You haven’t had any sugar in your life yet? No worries—you will. According to the Dictionary of Sexuality, the average human being will spend two full weeks of her life kissing. Break that number down, and that’s roughly 336 hours or 20,160 minutes of kissing. Whew! Get ready to pucker up…

Still unsure if you’ve got it right? Try this: When kissing with an open mouth (slightly open, not a giant “O” shape), gently breathe in as if you’re taking the air from your boy’s mouth. Delicious.

Sorry if this sounds dorky, but you can practice alone by kissing the palm of your hand. A tad embarrassing, sure, so GL recommends you do this after you go to bed or maybe even in the shower. First, practice the slo-mo peck, and work your way up to getting your tongue in on the action. Your palm will be sensitive to the touch, so you’ll be able to gauge if your tongue is too pointed or stiff, or if you’ve got too much saliva in on the deal. Remember that you want to caress his lips and tongue with yours, so that’s what your practice kiss should feel like to you—a soft, gentle caress with your mouth. Practicing really does help. We promise not to tell anyone.

One of the rules of the universe is that a great way to know what to do…is to know what not to do. Here are a few ways you could sour the sweetest of kisses.…

Bad Breath. Mints are cheap, so invest and keep them on hand for the unexpected lip-lock. If you know beforehand that you’re going to be kissed, avoid any stinky foods (garlic, onions, strong coffee, even peanut butter) the entire day.

Too much tongue. You really don’t want your kiss to be like unleashing an excited lizard deeply into his mouth. Equally unappealing? Moving your tongue around super-fast. Don’t mistake tongue-lashin’ for passion.

No reaction. He’s kissing you? Be sure to kiss him back. To put it bluntly, you don’t want to just receive his kiss with an open, idle mouth. Respond by kissing him your way.

Bad Breath, Be Gone! Let’s get scientific for a sec and deal with why we get bad breath—and what to do about it. Ninety percent of bad breath is caused by gases produced by bac-teria in the crevices of the tongue. And you thought it was all about the burrito.

Bad breath buster #1: Drink water. It’s harder for bacteria to grow when you’re hydrated, because your mouth has more saliva.

Bad breath buster #2: Mints, breath strips, gum—there are whole aisles devoted to minty (or cinnamon or whatever) fresh breath. Go find your fave.

Bad breath buster #3: If you don’t have any mints, go into a bathroom and wipe your tongue off with a napkin. Even better, scrape it with a plastic spoon from the cafeteria. Sounds weird but, in a pinch, it works.

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