How to avoid smears on a fresh paint job.

Lay it on thin.

Women tend to be heavy-handed when applying their own polish, but thick coats take longer to dry, inviting dings and bubbles. “Two to four thin coats offer much better odds of a flawless manicure than one or two thick coats,” says cosmetics chemist Gary Galante.

Don’t skimp on drying time.

After your manicure, “hold your nails under a fan on low for 5 to 10 minutes,” says Lisa Lee Greco, a manicurist at the Mirage Hotel, in Las Vegas. “Then submerge them in cold water, and follow with hand lotion to create a slippery surface, so things slide off the nails instead of smudging them.”