how to paint your nails like they haven't been painted, in 4 easy steps

  

This is how I do a french manicure.  Nothing official about it (never been taught how) but this method works for me.

start with clean, polish free nails (duh)

1) apply white polish to tips only.  sweep across with small tipped brush (like on nail art bottle or mini bottle).  when I'm doing my right hand I sometimes just roll the finger nail under the brush rather than pulling the brush (did that make sense? :)  don't worry about polish that ends up off the nail.  If it comes out really crooked, you can just remove that nail's polish and reapply. (an advantage to doing this step first)

2) apply thin coat of nude polish (light milky pink or peach color).  this evens out the nail's color and protects the nail. again, don't worry about stray polish

3) apply clear polish as top coat.  sometimes I'll use a sparkle polish for the top layer, but I usually regret doing anything else :)  I like seche vite because it dries fast, seems to harden the polish underneath, and is super shiny.  but it literally stinks!

4) once nails have thoroughly dried, remove the stray polish.  the easiest and most effective way is waiting until the next morning, and after the shower, rubbing it off the softened skin with a towel or scratching it off with my nails.  not very official, but it works and turns out looking very tidy in the end :)