Nail Art Ideas

Your brand new future favorite fashion nail salon app is here

Nail art is a creative way to paint, decorate, enhance, and embellish the nails. It is a type of artwork that can be done on fingernails and toenails, usually after manicures or pedicures. A manicure and a pedicure are beauty treatments that trim, shape, and polish the nail. Often these procedures remove the cuticles and soften the skin around the nails. Types of manicures can vary from polish on natural nails, dipping powder, and acrylic nails.

Manicurists start with the same techniques as for the manicure or pedicure:

Acrylics: a chemical mixture of monomer liquid and polymer powder that can be directly applied on the nails or on artificial nails also called nails extensions or enhancements.

Nail gel: a chemical combination similar to acrylics, also known as shellac nails. Manicurist applies several layers on the fingernails or/and toenails and lets it cure under a UV or LED light. When the gel is cured it hardens the nails. Gel is also common in a polish form known as gel polish, and, like other forms of gel, also requires a UV or LED light to cure. The difference between acrylic and gel is that acrylic dries naturally but gel needs UV light to cure. Similarly, where regular nail polish will dry naturally, gel polish will remain tacky until cured by a UV light.

Nail polish/nail varnish: a lacquer applied to finger and toe nails to protect or as a base color. Nail manicurists also use a base coat to protect and strengthen nails, as well as preventing the natural nail from yellowing or staining.

Several options are available for decorating nails:

Glitters

Nail art pens

Piercing

Stamping

Water marbling

Adding accessories

Studs, rhinestones, miniature plastic bow-ties, beads, and aluminum foil

Acrylic powder for 3D art. The powder used for 3D acrylic nail art is a polymer powder which is used with a monomer liquid to create designs.

To decorate the nails, manicurist use several tools such as:

Nail dotters, also known as "dotting tools"

Nail art brushes

Stationery tape/ stickers

Thin, colored striping tape

Sponges (for gradient effects)

Do-it-yourself (DIY), is a new concept of doing nail art without the aid of experts or professionals.

Some brands innovate by creating new kinds of nail polish.

Textures: microbeads or caviar beads are applied just before the nail polish becomes dry. These textures give a sand-like texture to the nail.

Holographic effect: Polishes with holographic finishes give off flashy rainbow reflections when exposed to light.

Velvet manicure: Velvet fibers called velveteen are sprinkled onto wet polish. The excess is gently brushed off, leaving behind a fuzzy velvet feel.

Crackle effect: Nail polish pioneer brand Sally Hansen created the first "crackle" effect polish. Acting as an overcoat, a crackle polish is applied onto already-painted nails and dries to a shattered or cracked effect.

Thermochromic polish: The nail polish changes color when exposed to hot or cold temperatures.

Matte effect: These nail polishes can transform a layer of glossy nail polish into a flat matte finish.

Inverse French: Also called a "half-moon". The half-moon is created on the root of the nail in one color while the rest of the nail is painted a different color.

Nail stickers: A form of Artificial nails, there is a large range of nail stickers, strips and wraps on the market used to mimic nail polish without exposing oneself to the harmful chemicals found in polish.

Collection of latest Nail Art Designs.Nail Art is also known as Nail Polish, Nail Paint or Nail Varnish. More than 100 Nail Art Designs of different styles like flower nail arts, animal designs and minion style nail arts are included in this collection with step by step illustrations to follow for applying them.

The nail care industry has been growing like never before ever since the invention of modern nail polish. In 2012, the United States witnessed a surging popularity of nail art. in the same year, a short nail art documentary was released: "NAILgasm".