Nail polish or nail varnish .

Nail polish

Fingernails before and after application of red nail polish
Nail polish (also known as nail varnish) is a lacquer that can be applied to the human fingernails or toenails to decorate and protect the nail plates. The formulation has been revised repeatedly to enhance its decorative effects and to suppress cracking or flaking. Nail polish consists of a solution of an organic polymer and other components.

History

Nail polish originated in China, and its use dates back to 3000 BC.[1][2] Around 600 BC, during the Zhou dynasty, the royal house preferred the colors gold and silver. However, red and black eventually replaced these metallic colors as royal favorites.During the Ming dynasty, nail polish was often made from a mixture that included beeswax, egg whites, gelatin, vegetable dyes, and gum Arabic.

In Egypt, the lower classes wore pale colors, whereas high society painted their nails a reddish brown, with henna. It was also known that mummified pharaohs would have their nails painted by henna.

By the turn of the ninth century, nails were tinted with scented red oils, and polished or buffed. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, people preferred a polished rather than a painted look by mixing tinted powders and creams into their nails, then buffing them until shiny. One type of polishing product sold around this time was Graf's Hyglo nail polish paste.

Traditionally, nail polish started in clear, red, pink, purple, and black. Nail polish can be found in diverse variety of colors and shades. Beyond solid colors, nail polish has also developed an array of other designs, such as crackled, glitter, flake, speckled, iridescent, and holographic. Rhinestones or other decorative art are also often applied to nail polish. On-line tutorials are available. Some polish is advertised to induce nail growth, make nails stronger, prevent nails from breaking, cracking and splitting, and to even stop nail biting.

French manicure
French manicures are designed to resemble natural nails, and are characterized by natural pink base nails with white tips. French manicures were one of the first popular and well known color schemes. French manicures may have originated in the eighteenth-century in Paris and were most popular in the 1920s and 1930s. One updated trend involves painting different colors as the tips of the nails instead of the basic white. French tip nails can be made with stickers, stencils or with a basic toothpick.

Social media
Social media has given rise to the nail art culture that allows users to share their pictures about their nail art. "WWD reports nail polish sales hit a record $768 million in the U.S. in 2012, a 32% gain over 2011, despite a cluttered market that seemingly sees a new launch each week."[11] Several new polishes and related products came on to the market in the second decade of the twenty-first century as part of the explosion of nail art, such as nail stickers (either made of nail polish or plastic), stencils, magnetic nail polish, nail pens, glitter and sequin topcoats, nail caviar (micro beads) nail polish marketed for men, scented nail polish, and color changing nail polish (some which change hue when exposed to sunshine, and ranges which change hue in response to heat).[year needed] Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube have been popular social media sites that many people around the world are posting their unique nail art. This is good for viewers because it can give them an idea of what kind of nail art they could try for themselves.

Western World
Nail polish in the Western World has traditionally been worn by women, going in and out of acceptability depending upon moral customs of the day. In Victorian era culture it was generally considered improper for women to adorn themselves with either makeup or nail coloring, with natural appearances being considered more chaste and pure.