At Orly Beauty, the latest on-trend launch isn’t a single nail color—it is many. That’s because the polish maker has rolled out pH Perfector, a functional beauty product that taps into the user’s unique nail chemistry to reveal a personalized pink hue that lasts for up to five days.

Orly officials saw interest in customizable beauty with color-adaptive products on the rise.

For example, pH-reactive beauty grew by 26.6% year over year across platforms, with TikTok seeing 30,800 average weekly views, up 43.5% from the year prior, the company shared, citing data from Spate.

“The vision for pH Perfector stemmed from the broader trend toward customizable, color-adaptive beauty: a growing demand among Gen Z and older age groups. We saw a clear gap: nails are unique in their chemistry, yet nearly all ‘nail tint’ or lacquer products treat them the same,” said Tal Pink, VP of business development at Orly International.

The “a-ha moment,” she continued, “was realizing a formula could react to each user’s individual nail pH to deliver a truly personalized blush hue— ike a fingerprint for nails.”

According to Pink, that insight aligned perfectly with a “color plus care hybrid” that’s both expressive and functional.

“We reached out to our partners in search of this technology and discovered one was already developed. We worked with their team to validate it with our own panelists and were excited to be the first to go to market with it,” Pink told Happi.

Pink said Orly evaluated the formula over a six-month span before pH Perfector’s launch late last year.

How It Works

The crux of the technology is the nail itself. Natural nails produce oils and retain traces of moisture which affect the pH level of the surface.

“pH Perfector contains a pH-reactive dye that remains clear and colorless until it interacts with those traces of oils and moisture that change the pH. The pH-reactive dye then changes structure which makes the dye appear pink. But because everyone will have different amounts of natural nail oils and moisture in their nail plate, the dye will react differently leading to some having a more intense pink pigment than others—a unique nail blush,” explained Julie Ventura, global educator.

Users apply one or two coats to clean, bare nails. When removed, the rosy tint is revealed. It naturally fades but can also be lifted instantly with Orly Cutique, a cuticle remover. Orly’s team recommends leaving it on for at least 30 minutes to see the full effect of the tint; it can be worn for up to 5 days.

According to Ventura, the size of the pH-reactive dye molecules allow them to bond just underneath the surface layers of the nail plate.

Beneficial Ingredients

The formula is fortified with vitamins and “nail-loving ingredients” to enhance natural tone while strengthening, hydrating and correcting discoloration.

“We are in a nail-health-conscious era where more and more consumers are looking out for the health of their nails as a result from all the damage from improper removals. Because pH Perfector allows you to rock your natural nails in style, we filled it with antioxidants vitamin C and E and mastic gum oil to support nail resilience over time,” added Ventura.

In addition, silica-enhanced texture allows for smooth application, according to Orly officials.

Orly’s pH Perfector is available in 01 warm and 02 cool blush tones.