How to: How I paint my nails

Hi everyone! Today I decided to finally to post about the subject I get most questions about: How I paint my nails.

I know a lot of you would love to see a video, but unfortunately my camera is only capable of producing the crappiest, pixelated movies ever. Add my camera-shyness in the mix and it's just a recipe for failure. Instead of making a fool out of myself on camera, I drew some pictures last week to explain my way of painting my nails.
I also know a lot of you already paint your nails perfectly, so this one goes out for everyone that just doesn't know where to begin.

1. Start off with a clean nail, make sure the surface is nail polish and oil free.	2. Apply your base coat or ridge filler. This prevents staining and chipping. Let it dry.	3. Place a drop of polish at the center of the nail, a bit above the cuticle.	4. Carefully push the drop towards the cuticle, leaving just a small gap.	5. Now move your brush upwards making a straight line till the end of the nail.
6. Go back to the base of the nail and swipe the polish along the curve of the nail.	7. Keep dragging the polish until the whole side of the nail is covered.	8. Repeat step 6, but do this on the other side of the nail.	9. Repeat step 7, but do this on the other side of the nail.	10. If necessary apply a 2nd or 3rd coat. Finish with a (quick drying) top coat.

Some other tips:

• Go to the bathroom first - not kidding on this one ;-)
• Make sure you have decent lighting
• Gather all the stuff you need and place it in front of you
• Rest your hands on a table or desk to remain steady
• If you're not that good at painting your non-dominant hand, start with painting your dominant hand first. You'll be less shaky. Move around the fingers you are painting, instead of moving your brush a lot.

Done, but everything is still a bit messy? Please check out my clean up tutorial.
I hope this was helpful!

Thanks so much for reading and till next time,
- Michèle