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How To Apply Nail Polish
How to apply nail polish: Here is a short video which shows the correct way to apply nail varnish, with expert handy hints thrown in. Create that extra glow to your appearance with our guide to applying nail polish.
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Step 1:
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You will need
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Step 2:
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Clear your schedule
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Take the phone off the hook, and ignore the doorbell. Or at the very least try to allow yourself some time to apply nail varnish properly. It will last longer if you do.
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Step 3:
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Remove old varnish
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You have to remove any old varnish before you put new varnish on. Put some nail varnish remover on to a cotton pad and wipe all of your nails down with it until it's gone.
Try to use remover that doesn't contain acetone or alcohol, this will dry the nails out and make the nail varnish chip.
Also try not to use nail varnish remover more than once a week, your nails need time to recover from all the chemicals to stay healthy.
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Step 4:
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Cuticle oil
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Brush on cuticle oil and massage it in. Leave it on whilst filing to soften your nails.
If you don't have cuticle oil, you can use olive oil or any edible oil.
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Step 5:
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File your nails
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Neaten the shape of your nail, using a file. Only file in one direction, so your nails won't flake at the tip.
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Step 6:
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Wash your hands
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You don't want to put a layer of varnish over a layer of dirt or on top of nail varnish remover, so wash your hands thoroughly first. This gets rid of the nail dust from the filing too.
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Step 7:
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Tidy up your cuticles
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Cuticles are the skin which overlaps on to the nail. It's a natural part of the nail, but oil in the skin means that the nail polish will not stick to it for long.
To soften your cuticles soak your nails in warm water, this can take up to 15 minutes.
A great alternative to this, is to apply cuticle remover to you nails, give your hands a generous coat of moisturiser, and wrap in cling film for 15 minutes. This softens the cuticles, and moisturises your hands!
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Step 8:
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Get rid of hang nails
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If you have any hang nails, trim these off too, with a cuticle trimmer, or with nail scissors.
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Step 9:
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Remove oil
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Wipe down your nails with nail polish remover, so that all the oil is removed. Otherwise the nail varnish would not stay on well.
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Step 10:
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Apply a thin layer
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Open the nail varnish, and wipe the brush on the side of the pot to make sure there isn't too much on it. Your nail varnish will last longer, if you do a few thin layers, rather than a single thick one.
Leave your hand flat. Brush it on quickly in 2 or 3 strokes. You don't need to worry about slight unevenness, it will settle in a nice smooth surface.
Only brush the varnish near but not to the edge of the nail. Don't paint on the cuticle.
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Step 11:
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Wait
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Don't move a muscle until it is fully dry or it might smudge.
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Step 12:
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Apply more layers
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Once the first layer is totally dry put on another layer. Most nail varnish is better and stronger if you put on a few layers.
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Step 13:
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Tidy up
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If you've just got any polish on the skin around your nail, wrap a small amount of cotton wool around a cuticle stick, and add some nail polish remover to gentle rub away the unwanted nail varnish. This is much more precise than a cotton bud.
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