Chrissy64_uk
02-05-2009, 10:40 AM
After parties in high heels and months of hiding under socks and big boots, Spring is the perfect time to treat your feet and prepare them for the first rays of sun. An indulgent home pedicure can work wonders for the soul -- not to mention the soles.
No celebrity worth her salt goes without perfect tootsies and well-manicured toenails. It's as important to most of the leading ladies as cleansing and toning, and certainly gives a well-finished look. A French manicure looks good on LA babes like Paris Hilton, although colored nails are currently super chic.
To begin, remove any excess polish and place your feet in warm water for about 20 minutes to soften the rough bits. Add a few drops of camomile and lavender oil to the water -- both will help soothe your tired, aching feet.
Make sure to give your heels and the balls of your feet (and any other rough parts) a once-over with some sort of abrasive, like a pumice stone or loofah, to remove dead skin cells. A relatively new product on the market is the Ped Egg. This clever little device is designed to remove hard skin, corns and calluses from feet. The plus factor is that it collects all the hard skin shavings into the storage part of the cup and therefore leaves no mess. The Ped Egg is available from Boots.
Next up, wash your feet with a good exfoliating foot scrub. Try Yogi Secret from Rituals in Victoria Square, Belfast. Rituals have combined the ancient Ayurvedic ingredients holy basil, for its calming effect, with fresh mint for its revitalizing and cooling properties -- total bliss. Pop your feet back in the water to soak for another 1-2 minutes and then dry thoroughly.
Now that your tootsies are clean, dry and smooth, massage a luxurious moisturizing cream into your feet, not forgetting to moisturize your toes. Wrap them in a hot towel for 10 minutes to help the moisture sink in. I like La Source Extreme Foot Therapy from Crabtree and Evelyn. The seaweed extract, emollient oils and natural rice flour will comfort, soften and deeply moisturize while leaving the surface silky and dry to the touch.
Very gently use an orange stick or nail file to push your now softened cuticles back. Don't try to push them too far back or remove them completely -- this is best left to a professional.
Clip your toenails straight across using clippers and file to smooth the edges. I'm a fan of the simple metal file, which can also be used to clean under the nail. Emery boards are fine too and the big, puffy ones are particularly easy to handle. This spring the fashionable shape is still square with rounded edges -- classic and classy.
Finally, the finishing touch -- the polish. A good tip to remember is to use a facial toner to wipe any moisturizer off your toenails so that the nail polish will stay on.
Avoid smudging by using toe separators. Try Boots Natural Collection Toe Separators. They come in an array of beautiful colors.
Firstly, apply a layer of base coat to the nail and let it dry then choose a fabulous spring color. Forget the chocolates, blacks, bronzes and maroons of winter -- anything bright and neon is hot for spring. Think orange, coral, turquoise and yellow. Illamasqua do an array of eye-catching colors, currently available online at Illamasqua.com. The polishes are ultra sexy, glossy and glamorous and go on evenly and easily.
Always apply two coats of color, making sure the polish dries in between. Nail expert Peter Gilroy recommends that to get the perfect polish results, start about 5mm away from the cuticle, paint one stripe up the middle of the nail, and then one stripe on either side of this to cover the nail without touching the skin at the edges. If you do paint your toe and not your nail, simply swipe it off with a cotton bud moistened with nail polish remover.
Once the second coat is dry, finish off with a top coat. Apply one coat of top coat three days after your pedicure, then every third day after that to keep polish from chipping.
If you get comfortable with these techniques, you won't have to stress over missing a salon visit and your cutest spring shoes can finally come out of the closet. Get ready for flip-flops, strappy sandals, and bare feet beneath the sheets. Spring is here and you owe it to your feet to pamper them and get them into soft, smooth, and beautiful shape.
By Paddy McGurgan
No celebrity worth her salt goes without perfect tootsies and well-manicured toenails. It's as important to most of the leading ladies as cleansing and toning, and certainly gives a well-finished look. A French manicure looks good on LA babes like Paris Hilton, although colored nails are currently super chic.
To begin, remove any excess polish and place your feet in warm water for about 20 minutes to soften the rough bits. Add a few drops of camomile and lavender oil to the water -- both will help soothe your tired, aching feet.
Make sure to give your heels and the balls of your feet (and any other rough parts) a once-over with some sort of abrasive, like a pumice stone or loofah, to remove dead skin cells. A relatively new product on the market is the Ped Egg. This clever little device is designed to remove hard skin, corns and calluses from feet. The plus factor is that it collects all the hard skin shavings into the storage part of the cup and therefore leaves no mess. The Ped Egg is available from Boots.
Next up, wash your feet with a good exfoliating foot scrub. Try Yogi Secret from Rituals in Victoria Square, Belfast. Rituals have combined the ancient Ayurvedic ingredients holy basil, for its calming effect, with fresh mint for its revitalizing and cooling properties -- total bliss. Pop your feet back in the water to soak for another 1-2 minutes and then dry thoroughly.
Now that your tootsies are clean, dry and smooth, massage a luxurious moisturizing cream into your feet, not forgetting to moisturize your toes. Wrap them in a hot towel for 10 minutes to help the moisture sink in. I like La Source Extreme Foot Therapy from Crabtree and Evelyn. The seaweed extract, emollient oils and natural rice flour will comfort, soften and deeply moisturize while leaving the surface silky and dry to the touch.
Very gently use an orange stick or nail file to push your now softened cuticles back. Don't try to push them too far back or remove them completely -- this is best left to a professional.
Clip your toenails straight across using clippers and file to smooth the edges. I'm a fan of the simple metal file, which can also be used to clean under the nail. Emery boards are fine too and the big, puffy ones are particularly easy to handle. This spring the fashionable shape is still square with rounded edges -- classic and classy.
Finally, the finishing touch -- the polish. A good tip to remember is to use a facial toner to wipe any moisturizer off your toenails so that the nail polish will stay on.
Avoid smudging by using toe separators. Try Boots Natural Collection Toe Separators. They come in an array of beautiful colors.
Firstly, apply a layer of base coat to the nail and let it dry then choose a fabulous spring color. Forget the chocolates, blacks, bronzes and maroons of winter -- anything bright and neon is hot for spring. Think orange, coral, turquoise and yellow. Illamasqua do an array of eye-catching colors, currently available online at Illamasqua.com. The polishes are ultra sexy, glossy and glamorous and go on evenly and easily.
Always apply two coats of color, making sure the polish dries in between. Nail expert Peter Gilroy recommends that to get the perfect polish results, start about 5mm away from the cuticle, paint one stripe up the middle of the nail, and then one stripe on either side of this to cover the nail without touching the skin at the edges. If you do paint your toe and not your nail, simply swipe it off with a cotton bud moistened with nail polish remover.
Once the second coat is dry, finish off with a top coat. Apply one coat of top coat three days after your pedicure, then every third day after that to keep polish from chipping.
If you get comfortable with these techniques, you won't have to stress over missing a salon visit and your cutest spring shoes can finally come out of the closet. Get ready for flip-flops, strappy sandals, and bare feet beneath the sheets. Spring is here and you owe it to your feet to pamper them and get them into soft, smooth, and beautiful shape.
By Paddy McGurgan