AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Nail art is going three-dimensional. People who embrace colorful designs now also want texture. NPR's Ana Perez went to a salon to find out how it's done.
(SOUNDBITE OF NAILS BEING FILED)
ANA PEREZ, BYLINE: For Courtney Davis, the Nailsaloon in Washington, D.C., is her art studio...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: She does cute designs.
PEREZ: ...A place where she can experiment with different techniques, colors and even create her own masterpieces.
COURTNEY DAVIS: I definitely love being able to express myself through my nails - you know, receiving compliments is great, but just really having that chance to be creative.
PEREZ: And these nails are really something else. They come alive. You can truly feel them.
SYDNEY GORMAN: The base is a cat-eye silver, and then a white French tip. But then we're doing a 3D on top, like a water droplet.
PEREZ: Customer Sydney Gorman says going 3D takes her nails to the next level.
GORMAN: I also attended a Megan Thee Stallion concert a couple months ago, so I had a 3D snake design over one set of nails and then flames on the other.
PEREZ: Snakes were the theme of Megan's most recent album. And just as with all forms of art, tools and methods for nail art are constantly evolving. To create eye-popping 3D designs, Nailsaloon owner Andrea Vieira says her technicians use magnets to move the polish to create dimension and texture.
ANDREA VIEIRA: And it pulls the color. So I think people like the element of surprise, where, from a distance, you see a nail. But then, when you get a little bit closer, you really realize that it's something else.
PEREZ: Marnae Orton has been with Nailsaloon since they opened in 2014.
MARNAE ORTON: Trying to decide which one I want to put on you.
PEREZ: She says 3D nail art has been popular for about a year, but it's really picked up recently at the salon. She's booked out months in advance. Orton says this is what drives her. There's always something new in nail art.
ORTON: Because I'm never stagnant of - in what I'm doing. Like, there's always some new type of design to learn, and I just - I love that about it.
PEREZ: They're not cheap, though - 3D accents can cost up to $90. But if you don't like them, it's only temporary.
(LAUGHTER)
PEREZ: Ana Perez, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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