I’ve only had one professional pedicure in my life and vowed never to return. Don’t get me wrong, the beautician did a fabulous job but it tickled so much I was yelping out loud in fits of giggles.
My feet (or trotters as my husband lovingly refers to them) need a bit of help. I swear I have some form of circulation problem and they are often a rather fetching shade of blue. Don’t even get me started on the state of my heels.
I promise this post isn’t sponsored by Soap and Glory, but featured are my five favourite products for getting my feet in tip-top condition at home (oh and if S&G do want to get in touch then I’m fine with that).
Scrub
I like to give my tootsies a good old scrub as part of my at-home pedicure and choose Flake Away Body Scrub to buff my dehydrated skin and kick start the pamper process. I apply to damp skin in a circular motion.
Buff
I used to be fond of the Ped-Egg but have read some interesting pieces suggesting a metal cheese grater isn’t the most gentle thing to use on your skin. (Now there’s a surprise). Instead I like to get acquainted with the Soap and Glory Foot Buffer and use once a week to smooth away the hard skin. The design of the rubber handle means you don’t have to be a contortionist to reach your feet and I find it very effective. I make sure my feet are dry before I get to work with the buffer.
Shape
Next I remove all the nail polish from my toes. Usually I curse myself here for not using a base coat. I favour a bold and bright shade on my toes and all too often stain the nail underneath.
Charlotte and Miranda came up with a smashing list of nail related must-haves in our manicure post so it’s worth a read for their top picks for nail varnish remover and the like. Perhaps I’m lazy but I’ve never used an orange stick on my feet. A friend of mine does though so I’m not sure if I’m in the minority here? For shaping and maintaining my nails I like to use Tweezerman Clippers.
Moisturise
Then it’s time to break out the Soap & Glory Heel Genius and I slather on a very generous layer all over my feet to nourish and soothe. I don’t need to go on about the benefits of this product as I know most of you have discovered its magical properties already. I love that this cream does the job but doesn’t have a medicinal smell in anyway, just the S&G signature scent.
Paint
Finally with smooth feet and prepped nails, I apply a few coats of a vibrant nail colour. I don’t use those sponge separators as my toes were not designed to be that far apart. I usually just plonk my feet on top of a magazine to spread the toes slightly. I’m currently sporting Essie’s Watermelon which is actually not a fruity red but more raspberry. Either way it’s a perfect shade for summer.
How do keep your feet in tip-top condition? What shades have you been painting on your toes?
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I am someone who likes to pay someone to do my feet for me – although I totally understand what you mean about the tickley bit when they use the scrubbing block on your feet – I literally have my whole hand in my mouth! But I don’t tend to see the point of spending the money in the winter so much when no one will see my feet for months on end – but it’s still nice to have nice soft feet. During the winter months I tend to buy exfoliating / skin removal socks and use them – the first place I ever saw them on sale was Primark but they only seemed to have them for about a month. You can buy similar in boots but they are quite expensive so I tend to buy mine from eBay and wait for them to be delivered from Hong Kong. They are great! You get two plastic socks filled with solution, cut the tops off, put your feet in for about an hour, wash your feet and then wait for the magic to happen – within a week the dead skin is literally just dropping off your feet leaving lovely soft skin behind! It doesn’t look attractive while the process if taking place but if worth it for the results! Another reason I tend to use them in winter!
Bryony, these sound amazing! I am off to track some down. x
I have never heard of such a thing! These socks sound awesome. I’m off to track down a pair too. Thanks Bryony x
is this them? http://www.boots.com/en/Footner-Exfoliating-Sock_1275069/ they look to be on offer 😀
This is them – if you order them from eBay they do take a while to arrive as they usually are sent from Hong Kong but are about £5 instead of £20!