How To: Paint Your Nails

I recently decided to start a series of "How To" posts.  I figure why not start off the series with something sweet and simple.  Painting Your Nails.  It may sound silly to write about something as simple as painting your nails.  But I'm always so baffled when my friends tell me that they paid $20, $30, even $40 at the salon!  The thing that amazes me the most is that they think my nails look just as pretty if not better.  People tell me that I have pretty nails.  Which is a little strange, I know.  But I like having nice, polished and rounded nails.  

I've found that over the years, painting my nails is a simple and free way to relax while studying.  I don't have a big Nail Polish Collection; but my sister does, and I can usually borrow any polish from her.  I've always wanted to have a Kardashian Party, which is just a party that's a sleepover where you paint everyone's nails and have a 'spa -like' atmosphere.  Simple but sweet.

(I have 10 simple steps on)

How To: Paint Your Nails.

{one}

Remove your nail polish with nail polish remover, q-tips and cotton balls.  I like to dip q-tips in the nail polish remover to get into the hard-to-reach spaces in your nails.

(You can skip this step if you don't have any nail polish on currently.)

{two}

Wash your hands and apply some hand lotion.

(This is also optional, but I like to wash my hands just to get the nails themselves clean before preparing them for painting.)

{three}

"File", "Buff", and "Polish" your nails using a Nail Buffer Cube and a Nail Filer.

{four}

Choose your nail polish.

{five}

Paint a base coat of your nail polish on one hand.  And wait for the polish to totally dry.

(Paint one hand at a time so you don't knick the wet polish.)

{six}

After the one had has dried, paint the base coat of your nail polish on the other hand.  Then wait for the polish to totally dry.

{seven}

Paint two-three more coats of polish on both of your hands.  You can paint more coats to get the desired color depth you want.  I don't like to paint more than 4-5 coats of polish even with a thin polish.

(Just remember to take it one coat and one had at time.)

{eight}

After all of your nail polish has totally dried, you can paint a coat of sparkles or top coat on top of your real nail polish color.  I don't like to paint more than 2-3 coats of polish when painting sparkles and top coat on top of a base color.

{nine}

Wait 5-10 minutes to make sure your nails are TOTALLY dry before you start on any new task.  DO NOT try to multitask with wet nails!  Not Smart...

{ten}

Repeat this whole process if you have the time to paint your toe nails.

Hope this helps everyone!  I personally LOVE essie colors because they have pretty colors and even the bottle looks ADORABLE! :)

Do you have any tips on painting your nails?  Do you like the essie line of polishes as much as I do?

xoxo

PS. I think I will be doing a post about painting a French Manicure or French Tips sometime soon!