I've mentioned to you before my difficulties and general laziness around painting my nails.  Well, sometimes you just don't have the time to run by the nail salon and spend an hour and a half lounging in those nice padded massage chairs and you have to face the unthinkable: doing it yourself.  You won't get off too easy here:  this process took me about 30 minutes, and that's not including the dry time.  Which needs to be more than 5 minutes, by the way. 

Cuticle time:  Somehow, I was blessed with cuticles that just don't overgrow or get in the way.  So I totally skip this step.  If you have overgrown cuticles, it is worth your time to at least push them back, if not trim them.  It just makes your manicure look so much more professional. 

Use a base coat:  There are some really good reasons to invest the time into putting on a base coat.  For one, your nail polish will adhere so much better to your nails and you won't have it peeling away on you in a couple of days.  Secondly, if you are using a deep color, particularly a red, using a base coat will prevent the red color from staining your nail bed and preventing you from switching to sheer anytime in the next 3 months.  The third reason I think it is a good idea to use a base coat is that it gives you practice.  I am horrible at painting my nails.  I glob it on too thick at first and I miss and get it on my fingers and it always jut looks messy.  If you do that with your base coat, it's so unnoticeable that you can fix it without having to start completely over.  I used Sally Hansen Ultimate Shield Fortifying Base and Top Coat as my base coat. 

The Nail Color:  I am currently using Sally Hansen Beyond Perfect Protein Nail Color in Nude on my fingertips and Orly Nail Lacquer in Crawford's Wine on my toenails.  The thing I try to remember in this step is to not put too much on at once.  It is a lot easier to add more layers than it is to take polish away.  You'll probably need at least two layers unless you are trying to go super sheer.

The fix:  Because it is inevitable that I will color outside of the lines, I prepare my little fix-it tool before I even start painting.  I take a cotton ball and wrap a small amount of it around the small end of a cuticle pusher tool and dip it into some nail polish remover.  The result should be a reasonably small sized tool to clean up your mistakes without having to get cotton ball all over your freshly painted nails.

The Top Coat:  No matter how glossy your nail polish looks when you put it on, it just doesn't have that shine to it when it's all dry.  A top coat's main purpose, though, is to provide a first layer of protection between your nail color and the elements.  I used Sally Hansen's Mega Shine Extended Wear Top Coat for my at home manicure and pedicure.

The Results:  This was the absolute best at home nail treatment I have ever given myself.  I had a little bit of trouble with the consistency of the Beyond Perfect Nail Color, and I put it on too thick, resulting in some early dings in a couple nails.  I think if I put on thinner layers, I would have seen better results.  A standout here is the Orly Nail Lacquer.  This is the only drugstore nail polish I have ever experienced that is comparable to OPI Nail Polish used in salons.  It has such a nice consistency and looks salon perfect days later.

DeLush Ratings:

      Sally Hansen Ultimate Shield Base Coat
            Sally Hansen Beyond Perfect Nail Color
Orly Nail Lacquer
Sally Hansen Mega Shine Top Coat

Reviewed By: Jen