Home manicure - using the secrets of professionals

Occasionally getting your nails done professionally is worth the money--if only because of the pampering that comes with it. But in between times, you can pamper yourself at home as well.

1. Remove old lacquer using nail-polish remover and a paper towel or a cotton pad (both offer more friction than a tissue and won't shred the way cotton balls can).
2. File your nails while they're dry.

3. Soften nails and cuticles in a bowl of warm water mixed with cuticle oil, olive oil, or body lotion. After 10 minutes of soaking, dry off and apply cuticle cream or lotion. Gently ease cuticles back by making tiny circles against the cuticle with an orangewood stick (a thin wooden stick with a slant-edge tip at both ends; it's sold in drugstores) wrapped in cotton. Next, rub cuticles with a warm, damp washcloth in the same gentle way.

4. Wash away oil or lotion with soap and water, and dry nails thoroughly. Rubbing them with polish remover again (as they do at salons) shouldn't be necessary, and can actually over-dry nails.
5. Apply a basecoat.

6. Sweep on polish the way they do at salons, in three strokes, from base to tip: Go up the center. Then, hit each side. Use one dip per nail, and wipe the brush once per dunk before applying to nail.

7. Wait two minutes between each coat of color (base and topcoats included) to speed overall drying time.

8. Finish with a topcoat. If you have the time, use a topcoat that's designed to be shiny and protective.

9. Touch up any polish mistakes after nails are dry (working on wet nails guarantees smudging). Use a cotton swab and polish remover, or try a pen made for this specific purpose.

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