This isn't your staid French manicure on a sports-length acrylic nail either. We're talking one to two inches of nail extending past the tip of the finger. Accompanying the trend is an accessories trend designed to either show off the nails or make them easier to work with -- so there are little gadgets sold to help open soda cans and Japanese women can now buy golf gloves that don't have a fingertip so their nail art will be visible while they are out golfing.
In Japanese nail art, nail artists use hand-painting or airbrush techniques on on acrylic nail chips that are then attached to the real nail underneath. While most of the two-dimensional art is designed to give some depth and the impression of three dimensions, actual 3-dimensional art is practiced as well -- using sculpture powder and the addition of charms and small bits of jewelry.
