I have never painted my finger nails....

[NeedSomeSun142]

so I bought some nail varnish today, any tips before I start please I fear I may make a huge mess

I would normally suggest a base coat and top oat to help the colour last but if it is your first time then you probably don't have those so just go for it! Make sure you have nail varnish remover in case it doesn't go on smoothly.practice makes perfect.

done it,.... looks bumpy? I got Barry m with sequins in do I need a clear coat to smooth it over? thanks

Make sure you've not got too much on the brush then do one sweep down the middle then fill in the sides

As it's got sequins it may be bumpy because of that maybe? Clear coat won't smooth it, but will help it last. Just make sure it's dried before putting on top coat .

ah ok I think iv put too much on, my finger nails look like bricks

Just asking out of curiosity, how come you've never painted your nails?
I think for a first try you should pick up a 'normal' nail varnish. Rimmel salon pro are easy to apply and last ages, or another barry m.
Just start with one very thin coat and then wait for it to completely dry before you put on the second. I never bother with base or top coat, i find it makes my nail varnish chip more.

The Rimmel 60 second dry is good. I'm crap at painting my nails but this has got a shorter, stubbier brush which imo makes it go on easier.

If they're bumpy wait till they're completely dry and buff them, then add another thin layer of the varnish. Easier than starting over. Alternatively shellac is quite cheap to have done and is a-mazing. I'm really hard on my hands and it lasts at least two weeks without chipping. I'm not impressed by Barry M varnish, it is claggy.

because I have always had a habit of biting my nails, finally decided to grow them and make them look nice it's took since Christmas, but I actually have a decent length of nail for the first time in 23 years, I'm going to start again tomorrow with some normal nail varnish maybe I was being abit optimistic