How to clean up messy nail polish

We can't all be gods, professional nail artists, or innately ambidextrous when it comes to applying nail polish. I for one have been painting my nails for years now and I still make a mess, depending on my lack of practice! Nonetheless, people always wonder how I paint my nails so neatly. It's simple: I just clean up the mess with an eyeliner brush.

From messy...

To OC!

Yes, a brush! I saw the technique being used in Dashing Diva. The nail attendant used a straight, short-bristled brush to remove excess polish quickly and efficiently. The brush is kinda hard to find, so I used a disposable lip brush and then an old eyeliner brush to see what works best. I now go with the latter since it's bigger, angled, and thus cleans up faster in a more precise manner.

You can do this yourself as easily as I can. All you need are a few basic materials! 

• A cheap angled nail polish brush or a lip brush if you can't find one. You can buy these for less than P50 in Watsons or Landmark Department Store.
• Nail polish remover. (I use Bobbi. Dirt cheap and efficient stuff!)
• Lots of thick paper towels to blot the brush onto.

Step 1: Dip the brush onto the nail polish remover. Make sure you blot on tissue so as not to overload the brush. It's enough that the brush is very damp, but not wet.

Step 2: Place the brush directly on the excess polish. Make sure it's adjacent to your nails, to get a precise line. Put a bit of pressure, moving sideways (to dislodge the polish from the nail) and then outwards from the nail (to erase the polish).

Step 3: Once you've cleaned up the area, wipe the brush on the paper towel to take out the nail polish. You have to do this quickly before the whole thing dries. Remember to use thick paper because if the nail polish remover seeps onto your furniture, well, I'm sure you don't want spotty furniture.

Step 4: Repeat on all your fingers until you're satisfied. When you're done, wash your brush with water to keep it from being hard and brittle.

And that's it! Incredibly simple right? There's no need to use cotton buds or buy those pre-made pens when there's an easy, cheap way to clean up your nails. 

If you have your own tips, do share them in the comments. ;)