essie good to go is an excellent top coat as it hastens the drying time.

Fingers or toes? Painting my toes has always been hard for me. I'm amazed at how the nail salon woman can be so neat and exact.

The key is to do thin coats and buy expensive polish such as essie. Doesn't chip as easy!

Do them the day before an event or whatever. That way anything that gets on your skin will get scraped off by then.

Be sure to work on your cuticles first. That is why professional manicures always look better than home-done -- the manicurist know how to soften an then safely push back and trim cuticles.

Make sure your nails are clean to start - if they have an oily soap residue or anything, the polish won't adhere well. A base coat can help with this.

I like OPI and Essie, and also have had good luck with the Sally Hanson Salon Manicures line.

I use a top coat from Essie - Good to Go. It really does help put a hard layer on top, my polish lasts a couple of weeks with this. Then I use a quick-dry from Essie, it actually comes with a little eye dropper and you place a drop or two on each nail. They're hard within seconds, best quick-dry I've found.

For painting:
If you want to get fancy, start by soaking your hands in warm water to soften the cuticle, then push them back with a wooden nail stick. You can skip this step if you don't want to bother with it, it just gives a "cleaner" finish.

To start with, sit at a desk or table, and place one hand on the table (once you get used to it, you can sit on a couch and place one hand on your knee).

I try to avoid putting my "painting" hand directly over a nail that I've just painted. I start by using my right hand to paint my left hand nails, starting with the pinky and working toward the thumb - that way my right hand doesn't accidentally bump anything that I've just painted. Then I use my left hand to paint my right hand, again starting with my pinky and working toward the thumb.

For each finger: dip the brush into the polish, and slowly drag it up one side to clean some of the polish off of the brush. There should still be quite a bit on, though. Start by running the brush down the center of the nail, then take another swipe down each side. If it's a good polish, the swipes should melt together (polish can get gummy when it's too old, and will look streaky no matter what you do).

Let each coat dry for a minute or so between layers. Usually, by the time I finish the second hand, the first pinky is ready to go again.

Start with a neutral color, graduate to dark colors after you get a feel for it. And have fun!

Cuticles: I use Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover - it doesn't remove the cuticles per se but it does soften them so you can easily push them back with a cuticle pusher.

I don't bother with base coat but I do use Seche Vite fast dry top coat. Apply it to still-wet nails after you're done with nail polish and it will dry really quickly and prevent you from accidentally bumping your hand against something and smudging your polish. One thing is that it does create a very glossy finish so if you're using a matte nail polish, it won't be matte any more if you apply Seche Vite.

I do my nails from pinky to thumb. I'm right handed so I polish my right hand first (with my left hand). It's fine if you accidentally get a bit of nail polish on the skin around your nail - it comes off easily when it dries or worse case scenario, dip a q-tip in nail polish remover and remove any dried polish that way.

Brands - it pretty much depends on your body chemistry. I have noticed that if I wash my hands and nails before applying nail polish, the nail polish tends to last longer. I assume because you're applying it to a fresh canvas and not on top of all your body's natural oils or any lotions that you might wear, etc.

I don't think the high-end nail polish is necessarily better than drug store stuff but for me personally the nail polish that lasts the longest on my nails is Julep. It's expensive though! Zoya is a good brand too, and they will give you 3 nail polishes free for just the cost of shipping as their winter promotion - usually takes place in January or February, keep an eye on their website. OPI and Nicole by OPI are good, haven't had much luck with Sally Hansen nail polishes but the nail care stuff is decent and cheap, Revlon is hit or miss, Sinful Colors is cheap and good quality and you can get it at Target or CVS. I wouldn't bother with the ultra-high-end nail polishes unless they have a color that you really like that you can't duplicate with a cheaper nail polish.

Paint your thumbs last. They get in the way otherwise. I'm right-handed, and start with L index finger, moving to middle, ring, pinky, and then thumb. Repeat for the R hand.

Definitely base coat and top coat. I like Essie, too, along with OPI.

A basecoat is helpful too, especially if you will be using darker colors.
Agree with the OPI suggestion above as well as the polishing technique.
Don't apply topcoat until your color is dry- it can create weird streaks if you do.
Enjoy!

^discontinued*

1. Keep the nails short. Long painted nails look trashy.

2. OPI is the only paint worth using. Everything else will chip and look terrible pretty much instantly. It also has a longer shelf life.

3. Focus on getting your nails perfect and don't worry about your skin. A Q-tip and some nail polish remover will work wonders.

4. You need a solid topcoat. The best ever was by L'Oreal, but they discontinues it years ago. I use OPI's now, but it's not the same.

Good luck!

If it gets on your skin, it's really easy to pick off when it dries. So try to avoid painting your skin, but don't go crazy about it.

A top coat will help it last longer but makes the process take longer.

YouTube is your BFF for things like this.

But in general

One stripe down the middle, overlap and cover left, overlap and cover right.

Sally Hansen nail polish: so much easier to paint on. Avoid Revlon.

Please teach me like I'm 10! I was never very expressive of my "girliness," though inside I feel girly. I can't justify spending money on a manicure, but I do like having pretty colors on my nails sometimes.

However, I also like having my nails short (am also eczema prone, so it helps keep potential scratching at bay).

Can you teach me how to paint my nails? Base coat, top coat, what? How do I push back my cuticles? How do I "stay within the lines" and avoid painting my fingers, or clean up excess on skin?

Are drugstore brands ok? What do you recommend? What should I stay away from?