nail polish

DIY manicures can sometimes be more trouble than they're worth, especially when you're painting using your nondominant hand. Trying to control your polish brush around the curves of your nails inevitably results in painted cuticles and lumpy polish. But that doesn't have to be the case any longer. Nail guru Deborah Lippmann shares a simple tip for painting your opposite hand — no matter if you're right- or left-handed — and it's a lot easier than you'd think.

"The mistake we make is trying to polish our hands in the air," Lippmann says. In other words, we balance our elbow on a flat surface, put our hands directly in front of our face, and polish away. But according to Lippmann, that's a surefire way to wind up with a messy manicure.

Instead, lay your opposite hand flat on a table and angle it so your arm is parallel to your body. "When you're polishing, once you put the brush down, just pull it straight. Don't try to curve it," Lippmann says. So how do you get into the nooks, crannies, and curves of your nails? "Put a little more pressure on the brush so that it widens, creating a curve," she says. "There's enough bristles on the brush for it to do the job for you." With a little bit of practice, a perfect at-home polish job is well within your (perfectly manicured) reach.

During an event to celebrate her collaboration with the Golden Globe-winning comedy Girls, Deborah Lippmann couldn't stop smiling. "I almost had a heart attack when I saw it," she laughed, referring to the cameo one of her bottles made in last week's episode. In the scene, show creator Lena Dunham's character Hannah is lounging in bed, haphazardly swiping the red polish across her fingernails. "My husband actually had to put his hand over my mouth," she said. "I kept gasping because they kept cutting to it!"

The partnership was born out of Lippmann's long-standing friendship with Lena and came about after Lena asked her what it would be like if Hannah had a really cool green shade to call her own. But the nail maven's dream collaboration? Barbra Streisand. "I'm a singer, and I grew up wanting to be her," she said. "And she's known for her nails . . . her immaculate, incredible nails." Lippmann imagines that if her vision came true, they'd link up to create the perfect nude shade or the perfect red. "It's absolutely something that would scare the living daylights out of me," she says. "Sometimes I like to do things that are really scary."

Learn her Fashion Week predictions and favorite colors for Spring when you keep reading.

Kate Moss apparently has a knack for doing her own manicure, so it seems her new nail polish line with Rimmel London is a natural next step. "I'm really good at painting," she told Telegraph. "It's one of the things I like to do on holiday — a line up of all the girls and make their nails look nice."

She may be a fashion trendsetter, but Kate also has a knack for wearing the next big thing in nails, too. "I got into the long, thin, vampy lady [nails], but now I'm back into fresh and younger and shorter." The model is also up on the classic nude trend with the neutral beige Soul Sessions as her favorite color from the collection.

However, if you're more into the vibrant hues, Kate's latest nail collection has a great range of color inspired by, well, a lot of things. "It's quite instinctive really, something would inspire me whether it's, you know, a band or a film or some kind of character — Debbie Harry, you know in Studio 54."

Kate's Super Pro nail line will be available in stores this Spring, and she only has one rule for you: matching is forbidden. "On set it would be a big no-no to match the lip with the nail," she said. "It's always a clash."

True, you don't need to deep condition or apply primer, and by skipping you do save time and money. However, one little extra move could mean the difference between mediocre and marvelous. Find out which bonus steps really make a difference to your daily routine when you read on.

One of the most exciting parts of Couture Fashion Week: Chanel nail polish. And in this particular case, you don't have to wait to buy the gorgeous apricot shade that came down the runway. The models' fingertips were polished with Emprise Nail Colour ($27), a limited-edition hue from the new Spring 2013 collection. Best of all, it's already available online and at Chanel counters. See more shots of the runway nails, when you read more.

Some would go for red, white, or blue nail polish for such an auspicious occasion as the presidential inauguration . . . but not Beyoncé Knowles. "When Beyoncé walked in, she just plainly said, 'I want orange.' So orange it was," manicurist Lisa Logan explained. The artist sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" to close out the inauguration ceremony today decked out in a Emilio Pucci dress, and her nails were in full view. To get the exact look, use NCLA's I'm With the Band ($16), or try a similar shade: Red Carpet Manicure's Tangerine on the Rocks ($22). It seems that the the reign of Tangerine Tango, Pantone's 2012 Color of the Year, is still going strong.

I often paint my nails at night, so I've woken up plenty of times with sheet imprints on my fresh new manicure. The easiest solution I've discovered is to polish on a glittering top coat. Between the texture of the sparkling flecks and their ability to obscure any smudges, a sparkling top coat pretty much works like magic. My deep plum manicure got plenty of sheet action the night before, so I reached for Essie Luxeffects in Stroke of Brilliance ($8) to hide my imperfections. The bluish glitter worked perfectly with the shimmering purple polish, but I also keep the silver Essie Luxeffects in Set in Stones ($8) and the gold Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow ($20) on hand, depending on my polish shade. This quick fix is quite a dazzling option.