Tips for Perfect Nail Polish

This is not an article about how to get the perfect manicure, it's an article with tips for the perfect manicure and nail polish. Well, I'm not going to tell you what to do and how to do it step-by-step, but give you a few basic rules to painting your nails that I think every one should know. They'll help your nail polish look smoother, dry quicker and last longer. It will also help the health of your nails.

Before Painting:

1. Make sure that your nails are clean and dry with no old nail polish left. I always give my nails a quick swipe with nail polish remover, too. This will help remove any of your nail's oils, and this will help your nail polish stay on for longer.

2. Push back your cuticles with a cuticle stick/orange stick. This means your nail polish will get further on your nails and there will be less of a nail polish line - the line of bare nail you see when your nails have grown (and your polish hasn't). Never cut off or remove your cuticles, your cuticles are there to keep germs and bacteria away from your nails.

When Painting:

1. Paint very thin layers of nail polish and let each layer dry in between coats. It will take a long time but this is very important because if you chip the nail polish, there will be another layer of polish underneath. It will also prevent the nail polish 'bubbling', where bubbles get trapped underneath your nail polish.

2. Do one long stroke of polish in the middle of your nail, and then do the sides. This will coat your whole nail, and you won't forget the corners of you nails or anything.

3. Take it easy around your cuticles. Use less nail polish and don't let it all the polish build up at the end of the nail otherwise when it dries you'll get a huge lump of polish from where it has bounced against your cuticle and dried. This never looks good, so take it slow!

To speed up the drying process:

1. You can buy a top coat that once applied to your nail quickly dries the nail polish. There's OPI Drip Dry or Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat. These types of driers also come in sprays. They are great if you can't be bothered waiting, or if you need to do something after painting your nails.

2. If you don't want to buy a fast drying top coat, you can try these other methods: run your nails under cold water to help seal the color, or dip your nails into a bowl of icy water. This might cause your nail polish to speckle, though. You can also try blasting your nails under a hair dryer set at the coldest setting.

When everything else is done:

1. Everyday for the next few days after you've painted your nails, add a clear top coat to make sure your nails last longer and don't chip. This will improve the life of your manicure dramatically.

Hope this helps!