Shattered nail manicure
OPI have just launched its new product “OPI Shatter” nail polish that no one can ignore. This amazing nail product is becoming the newest craze in nail fashion. And why not? Shatter is the perfect nail polish for summer. It actually shatters as it dries and in fact looks great when it begins to flake. It comes in seven very attractive colors, turquoise, black, red, white and navy among them which you can try to paint your nails with on your own. It is one manicure that you won’t ever mess up.

Stick on decals
This summer nail trend is also one very quick and easy way to adorn your nails this summer and still look like you’ve spent hours in a nail salon. Nail decals or stickers come in a wide range of colors and designs to choose from and very easy to apply with no drying time needed. The effect of these nail decals on your nails is awesomely fabulous that you’ll turn heads this summer wherever you go.

Newspaper print nails
This is a very cute and playful summer nail art trend that is also easy to do. All you need are some newspapers, a light nail polish of your desired color and a bottle of alcohol. This is an artsy nail design that is gaining a lot of popularity this summer.

Glitter nail manicure
Allow your nail to sparkle with this summer nail trend that is again one very easy manicure to create. Glitter nail polish are now available in the market that all you need to do is paint them on your nails, and VOILA! Glitter nail manicure. Photo by  @ohoo_

Ladylike Long Nails
For a very formal and genteel look, you can try on this elegant ladylike long nails filed to a round or oval perfection. It is the easiest to achieve nail trend for the season and one that you can do at home. The key to this big nail trend for spring/summer 2012 is the round or oval tip perfectly filed to prevent it from snagging and flaking. This trend also calls for a nail strengthener polish that also works as glossy nail coat. Ladylike long nails are best painted with nude color polish.

Printed Nails
Printed nails are created by fabulous looking nail wraps in sporty and speedy patterns to create an absolutely invigorating and stimulating look just right for a stunning look at the Olympics. Printed nails are also easy to achieve, just choose your preferred nail wrap print and follow the “how to” directions that come with the packet.

French Manicure on the Reverse
Just like the traditional French manicure, this big nail trend for spring/summer 2012 is also two-toned, one lighter than the other, but is a new twist to the classic manicure. For this French manicure on the reverse, the lighter tone is painted in a triangle shape halfway up the lower portion of the nail and the darker tone filling the rest of the nail.

Timeless Red Nail Color
Red nails are as trendy as ever for spring/summer 2012 and for good reasons. This very traditional and classic nail color is sexy, elegant, attractive and fresh looking. Who could want for more in a manicure? This big nail trend for spring/summer 2012 looks best with a shiny topcoat. All Photos Copyright of sakaki0214

Frosted Fuschia, Ginger Bells, Blue India & Steel Grey

Photo by Paeonia*

Nail art with nail polish can be a simple coating of a one color nail polish, a two colored nail art such as a French manicure, glittery nail art, nail art in stunning colors, and even nail art with images of geometric designs such as dots and stripes and flowers. For those who desire stunning nail art with nail polish but are not quite dept at drawing designs on their nails a new innovation to nail polish has been introduced in the market. This is called a nail polish pen. Nail polish pens come in disposable cartridges that allow you to control its application, avoiding waste and spills and allowing for an even application of nail art with nail polish. There is a nail cartridge for every one color of your preference and they are small enough to carry around in your purse, ideal for travel purposes.

Don’t fret too much if you have fungi on your nails. Fungus can be treated and there are several ways to treat it. If you are wearing acrylic nails and you develop fungus, the best remedy is to remove your acrylic nail. You cannot apply ointment or cream if the fungi are covered with the acrylic nail. Once the artificial nail is removed, cut the natural nails very short so that you can apply the antifungal ointment on the infected nails.

Nail fungus can also be treated by doctor prescribed medicines and even with alternative medicines. It is common knowledge that there are plenty of plants that can treat fungus; an example would be plants with tea – tree oil. These plants do not only have anti-fungal properties, it is also used as an antiviral or antibacterial. Alternative medicines are natural and are healthier than chemically processed anti-fungal ointments or creams.
Before starting any nail fungus treatment, it is important to be assured that the infection is really a fungal infection. There are other reasons for the discoloration of the nails other than fungal infection. Consult a doctor or dermatologist first before applying anything on the infection.

Pick some nail art stickers and nail art tools as a nail pen so that you can widen your choice of the kind of colorful design you want to create. Remember to get the essential manicure tools from the nail store, if you don’t have them yet, so that you can prepare your nails to be the perfect canvas of your colorful nail art design 2012.

The advantage of these colorful nail art designs 2012 is that you can do it on your own with very little or almost no skill needed and still come up with a professional looking manicure, such as :

All Photos Copyright of  nailsbylisa

Colorful garden nails art design
One test of your artistic ability is the creation of a colorful garden nail art design on your nails. Decorate your nails with flowers, leaves, vines and even trees to make your nails look like a lovely garden. All you need to do is apply a base coat on your well-prepared nails, allow it to dry then apply the nail polish color that you want as background of your garden. Using nail art stickers for the flowers, leaves, trees etc. give free reign to the artist in you by designing the most attractive garden on your nails.

Colorful rainbow nail art design
This colorful nail art design for 2012 is one of the easiest design to create on your nails. Use a light blue nail varnish as background to make it appear like the sky and draw your rainbow using either nail art pens or even different rainbow colored nail polishes.
colorful polka dot nail art design This colorful nail art design 2012 looks cute and yummy on your nails. A great idea is to use darker nail polish color as background for the design and decorate them with different pastel colored dots. You can create the dots using nail varnish or nail pens.

The end of 2011 brought us nail colors that were bold and bright. Spring is ushering in a more natural look with soft pinks and neutral shades. Natural polish choices have hit celebrities and runways alike showing us that nude can be just as good. The nude trend shows us that nails can once again be cute and we can take a break from the extreme and just relax a little. Nude nails also go with any choice of outfit whether it is an evening on the town or a pair of our comfortable jeans. It can accent short nails or give long nails a new and fresh update. Neutral polish can accent any skin tone with a lighter or darker shade of polish. You can even match your skin tone for an overall clean look.

No need to stress over what colors and techniques to try for spring. Simply find a polish that matches your skin tone. For the more adventurous, you can add neutrals with gold undertones. If you have an olive complexion, try a nude pink shade. For dark skin, go with neutrals in brown shades. Just remember, bold spring nails are subtle soft shades to enhance your femininity.

Learning to be an expert in the new nail designs of the coming year, takes patience and creativity. It will be well worth the work and effort when you hear the many compliments you get from your unique designs. If you plan to design your own nails, you will need a good quality nail kit. It will need to include rich colors in a wide range of shades. It is also essential to have good polishing tools to give you a smooth surface to work with. It is time to break out of the old boring colored nails and add some pizazz. You can do pretty much anything you set your mind to in 2012 with nail designs.

Once you paint your nails with a specially chosen color, it is time to add things like glitter, beads, stickers, or whatever else strikes your fancy. For the bold nail expert, fruit, flowers, and prints can be added as decoration. Take a look at the styles of the models out there to gain inspiration. Have your first design done a professional to see what ideas are popular. If you are good at doing your own designs, then you can be as creative as you want. To keep your style looking good for a longer period of time, choose higher quality polishes as your base. Cleaning and adding moisturizer to your manicure routine will give you a good canvas to work from.

Acrylic nail overlays
Acrylic nail overlays could well be the most popular acrylic nails and also the most durable. To apply an acrylic overlay, the natural nail need to be filed and artificial nail tips are glued on the nails. The acrylic product which is a combination of a liquid and powder mixture is then used to coat the seams of the artificial nail all the way to the tips. Another coating is applied, this time from the base of the nails, without touching the cuticle all the way to the free edge of the artificial nail. Acrylic nail overlay looks like a hard plastic cover once the product dries. It needs to be filed, sculpted and polished for a final finish.

Gel nail overlay
Gel nail overlays are gaining a lot of popularity these days because they are the most natural-looking of all the artificial nail overlays. But gel nail overlays are also less stronger and durable than acrylic nails and also more expensive. Gel nail overlays are created with the use of artificial tips and coated by a gel solution. Gel nail overlays are of two types, those cured under a UV lamp and the no-light gel nail overlay that is cured either by soaking it in water or by a spray of a gel activator. Gel nail overlays do not need a coating of polish since they are quite glossy.

Nail wraps
Nail wraps are the most natural looking nail overlay. Nail wraps are made of silk or fiberglass with different prints or patterns that is laid on natural nails and coated with nail polish. Nail wraps are the most affordable nail overlays that also give the most natural feel and look.

Don’t wait till your hands are veined or blotched and your nails are discolored or weakened before you act. Of course there are remedies and cure for such conditions but prevention is always better than cure. Hands and nails are easy to care for. In fact, you do not need expensive products to keep them in good condition only a conscious effort to keep them cared for at all times.

Some simple tips to better care for your hands and nails include the proper way to clean them, keeping them hydrated or moisturized and making sure that they are free of dead skin. Here’s how:

• Wash your hands thoroughly with antibacterial soap to make sure that they are always clean, then wipe them completely dry with a soft fluffy towel to avoid abrasion.

• Keep your hands and nails hydrated by using a moisturizer at least four times daily. This will give keep your nails and hands in the pink of health.

• Wear rubber gloves when doing household chores or gardening to protect your hands and nails

• Avoid using your nails as a staple wire remover or can opener or for any purpose that will damage and harm the nails.

• Exfoliate your hands to get rid of dead skin with the use of a lemon and sea salt solution. With a soft-bristled brush or an old toothbrush brush the solution on your hands and nails to soften it and at the same time remove skin and nail discoloration.

• Soaking hands and nails in a warm cup of milk will hydrate the skin and strengthen the nails. Dead skin are stripped off from the skin by the lactic acid contained in milk and its calcium content will make nails stronger.

The term acrylic comes from the word “methacrylate” a mixture of polymer powder and monomer liquid. What gives the new acrylic nails its extraordinary strength and toughness is Poly(methyl methacrylate) or PMMA or synthetic polymer. When the monomer and polymer are mixed together, the chemical reaction of the mixture produces the filament-like acrylic product that dries to look like natural nails.
The most important aspect of applying the new acrylic nail is ensuring that the nail bed is perfectly clean before the application to prevent the growth of bacteria that could cause fungal infection in between the natural nail and acrylic nail. Cleaning the nail bed with alcohol will dispel grease and oil and will eradicate bacteria.

Another important step in the new acrylic nail application is priming the nails. The process involves applying a nail primer over unpainted nails to ensure that the acrylic product sticks on the natural nails. What the nail primer does is to melt away a thin layer of the surface of the natural nail coarsening the surface to secure the acrylic deep into the nail.

Sculpting the new acrylic nail entails the use of a nail form made of either plastic or thin metal foil that is placed over the fingertip and coated with the acrylic product. Once the acrylic product hardens the nail form is removed.

The final stage of the new acrylic nail application is the filing and buffing of the hardened acrylic product to the desired length and shape. The new acrylic nail can be painted with nail color or not. In itself, it already looks great but when painted with nail varnish or polish in some amazing nail colors it looks super elegant and fabulous. Photo by B_Zedan