In 1981, Essie Weingarten flew to Las Vegas with ten cartons of nail polish, each weighing about 64 pounds. She left samples at the salons in the hotel-casinos, and the orders followed. Before that she had been a hosiery buyer from Queens. Her first line was twelve colours, and three of them, Blanc, Bordeaux and Baby's Breath, are still around.

I like that origin because it explains the brand's whole personality. Essie nail polish has always been about how a colour is named and how it is edited: the brand talks about a three-note colour system of primary, dimensional and unexpected shades, and shade names that read like short stories. The first base coat and top coat came in 1982, the square bottle in 1985, and Allure gave the brand its first Best of Beauty award for nail colours in 1996. L'Oreal acquired it in 2010, and the bottles still look like themselves.

The trick is to see the first grid as three systems. Check In To Check Out and Odd Squad Mismatch to Match are the classic enamels, the everyday way to wear the brand. Expressie Word on the Street and Crave the Chaos are quick-dry, which the brand says dry in about a minute, no base or top coat needed. Gel Couture Sheer Fantasy, with the Gel Couture Top Coat, is the gel-look pair, now called Gel by essie on the brand's site, and the brand says it needs no lamp.

Then the supporting cast. Gel Setter is an air-dry high-gloss top coat, and Strong Start is the base coat that sits under everything.

Start with a plain question: how long do you want a manicure to last, and what will you tolerate to get it. A polish that stays for two weeks may need a lamp, a base and a top coat, and a polish you can take off at the sink may need redoing on Friday.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel comes in colour groups here, Blues and Greens and the Supercharged Pinks collection, and it is the easiest place to start if you want something on the gel side without a salon. OPI Infinite Shine is the other long-wear line, in Purples and in Reds, Oranges and Yellows, and I would choose it if you like a big shade range in one place.

Manucurist Green Flash LED Gel Nail Polish Color has LED in its name, so plan on a lamp. Chanel Le Vernis Longwear is the polish I would pick for one perfect classic shade, and Nailberry L'Oxygene and Gelcare Coconut Milk Jelly Gel Nail Polish are the two more off-beat choices, one for the name and one for a jelly finish.

A pairing I like: an essie enamel on your hands and a gel from this list on your toes, where wear time matters more and nobody is looking closely.

What I would skip: gel polish on a Sunday night before a week of dishes and gym work. Save the long wear for a week when you will be gentle.

Try this small test: paint one hand with base coat, colour and top coat, and the other hand with colour alone, then compare on day four. It takes one evening and settles the argument about whether the extra steps matter for your nails.

Manucurist Green Flash Long-Lasting Gel Vitaminized Base Coat and Xtrem Flash Top Coat are a matched gel pair, so choose them if you are already using a Manucurist gel. Nailberry Bare Essentials is a 2 in 1 base and top, which is the light-touch route if you resist a third step.

Chanel makes La Base Camelia and Le Gel Coat, and the two together suit anyone who wants their nail routine to look as good on the counter as it does on the hand. Cote Beauty Quick Dry Top Coat is the one for a manicure done fast, and Olive & June Long Lasting Top Coat is the everyday one. Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Shiny Top Coat completes the range for anyone using the Miracle Gel colours.

The rule I would keep: match the top coat to the polish family where you can. A gel top coat over an air-dry enamel is not the same as the system it was designed for.

What I would skip: piling a fresh top coat over a chipped manicure on day nine. Take it off and start again.

One habit worth borrowing: cuticle oil at night, every night, in front of the television. It takes a minute, and it does more for the look of a manicure than another coat of polish.

Essie's On A Roll Apricot Cuticle Oil is the one from the same brand, and Ready. Prep. Go. Advanced Cuticle Remover is the step before, for softening the edges. Sally Hansen's Vitamin E Nail and Cuticle Oil Pen is the one for a bag, no drips, and Gelcare's Cuticle Oil is the second bottle I would keep by the bed.

For shaping, Sally Hansen Salon Effects Pro Nail Files are the file to start with, and Tweezerman's Stainless Steel Fingernail Clipper is the tool I would trust for a clean cut. Tweezerman's Rockhard Cuticle Nipper and Sally Hansen's Nip 'em Neat Cuticle Nippers with Comfort Grip are for the dead skin around the nail, and only that.

A pairing I like: the remover, then a gentle push, then oil, then polish. The order matters more than the brands.

What I would skip: nipping anything that is still attached and alive. If it stings, leave it, and let the oil do the work.

I think essie nail polish is the right place to start if you want the colour first and the wear second. The enamels are easy, the quick-dry ones are quicker, and the gel line is there when you want more time between manicures.

So I would choose one system, base coat, colour and top coat, and use the same trio for a month. Add cuticle oil and a decent file. Weingarten carried her samples through a hotel casino, ten cartons deep. You only have to carry one small bottle in your bag, and that is a lighter job. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Sally Hansen and Semi Cured Gel Nail Strips Come Out of the Box Only 60 Percent Done.

To keep your color glossy past the first few days, I compared nail top coat picks from Seche Vite to Chanel Le Gel Coat.