How the feck do you paint your finger nails without making a mess of it?

[AuntieMaggie]

I don't usually wear nail polish on my hands but someone bought me some nice stuff for my birthday so have been giving it a go but every time I end up with it on the skin around the nails and its hard to get off!

Buy some cutical sticks and push back the skin very gently. Leave a tiny space around the edge so you don't paint the skin around your nail. And paint your nails at night time, so if you do go over the edge onto skin , it will come off in your morning shower

Probably mainly just practice, but try leaving a tiny gap round the edge of your nails so the brush doesn't ever touch your skin or cuticles, cos that's when it gets messy.

X post!

I normally paint mine and once its dry go in the bath or shower and that helps get it off skin that it shouldn't be on.

Yes, go with above. I always do mine at night time and then it comes off in the morning shower. Also, you could try using a cotton bid soaked in nail varnish remover to get rid of edges.

Thanks... tried getting it off with a cotton bud but some is still there as I didn't want to get too close to ruin my nails!

What polish re you using? It pays to have one with a good brush imo.
Also you need a good top coat which dries ultra fast - No 7 is fantastic and cheap!

Also, don't paint anywhere near the cuticles or sides of the nails and wipe one side of the brush when taking out of the bottle.

Its an avon one - doesn't chip (like my mac one) but its a dark colour so really obvious where i've gone wrong! Doesn't matter what I use I still make a mess and I try to fill in gaps cos I'm fussy!

Also I have dents this morning even though I painted them 4 hours before bed

I found having a couple of professional manicures helped my technique no end, plus buying some of the tricks of the trade (for smudges and going over the lines, I have an orange stick with a tiny bit of cotton wool on the end dipped in remover - smaller than a cotton bud, and pointy, so gets in the right places).

Dents this morning may mean your coats of varnish were too thick - best to do more sheer layers than fewer thick layers.

Sally hensen (think that is her name) does some quick drying drops. You put a couple of drops on each nail - amazing stuff! I do 4 layers and they dry fairly quickly and I no longer have dents the next day

The trick with polish is several thin coats, not two thick ones.

You need a fast drying top coat - touchable in about 20 seconds flat and it avoids getting dents.

Avon is shit - I like a lot of their products bot not nail varnish.

Valium - Can I ask you about something else? Did you try that face concealer where they had run out of the samples? I have yet to order my samples and wanted to know whether you were pleased with it? Thanks.

Hiya prince :)

When it first came I whacked some on and it looked HORRENDOUS, really dry and very very mask like.

I had another go using a stipple brush and it was much better, but the samples were all the wrong colours so couldn't really see the proper effect iyswim? Obviously it's all in the application.

I am going to give it a proper go when they have the full palette of samples in so I can try it with the finishing powder as well. It's just impossible to guess your correct colour from the screen.

I;m pretty sure there was a free service funded by charity where they come and colour match you properly which I imagine you would qualify for.

I think it would work well on the body, which iirc is what you wanted it for wasn't it? I have read fab reviews on Ben Nye make up as well which might be worth you looking at - they specialise in stage make up, I am interested in giving them a go.

Hope this helps :) x

Thanks. I have what I assume is vitiligo on my face. I am pretty pale so in the winter I just ignore it, but as summer comes I am aware that it is likely to get more noticeable as the rest of my face tans.

I am now wearing sunblock on my face in an attempt to not get a tan but would like something to cover it in the evenings if I go out for example.

I will take a look at Ben Nye.

Hope you find something that works :)