How to do your nails. Start off by gathering all the supplies you will need, such as a dehydrator, acetone, nail tools (brushes and dotting tools, cuticle tools, file, buffers, etc.), tweezers, polishes (base and top coat included). Make sure you have nail glue, nail charms, a UV lamp, and nail tips.

We’re going to start prepping the nails. First, make sure your nails are clipped down so they’re not longer than the nail tips. You then need to make sure your nails are clean by washing them. Push your cuticles back using your cuticle tool, then if you want, you can clip the dead skin (be very careful). Use your file to shape your natural nails, and use a buffer on your natural nails to remove any oils. Add some dehydrator to help your nails stay on longer, then add some base coat and cure for 30 to 45 seconds.

Size your nail tips and make sure the tips fit sidewall to sidewall. After sizing, file them if needed to fit your cuticle area, then you can etch your tips with a nail drill. This helps with retention but is completely optional. Take your glue and individually apply each nail tip while holding them down, then flash cure in between for at least 15 seconds. When done, use your big UV lamp to cure for a full 120 seconds. After fully curing the nails, file over the fake nail to make it rough, which helps the polish stay on and not peel. After filing, add acetone around the cuticle edge to create a seamless look. Shape your nails to your liking using a file.

Then grab your base colors (not to be confused with base coat) and paint them onto your nails evenly with a thin coat. I recommend doing 2–3 thin coats of your base colors, making sure to cure for a full 60 seconds between each coat. Then start doing your designs. For a French tip, do the “A” technique. You start at the side of the nail, then drag up in a line diagonally on both sides, then add a curved line in the middle of the nail. Fill it in when you like it, then cure for 60 seconds. For polka dots, I start in the middle of the nail and put them in a row spaced out, then I start another row and put the dots in between the gaps. I do that until I am satisfied, then cure for 60 seconds. For blooming gel flowers, I get the color that I want, then I apply blooming gel to the area the flower will be in and do not cure yet. I then take a dotting tool, put my polish on it, and place dots on the nail in a flower-like shape where I put the blooming gel. I let it bloom to my liking, then cure for 120 seconds. If you accidentally get polish on your skin, before curing, take a brush, dip it into acetone, and clean it up.

I personally like to add charms or beads to my nails. I take my tweezers and some gold beads to add to the center of my flower, and I use rhinestone glue to lock them in place. I then cure that for 60 seconds. Next, I use my tweezers to add pearls to the side of the thumbs and ring finger on the left hand, and then the pinky and pointer finger on the right hand. Then cure again for 60 seconds. After finishing my designs, I add a gel top coat to the nails and cure that for 120 seconds. Finally, I add cuticle oil and take a picture to show the finished set of nails.