Getting an A+ manicure doesn’t necessarily mean a visit to the beauty salon to have a cosmetician work on our hands, especially not when we can get the same results in the comfort of our home at a fraction of the cost. According to Andrea Fulerton, celebrity nail technician and spokesperson for Revlon, speaking with the Daily Mail, any woman can get a perfect (fake) manicure at home with some patience and by following the guidelines below.

First off, we must find and purchase the fake nails we want to apply – once this is out of the way, we should proceed to remove all traces of polish from the fingernails, since applying fake nails requires a “spotlessly clean surface,” as Fulerton points out. Removing the cuticles is also necessary since the artificial nails will stay on for longer, therefore it’s best not to apply them over grown cuticles.

Step two of the procedure implies taking out all the fake nails and arranging them neatly in front of us on a flat surface, preferably a table or something. “Choose the nails that fit your nail bed – they are all numbered, lay them out in front of you in order; keep a record of this for next time. Then place the nail over your nail bed to determine if it needs any filing down the sides before gluing on.” Fulerton recommends.

After this, we can move on to applying glue on the nails. We should start with the bed of the nail itself and then apply some to the underside of the artificial one as well. Fulerton says we should apply plenty of pressure for about 10 to 15 seconds to make sure all air bubbles are pushed out from in between the natural and the fake nail, as they would make the latter fall off easier. When we’re certain the glue has hardened and there’s no need to apply more pressure, we can proceed to filing the nail in the shape that we like and that best suits our hand.

To get a natural look – to the extent this is possible with fake nails – these are the steps we should take before applying polish.

Removing them is just as easy. “Remove by soaking all fingers in an artificial nail remover, take your hand out after five minutes and file the nail. Then place your hand back into the solution – don’t be tempted to pull them off.” Fulerton says. In the same post for the Mail, the famous nail technician recommends Broadway Real Life Nails from Boots as her favorite fake nails.