How to paint your nails (especially if you’re nervous about it)

I’ve been wearing nail varnish for more than 20 years, and I wanted to share some tips and advice to help anyone else who might like to try it — especially folks who might not traditionally have done so, such as men, trans women, or anyone raised in an environment that didn’t value this kind of self-expression. The video is long! Don’t feel you have to watch it all. But I wanted as much as felt practical not to edit the process, and let you feel almost like I was sitting beside you as we painted our nails together. Hopefully it’s ‘reassuring and companionable’ boring rather than ‘interminable and tedious’ boring, but just in case, here are some time stamps for you to navigate. 00:00 Introduction 00:37 The three core principles 01:13 The six secrets to doing your nails well (plus two bonus topics) 03:58 How much nail vanish to load on your brush 06:13 Tutorial begins (first coat) 09:11 Cuticle care 14:07 Second coat 19:38 Third and last coat 23:09 Cleaning up mistakes 25:32 How to remove nail varnish 30:13 Miscellaneous advice that didn’t fit anywhere else 37:09 Why I paint my nails 39:15 Conclusion