First, wash your hands and remove the old nail polish on your fingernails with nail polish remover. Use a cotton bud and dip into nail polish remover for the edges if needed.

Clip your nails straight across and then file in one direction such that the corners are slightly rounded. Try shaping into a "squoval" shape, which is a squared oval shape.

Then apply cuticle remover to cuticles if you have it.

Prepare a nail soak by adding a few drops of jojoba or almond oil in a bowl of warm water then soak your hands into the mixture for five minutes and pat your hands dry after five minutes.

Now, use a cotton bud and gently push back your cuticles. Do not cut it as it will be extremely painful if you nick it.

Exfoliate your hands with a body scrub and then rinse it off and apply hand cream. Also apply more cuticle cream to your cuticles.

Starting with your pinky, apply a thin base coat to all 10 fingers.

Using a pale neutral coloured nail polish, apply it your on nails to match the natural colour of the nail bed and leave to dry. Wait for 2 minutes and reapply the same nail polish.

When painting nails, the thinner the coat, the better it is. Dip the brush in and wipe one side on the bottle and then use the other side to paint nails. Apply your nail polish in 3 strokes, down the center, then left and right.

Then move on to the natural white tip of your nail and paint with an opaque white or beige nail polish. Traditionally, the white strip is straight across the nail, however if you let the polish curve with your natural nail, it will create a longer illusion of your nails.

You can consider using tape to line your nails so that you get a perfect white strip.

Prevent nail chipping by painting the polish over the edge as well as wrapping the polish under the nail.

Clean up any errant polish with a cotton bud dipped with polish remover.

Finish with a clear top coat and allow nails to dry for at least 20 minutes.