Though nail art may not be as popular in other countries as it is the United States, the demand for various styles of nail art depends on the type of clientele your salon caters to, no matter where in the world you are working.

Says Debbie Krakalovich, co-owner of The Nail Shoppe in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, “Our salon is located in downtown Toronto, so the majority of our clientele are businesswomen. They wear their nails very understated and shorter than in other areas of the city. If they do wear nail art, they like it to be subtle; for example, a little bit of striping tape or a gold or silver swirl. Our clients don’t wear colored gems; instead they prefer rhinestones.”

In other areas of Toronto, airbrushing has found many converts, says Krakalovich. Among these clients, bright, fluorescent designs are all the rage and so are colored gems, she says.

Across the Atlantic, more subtle designs such as hand painted floral nail art are blooming in popularity in Germany, says Chris Young, nail art specialist, manufacturer’s educator, and owner of Independent Designs in Baltimore, Md. Abstract designs using foil and striping tape are also popular, she says.

Young, who writes a nail art how-to column for the German beauty magazine Kosmetik, says nail art was just starting to develop in Germany when she first had her work published in 1992. Since then, it has really grown in popularity, she says.

“I started out doing basic designs for the magazine, and I’m now doing more detailed ones,” she says. According to Marion Mathews, editor of Nail News, which is based in London, “The conservative British are slow to embrace nail art. As yet, it is a service for the minority, with few salons offering nail jewelry, let along exotic painting.”

Stripes, chevrons, and geometric patterns are most popular, says Mathews. New to nail art in England is marbleizing and patchwork  designs, while the more artistic favor palm trees and sunsets, starbursts and flowers – pretty rather than dramatic, she says.