Basic At Home Pedicure...

Hopefully you are lucky enough to live in a part of the world where Summer has officially started! Here, so far, I'm not sure I'll be wearing sandals. My feet are ready but have yet to feel comfortable in flip flops. I'm wearing sneakers again today! Grrrr!!!

At least I can admire my toes in the house since last Saturday I finally took the time to give myself a proper, at home pedicure. Below are pictures of parts of my arsenal but do know that you don't need all that. I have no idea why I have all that stuff. It must be the hoarder in me. Also you'll see that it's not necessary to purchase "foot care" products unless you have specific issues. If you do need specialised care you might want to have a look at Dr Scholl and Gehwol brands.

Hmmm seems someone had a different idea of what to do with the water of the foot bath!

As soon as I put down the fresh water filled foot bath for the pictures,

 Julius just had to make sure the water was perfect! 

Yup! I'm a hoarder!

These are the moisturizers I usually go for. Regular body lotion, body butter plus here there's Eucerin 10% Urea Foot cream and Lac-Hydrin 12% AHA, both outstanding to help keep feet skin soft.

Avon is a brand that has several excellent foot care products and they're often on special. They are 
totally worth it if you don't mind fragrance. Here they are shown with some of the foot files I use.

Clippers and files to make nails short and smooth and the fun stuff! No pedicure is complete without color! Here are my current favorites. At the moment I'm wearing Chanel Lilis but will probably wear Taboo next. A little later this summer I may go for Trinidad. :)

For the foot bath you can use a therapeutic foot soak but you can also use pretty much any shower gel or cream. Epsom salt is also a good choice. Soaking your feet in the warm water mixed with whatever you chose will help soften the skin.

After about 10 minutes or so, you can use a pumice stone or a foot file to buff away rough spots. With the nail clipper cut your nails and careful about the sides. Don't make them too short to avoid ingrown nails. Painful, trust me. Finish off with a nail file to make them smooth.

Sometimes if I do this in the evening, I stop at this point. I use a nail brush to make sure no dead skin is left behind and slather on a good layer of cream. Not shown on the picture, petroleum jelly could be used but I usually go for a thick body butter or the Eucerin Foot Cream and off to bed.

By morning, after my café au lait of course, I finish off with nail polish. It's always a good idea to use nail polish remover first to make sure there are no greasy film on the nails.

Two coats of nail polish followed by a top coat and I'm usually good for two weeks. I do use the foot file every two days or so to maintain as well as Lac-Hydrin body lotion every two nights or so. The 12% AHA it contains help with chemical exfoliation and I find I have less dead skin when I use it.

Although I rarely do this myself since I always have color on my toe nails, it's a good idea to use a base coat, especially if you wear dark colors. If you decide to leave your nails au naturel, a good thing to use is a nail buffer to smooth out the surface and give them a soft sheen.

As you may have guessed I've had to undo my display rather quickly! Someone was still thirsty!

Here you go baby! Being patient paid off! 

Are your feet ready for flip flop season? What is your color of choice?