Manicure and nail decoration are huge in Japan. One of the more creative beauty trends that has reached the Western world is the Japanese 3D nails trend. They're called 3D nails because the nails are decorated with little things instead of just flat polish. These involve ribbons, hearts, stones, tiny flowers and glitter that you can truly touch and feel. Most of these are sold as fake nails, like the ones at Kawaii nails (that sells imported Japanese 3d nails) but if you go to Japan they can do something similar to your natural nails.
I think they're totally cute, if very unpractical. Can you imagine typing with those? Not for the shy or subtle. The expression less is more has obviously never been part of the vocabulary of the creators of Japanese 3D nails. I remember Gwen Stefani used to have them a while ago.
It's difficult to decide if it should be considered an art form or if it's just manicure. I guess it's a little bit of both, combined. The "real" Japanese 3D nails can take several hours to complete if they're made by a manicurist.
P.S. "Cute" in Japanese is "Kawaii" but you probably already knew that. ;)