Aprés Gel Couleur & Aerogel 2026 | Highly Pigmented Art Gels

How Aprés organises Gel Couleur

This page is the colour shelf for Aprés Gel Couleur: single bottles you can pick by code, plus the sets that hold them. The fastest way to shop it is to learn how Aprés files its own shades. The brand lists 200 Gel Couleur shades across four series, then keeps Light & Shadow as a separate group of 40 sheers. Once you know the prefix on a bottle, you know what kind of colour you are ordering before you open the listing.

A code in the listing title is also the quickest reorder tool. Search the number or letter code on this page and the bottle comes straight up, which is easier than scrolling more than 250 listings when one colour runs low on the station.

The number series, 201 to 364

These 164 shades are the working core of the range. Gel Couleur is a pure gel with a medium viscosity and a high pigment load, so a thin coat goes a long way, and Aprés positions one or two coats as enough for full coverage. Every bottle here is 0.5 oz with the Brush-X applicator built into the cap, a dense and compact brush that handles more like a Japanese nail art brush than a standard polish brush. That helps when you are working close to the cuticle or using the bottle brush for simple line work.

Pick by the swatch on the listing rather than the name. A few of the bottles on the shelf right now: 254 Vampire Drunk, 289 Dusty Lilac, 291 Gray Gardens, 300 Mother Earth, 301 Sweater Weather, 305 Clay Fever, 306 Gothic Romance, 312 Olive Tapenade and 317 Chai Latte. Stock moves quickly across this many listings, so check the sold-out badge on the grid before you plan a full menu around one code.

The Jelly series, J01 to J18

If you came here looking for Aprés jelly polish, this is the group you want. Aprés files J01 to J18 as its Jelly series, and its jelly listings describe sheer colour that you build with extra coats to the opacity you want. Expect a more see-through result than the number series, with some variation from shade to shade, so the number of coats becomes part of the design.

Shades on hand at the time of writing include J02 Cote D'Azur, J03 Mariana Trench, J04 PB&Jelly, J06 Bubblegum Glow, J07 Winter Lake, J08 It's Cerulean, J10 Secret Lagoon, J11 Shamrock Dew, J13 Cedar Stain, J15 Under The Tuscan Sun, J16 Bonfire Flame and J17 Amber Jewel.

The directions are the same as the rest of the line: a layer, a 30 second LED cure, then another layer until the depth looks right. Aprés advises thinner layers over thick ones on Gel Couleur because they cure more reliably, and that matters even more when you stack several coats of a sheer colour. Aim to use the same number of coats on all ten nails.

For jelly looks from other brands, go to the full jelly gel page. Our guides to jelly nail designs and jelly nail colours have ideas to try with these shades.

The Nude and Glitter series

The Nude series is short, at six codes, which makes it an easy place to start a client-friendly neutral shelf. N02 Gossamer Light, N03 Forgotten Film, N04 Vintage Carnation and N05 Spring Sigh are in stock at the time of writing. If you want more neutrals from every brand, see the nude gel colour page, and our nude polish guide talks through matching a neutral to a skin tone.

The Glitter series runs G01 to G12. G01 Milky Way Galaxy, G02 Andromeda Galaxy, G05 Desert Princess, G06 Sandstorm Crystals and G07 Champagne Dreams are the ones to look for right now. Follow the same directions as any other Gel Couleur shade: a layer, a 30 second LED cure, a second layer, then top coat.

Light & Shadow: forty sheers by season

Light & Shadow sits apart from the 200. It is a group of 40 sheer shades, ten per season, ranging from soft pinks and peaches to cool grays and milky neutrals. The texture is medium viscosity and self-levelling, so give each layer a few seconds to settle before it goes under the lamp. One coat gives a subtle tint, and two or more coats create a richer, milkier depth.

The four Set of 10 listings and the 40-piece set were sold out when this was written, so the single bottles are the way to buy these for now. The Light & Shadow page shows only this group. One care note from Aprés: the gold print on these labels does not stand up to acetone, so wipe the bottles with alcohol.

Sheer or solid: choosing for your menu

The question most buyers have on this page is which series to order first. Think about the service you sell, not the shade count.

• Full-colour manicures: start in the number series, where one or two coats finish the job and service time stays predictable.
• Soft natural sets: Light & Shadow and the Nude series suit clients who want a clean, low-contrast look.
• Glassy, see-through looks: the Jelly series, with the coat count set to the depth you want.
• Accent nails: a few Glitter codes go a long way on a station.

Seasonal shoppers can narrow things further on the fall Gel Couleur page or the winter Gel Couleur page. To see gels, tips and starter sets together, go to the main Aprés page.

Applying Gel Couleur on natural nails and tips

The steps below come from the Aprés directions printed on each listing. The one thing that changes is the base coat.

1. Prep the nail: push back cuticles, remove oils, lightly buff and cleanse.
2. On natural nails, apply a base coat. On Gel-X tips, skip the base and go straight to colour.
3. Apply a thin layer of Gel Couleur, cap the free edge and cure for 30 seconds under an LED lamp.
4. Add a second coat and cure for another 30 seconds.
5. Finish with the Aprés Non-Wipe Top Gelcoat and cure.
6. Apply cuticle oil and ask the client to avoid heavy impact for 12 to 24 hours.

Thin layers matter more with a high-pigment gel, because they cure more reliably than one thick coat. The pure gel formula leaves no tacky layer after curing. Aprés recommends matching base and top products for the best adhesion, and you will find them on the Aprés base and top page. Need a lamp to go with the order? Compare options on the nail lamp page. With correct prep, expect two to three weeks of wear on natural nails, although results vary with the nail and the client's habits.

Doing colour over extensions? The Aprés Gel-X tips page has the boxes and our Gel-X how-to walks through the full process.

HEMA and TPO on the label

Aprés lists the reformulated Gel Couleur shades, the Jelly, Nude and Glitter series and Light & Shadow as free of HEMA and TPO. Because that applies to the newer formula, read the bottle you receive to confirm which version you have. HEMA-free does not mean a client cannot react, since other ingredients in gel can still cause a reaction, so a patch test is still sensible for anyone with a history of sensitivity. Our short guide on how to tell if a gel is HEMA-free explains what to look for, and the HEMA-free and TPO-free page gathers the other lines on DTK.

Buying by the bottle

Single bottles are the main way to buy from this page, so you can reorder one code at a time. A few larger sets also appear in the grid when they are available, including mixed sets of 50 and the seasonal sets of ten. Stock on those is limited, so check each listing before you plan around one. A small group of cat eye listings has its own codes outside the series above, and most of those are sold out at the moment. For more on the line, read our Aprés Gel Couleur review.