How Do I Choose the Best Pretty Nail Design?

A woman may want to get her nails done professionally on a regular basis or for a special occasion, and nail designs can be added to basic polish for extra style. Designs can be painted or air brushed on a person's nails. Designs can be incorporated in manicures and on acrylic nails, gel nails and wraps. When a person is searching for a pretty nail design, she may want to consider the time of year and upcoming holidays or occasions, personal color and style preferences and the designs available in the method of choice. She also may want to consult the nail salon staff.

It can be overwhelming for a nail salon newcomer to choose a pretty nail design, because some salons have dozens of options. One way for a person to narrow down a design is by the time of year. Floral designs and bright designs tend to look best in the spring and summer seasons. During the fall and winter, a woman may want to choose a darker nail design with some simple stripes or lines, though a seasonal theme also might work.

The clothes in a person's closet also should be taken into consideration when picking a nail design. For example, a wardrobe that has a lot of blue may encourage a nail design with a lot of blue to blend. A wardrobe that has no purple may not support a nail design that does. A woman also should remember to take her career into consideration when choosing a pretty nail design, because some styles may look good on the sample but may not have enough of a professional look to fit in at the office.

Holidays also can help a woman to choose a pretty nail design. Many salons will put out special nail art options to match corresponding holidays. Cobwebs and spiders can be painted onto a woman's nails around Halloween. Christmas trees and snowflakes are often available as designs around the winter holidays. Women can choose to get a holiday design on all her fingernails or can limit the design to one or two nails per hand, with a corresponding solid color on the remaining nails.

A woman who is having trouble deciding on a pretty nail design should not be afraid to ask the nail salon technician for help. Many salons keep the newest and most trendy colors of nail polish readily available. The nail tech can show a customer which colors will work best with specific patterns. Some nail salons also keep fashion magazines in their waiting area. A woman can try looking through such magazines to find pretty nails designs that are in style.

Not all nail designs have to be loud and bright. If a person is getting a pretty nail design for the first time, then she can start out with a simple design in the low-key pink and white French manicure colors. A French manicure design can be dressed up for an event by adding silver nail sparkles.

Some designs also might lend themselves to a particular process, such as air brushing, while other methods might not translate the design as well. A person with a preference for a particular type of nail process — whether acrylic, gel or wrap — may first be able to narrow the nail design choices down to those available via a particular process and go from there. This method may eliminate several options, after which the other deciding factors can come into play.