Prom Spot - Give Yourself a Professional Manicure

If you've just dropped $350 on a dress, the last thing you want to do is blow $35 on a manicure. So we asked Alisha Rimando, nail expert at Dashing Diva nail salons, for tricks on how to give yourself a perfect mani. At home. By yourself. No tip required. Awww, yeah.

Step 1: Clean it
Take an orange woodstick (a little skinny stick with one flat end and the other at an angle). Roll one end in a piece of cotton so it looks like a big Q-tip. Dip the cotton in polish remover and use it to push back your cuticles. Next, scrub the surface of the nail and make sure to get down on the sides. Tip: The pros always scrub in a circular motion!

Step 2: Shape it
Get a soft file (180 grit) and soft buffer (240 grit). Your tools should be soft so they don't shred your nails, leaving them frayed (nails will peel, crack, break…and polish will chip). Try to make all your nails the same length and shape. Then, use the buffer on any ridges on the top of your nail, and also buff the very tips of your nails. Put a little lotion on your hands if you want a full-on manicure effect.

Step 3: Prep it
Take a piece of a paper towel (just a little corner) and dip it in polish remover. Scrub the entire nail surface, including around the cuticle and on the edge of the tip.

Step 4: Base it
Apply one thin base coat. It acts like double-sided tape -- it attaches well to the nail and helps color adhere really well too. Most importantly, it protects your nail from being stained by the pigment. (You know when you take off polish and you have yellowed nails? That's 'cause your nails absorb polish pigment -- ick!) Go over the entire surface and edge.

Step 5: Coat it
Wait five minutes, then do a coat of nail polish. Let that dry for five minutes; then do another coat. Cover every bit of the surface plus the edge, so it doesn't chip (basically, cover every part except for underneath). Hint: Hold the brush at a 45-degree angle, not straight up-and-down like a broom. Try to cover the nail in three strokes (less strokes, less streakage!). Make the coat thin and even. If it's thick, it will take a long time to dry and could end up looking gloppy.

Bonus step!
If you have any cuticle oil, drop it on the cuticle area after the top coat's been on for five minutes. Massage it in. This conditions the cuticle and provides a temporary oil barrier, protecting the polish from smudging for a little while. (Some oil will set on the nail polish, so if you hit something, it slides. By the time the oil wears off, your polish will have dried!)

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--Erin Meanley