Nailing it down!

Whhhhhhaaaat? you ask? Yes--I am just going to say it, and I don't care what anyone thinks--I think I'm a bit fascinated with nail art. It meets all of my criteria for a "good thing"--detailed, intricate, time-consuming, sometimes impossible! So why not just say it--I think this is a fantastic art! Here in the States some think of nail art as one thing: tacky. But all over Asia, in particular, Japan, this is as common as a cellphone.

Of course, there are other countries that dabble in the Nail Arts, and the US is one! We have competitions, one just wrapped up in Vegas last week. There are different catagories of nail art, believe it or not. There is one category called "French Twist" in which nails must be an obvious spin of the traditional French manicure. There is a "Fantasy" section, the fantasy being, in my mind, that you would actually wear those things anywhere but to a nail competition:

Viv Simmons winner at the 2009 Nailympics

This is the 3rd place winner in the 3-D catagory in Vegas last week--can you imagine what could have topped this?

Nail Artist Viktorija Prihodko 

A recent NailPro Magazine (yes, this subculture has magazines-a-plenty) had a Back-To-School competition:

Winner of the  Back-to-School contest

Isn't this SWEET?

Below is an example of a Painted Nail. This is a freehand decoration, no sculpture or stencils you help you out!.

PolkaDots by Mistress Ashley

This interest of mine in Nail Art is an unrequited one for me, and will most likely remain the one that got away. I have workers hands you see, and this kind of nail upkeep requires a lifestyle commitment! I will have to just look and sigh....