Which liquid should I use with CND acrylic powder?

The listings describe these powders as part of CND's Retention+ system, written to work with CND Retention+ Sculpting Liquid, an EMA liquid sold in sizes from 4 oz up to a gallon. Keeping powder and liquid from the same system gives the most predictable bead and set. You will find the liquid and the CND Nail Primer with the other liquids and preps.

Can I use CND Perfect Color as a dip powder?

These jars are described as acrylic powder for a liquid monomer, not as dip powder. For a dip service, use a dip system with its own base, activator and top liquids, and keep the CND jars for liquid-and-powder acrylic work such as sculpted extensions, overlays and fills.

Should I buy the 3.7 oz or the 32 oz jar?

Every shade starts in a 3.7 oz jar, which suits colours you use now and then or want to test. Some shades, such as Pure White Opaque and Natural Sheer, are also offered in 32 oz for the powders you go through fastest. It is the same powder in both sizes, so you can try a shade in 3.7 oz and move up once it becomes a staple on your station.

How do I make a pink and white set with CND powder?

Prep and dehydrate the nail, then apply a thin coat of primer to the nail plate only. Place a bead of Pure White Opaque at the free edge and shape the smile line, then build the nail bed with a sheer pink such as Blush Pink Sheer or Intense Pink Sheer. Let the acrylic set without a lamp, file and refine the shape, and finish with a drop of cuticle oil.

CND ACRYLIC POWDER

Q: What is the difference between CND Perfect Color Powder and Perfect Color Sculpt Powder?

Perfect Color Powder is the skin-tone family, such as Light Peachy Pink, Natural Buff, Cool Mocha and Warm Medium Brown, used over the nail bed so the finished extension looks like a natural nail. Perfect Color Sculpt Powder is the structural family: Clear, the sheer pinks and opaques like Pure White Opaque, used for length, smile lines and overlays. Most pink and white sets use both families.

CND Perfect Color acrylic powder in 3.7 oz and 32 oz jars, from skin-tone cover shades to sheer pinks, Clear and Pure White Opaque, made to pair with CND Retention+ Sculpting Liquid. Free shipping on qualifying orders.

Learn More About This Collection

What CND acrylic powder covers here

This page holds CND's Perfect Color acrylic powders: polymer powders that you pick up with a liquid monomer to sculpt extensions, overlays and pink and white sets. CND describes them as part of its Retention+ liquid-and-powder system, so every jar here is written to work with CND Retention+ Sculpting Liquid, an EMA sculpting liquid. The jars come in two families and two sizes, and the sections below explain which one goes where on the nail.

If you came for CND gel instead, the brand's Shellac gel polish has its own page: CND Shellac gel polish. For everything the brand makes in one grid, open the full CND range.

Perfect Color Powder or Perfect Color Sculpt Powder

The two names on the listings do different jobs. Perfect Color Powder is the skin-tone family, used over the nail bed so the finished extension looks like a natural nail. Perfect Color Sculpt Powder is the structural family: Clear, sheer pinks and opaques for building length, smile lines and overlays.

Family	Shades on this page	Sizes	Typical use
Perfect Color Powder	Light Peachy Pink, Natural Buff, Cool Mocha, Warm Medium Brown and more skin tones	3.7 oz	Covering the nail bed to match the client's skin tone
Perfect Color Sculpt Powder, sheers	Blush Pink Sheer, Intense Pink Sheer and other sheer pinks	3.7 oz, several also 32 oz	The pink part of a pink and white set, overlays
Perfect Color Sculpt Powder, opaques	Cool Pink Opaque, Pure White Opaque	3.7 oz, Pure White also 32 oz	Solid colour coverage, the white tip of a French set
Perfect Color Sculpt Powder, Clear	Clear	3.7 oz	Clear overlays and encapsulated art

A sheer powder lets some of the nail show through, so it reads lighter on the nail than in the jar; an opaque hides the nail completely. Opacity also builds with thickness, so a thin layer of a sheer looks softer than the same powder sculpted thick.

Choosing shades for a set

Classic pink and white: Pure White Opaque for the free edge, then a sheer pink such as Blush Pink Sheer or Intense Pink Sheer over the nail bed.
Natural, no-polish look: pick the skin-tone cover that sits closest to the client's own colour, with lighter names such as Light Peachy Pink and Natural Buff at one end and Cool Mocha and Warm Medium Brown at the deeper end.
Full pink coverage: Cool Pink Opaque hides the nail bed completely for a solid pink finish.
Art inside the nail: Clear lets you seal glitter, foil or dried flowers between layers.

Out-of-stock shades stay listed with a sold-out badge, so check each jar before you plan a service around it.

3.7 oz or 32 oz

Every shade starts in a 3.7 oz jar, which suits a station that uses a colour now and then. The 32 oz jars suit the shades you go through fastest; Pure White Opaque and Natural Sheer are among those offered in the larger size. Both sizes are the same powder, so you can test a shade in 3.7 oz and move to 32 oz once it becomes a staple. Prices are shown on each listing.

The CND system around the powder

The powder is one part of a three-step routine: prep the nail, sculpt with liquid and powder, then finish with oil. These are the CND pieces that complete it at DTK.

CND Retention+ Sculpting Liquid: the EMA liquid these powders are written for, sold in sizes from 4 oz up to a gallon. Find it with the other liquids in CND Retention liquid and primer, and check stock size by size.
CND Nail Primer: a 0.5 oz non-acid primer listed for the Retention+ system. It goes on the nail plate only, in a thin coat, after prep and dehydration.
CND Solar Oil: a cuticle oil for the end of the service and for clients to use at home; see cuticle oil for aftercare.

Comparing CND with other acrylic lines before you commit a station? The acrylic powders from other brands page lists every line we carry with its own liquid.

How to apply CND acrylic powder

Prep the nail: push back and clean the cuticle area, file and buff the surface, remove the dust and dehydrate.
Prime: apply a thin coat of primer to the nail plate only, keeping it off the skin, and let it dry until tacky.
Form a bead: dip the brush into the sculpting liquid, wipe off the excess, then draw it through the powder to pick up a bead.
Place the white first: for French work, set a bead of Pure White Opaque at the free edge and shape the smile line.
Build the nail bed: add sheer pink or a cover shade beads behind the smile line, pressing and patting them into shape in small zones.
Let it set: acrylic hardens by the reaction between liquid and powder, with no LED or UV lamp, then file and refine the shape.
Finish: buff or seal, then massage a drop of cuticle oil into the cuticle and free edge.

Pro tip: setting speed changes with room temperature and humidity, so a set that behaves well in the morning can run faster on a hot afternoon. Work smaller beads when the room is warm.

Brushes and brush care

Extension work is usually done with a Kolinsky brush between #10 and #20, larger for long sets and smaller for overlays and fills. Browse Kolinsky acrylic brush sizes, or brushes for acrylic and gel if you also need detail and gel brushes.

Clean the brush in sculpting liquid after each service, not in acetone.
Wipe it to a point and let it dry lying flat or with the hairs facing down.
Close each powder jar tightly after the set so the powder stays dry.

Acrylic or dip with CND

These listings describe Perfect Color as acrylic powder for a liquid monomer, not as a dip powder. If your service is dip, choose a dip system with its own liquids from the dip powder lines by brand page. For a quick clear and cover starter outside CND, the build-your-own clear and cover kit page groups clear and cover jars from several brands.