Bad News Nails (9 page)

Paper towels

Polish remover

Cotton balls

(or you can just use more paper towels)

Clear polish

One base color polish

(We recommend a darker polish for the base.)

One polka-dot color polish

(We recommend a lighter color for the polka dots. But if you pick a light base, then we recommend darker for the polka dots.
Basically, the polka dots should contrast with the base. That way you'll be able to see them better.)

A toothpick

(Actually, you might want a few toothpicks.)

1. Put some paper towels on the floor—or wherever you're polishing—so you don't have to worry if it drips or spills.
(Did you know that if you try to use polish remover on a couch, it sometimes gets rid of the polish you spilled, but it also gets rid of the color in the couch fabric? We didn't always know that, but now we do. . . .)

2. Take one cotton ball or a piece of paper towel and put some polish remover on it. If you have polish
on your toes already, use enough to get it off. If you don't, just rub the remover over your nails once to remove any dirt that might be on them. This makes the nail polish stick better.
(Also, you don't want dirt to make lumps in your polish!)

3. Rip off two more paper towels. Twist the first one into a long tube and weave it back and forth between your toes to separate them a little bit. Then do the same thing with the second paper towel on your other foot. You might need to tuck the end of the paper towel under your pinkie toe if it pops up and gets in your way while you polish.
(Once, I forgot this part and my pinkie polish rubbed off all over my ring toe.)

4. Open up your clear polish and apply a coat on each nail. Then close the clear bottle up tight.
(You can do your toenails in any order, but
Aly usually starts with my big toes and works her way to my pinkies.)

5. Open the polish you're going to use as your base. Apply one coat on each toenail. Close the bottle up tight.

6. Repeat step five. Then let the polish dry for about five minutes.
(If you know the “Ninety-Nine Bottles of Nail Polish on the Wall” song and sing it from ninety-nine down to sixty, you're probably dry enough.)

7. Open your polka-dot color and put the brush upside down somewhere on your paper towel where it won't make a mess.
(We put it upside down so that any extra polish drips into the cap and not onto the paper towel.)
Then dip a toothpick
into the polish and wipe off the extra. Use the polish on the toothpick to make a dot on your nail, and then dip and dot again and again until you have as many polka dots as you'd like.
(You'll probably have a ton more on your big toenail than on your tiny pinkie toenail. Aly can usually get only one or two dots on my pin
kie.)
When you're done, close the bottle up tight.

8. Wait a few minutes
(if you keep singing, I'd try to get down to thirty nail polishes on the wall)
, then open your clear polish. Apply a top coat of clear polish on all your toes. Close the bottle up tight.
(You can go in the same order you did last time!)

9. Now your toes have to dry. You can fan them for a long time, or sit and make a bracelet or read a book or watch TV or talk to your friend
(or sister!)
until
you're all dry. Usually it takes about twenty minutes, but it could take longer.
(I'd start the Nail Polish on the Wall song from ninety-nine again, and then get all the way down to zero. You'll probably be dry by then, but you should touch your nail very carefully and see if it feels totally dry before you get up to do something else.)

And now, you should have a beautiful Polka-Dot Pedicure! Even after the polish is dry, you probably shouldn't wear socks and sneaker-type shoes for a while. Bare feet or sandals are better so all your hard work doesn't get smooshed.
(And then you can show everyone your polka dots!)

Happy polishing!

JILL SANTOPOLO
is a big fan of sparkles. She's also a big fan of sisters. And spas. And writing. In addition to the Sparkle Spa books, she's the author of the Alec Flint Mysteries. You can find her online at
www.jillsantopolo.com
. Or you can find her in person in New York City, where she likes getting her nails painted with Good as Gold nail polish.

Read more
Sparkle Spa
books!

ALADDIN

SIMON & SCHUSTER, NEW YORK