and cat-eye at the lower end (they're all-ten effects applied in minutes), hand-drawn French at the top (each smile line is freehand labor, and a micro French can add $20–25 for the precision alone). City menus in our LA, Orange County and Atlanta price guides list French and chrome as the standard add-ons behind gel manicure price ranges.

Longevity is the good news: finishes are sealed under the same top coat as everything else, so they wear exactly as long as the gel beneath them. A chrome that lasts four weeks is really a gel that lasts four weeks — which is an application question, covered in our extensions guide and nail care.

Where finish work shines

Los Angeles: the Melrose art salons in our LA directory treat finishes as a warm-up — chrome French and cat-eye are day-one requests there.
Atlanta: the appointment-only artists in our Atlanta directory post finish work constantly; check their sets for the ten-nail consistency that marks a steady hand.