I know things may look a little foot fetish-y here, constantly penning odes to the Tweezerman Foot File (still one of the best beauty related purchases I’ve ever made), and posting pedi-related scrawls on at least a monthly basis; but when sandal sporting season is upon us and I’ve got a good hour or so to kill at the weekend it’s a frequent occurrence for me to throw on some YouTube viewing in the background and go to town pretty-ing up my feet. A little strange, but with my strong aversion to unkempt soles and the Scholl advert burned into my retinas *shivers* they’re something I like to keep on top of as not to induce a similarly sickening reaction in others. So here’s my PIY – Pamper It Yourself (get it?), pedi roster:
Chisel away. After a little rinse I go to town with the aforementioned Tweezerman Foot File. Firstly with the corse side to really do the job, then with the softer pad to buff and finally the ridged edge to get blood circulation going. It can be a bit of an elbow-aching task but after I good sand-down I feel as though I’m walking on candy floss clouds.
Soak and scrub. Then I fill up the washing up bowl and drop in Margaret Dabbs’ Hydrating Foot Soak – this is where my boyfriend manages to conjure up some suspicious ‘gawd what are you doing now Anna?’ stares while I dip them in for a good 10 minutes. For a final scrub I work in the Margaret Dabbs Exfoliating Foot Mousse to ensure softer than softer soles.
Looking buff. Stubborn skin sorted I turn my attention to my nail beds which follows a similar premise to my ‘Manicure Routine‘. First a buffing session with any four-sided sander you’ve got hanging around; I use the second coarsest side to get rid of any ridges, followed by a softer surface to smooth. To finish prepping the nail I slather on some cuticle remover – the Sally Hansen ones are da’ bomb – and leave for a few minutes before pushing them back with my KISS Nail Tools and swiping over a polish remover soaked cotton pad so I’m ready for…Â
Lacquering up. The best bit – but a step that can get a little lengthy when pondering which colour to choose for your paint job. I’m currently having a bit of Nails Inc moment and have been switching up my favourite shade ever (there, I said it) Porchester Square – a muted lavender-tinted taupe, with a sunglasses-required pop of Portobello. CND Stickey Base Coat and Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat are drafted in for their respective jobs.
Moisturise. Moisturise. Moisturise. You got it? Skin smoothed and pinkies painted I like to go a little heavy handed with the hydration. Firstly I pop a little of whatever mulit-purpose oil is in rotation massaged into my cuticles, then I spray on a sole-slipping amount of Margaret Dabbs Intensive Foot Oil before sinking in to a ridiculously fluffy set of socks.
It’s long, but it’s a process that only needs to be repeated twice monthly (give or take a week) to keep your tootsies looking like the after result of the Scholl advert, not the before…
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