Add some milk, sugar, lemon, olive oil and baking soda – and you have the perfect recipe. Not for the kitchen, but for your feet!
Studio 5 Beauty and Style Contributor Holly Stone shares simple tips for summer-pretty toes!
Add some milk, sugar, lemons, olive oil, baking soda, stir with a Popsicle stick and coat surface with Pam, add design with a toothpick. Think we are in the kitchen? Nope! We are in our home spa tip-toeing towards the BEST pedicure for toes even the strappiest of sandals will be proud to show off!
1. Soak
I have always said taking care of yourself doesn’t make you self-centered, it makes you centered. Your feet take a beating throughout the day. Warm up some WHOLE MILK, pour in a baking dish, and plop your feet in! Whole milk has a high concentration of lactic acid-a natural exfoliant and skin softener so mild that even sensitive skin can indulge. Not only will your feet feel relaxed but your skin will look rejuvenated. In fact it is rumored that Cleopatra soaked in milk baths filled with rose petals to preserve her beauty.
2. Scrub
Who needs a foot pumice when you have sugar and baking soda right in your pantry? Pour a cup of sugar in a concentrated area of your dry shower floor and then sprinkle about ½ cup baking soda over the top of the sugar. Step in and rub your feet around till your heart’s content. The texture of the sugar will buff your feet and the baking soda will repel any fungus or odor. Best part is that when you rinse, the baking soda will start to dissolve organic sludge that has stuck to the drain.
3. Shine
Ever looking for uses for the lemon rind once you squeezed out the juice? Put it in your shower for a natural way to whiten your nails. Sometimes nails turn yellow from polish left on for extended periods of time. Simply rub the lemon over your toes and toe nails and let the acidic juice of this refreshing fruit go to work. No more sour faces at the glimpse of discolored nails.
4. Slather and Stick
The ultimate moisturizer doesn’t come from a jar. It comes from a tree. Olives are RICH in essential fatty acids which can provide an abundance of soothing hydration to tired feet. Olive oil penetrates to plump up dehydrated skin and to restore that soft, tender, youthful look and feel. Rub in the oil and then: Popsicle sticks are my FAVORITE cuticle pusher. Perfectly round and just the right size, a Popsicle stick gently covers a broad area of the base of the cuticle allowing steady pressure to push back the cuticle. The cool summer treat for kids will soon become your hot favorite summer tool.
Tip: For extra luxury: slather olive oil on your feet, slip on some socks and go to sleep. When you wake, you will want to stock this oil by the gallon. It literally transforms your feet overnight!
4. Shape
Jagged toe nails cannot be hidden by even the prettiest polish. But shape them after they are soaked so they are softer. Use a very mild grained emery board to file toenails even if yours are tough as nails. It is better to shape slowly than to remove half your nail with one stroke of the file. For most flattering shape, don’t zigzag back and forth with file. Instead start at the edge and round into the center.
Holly’s Product Pick: Walgreens Emery Boards, $1.99 / pack of 5
5. Spray
A “Holly Exclusive!” The one thing I can never seem to do perfectly is paint my nails. I am constantly going outside the lines and spending more time cleaning up all my goofs on the sides than actually painting my nails. Until last month when I got one of my most brilliant ideas-EVER! I was baking and sprayed non-stick Pam into my bread pan. I wondered what other surfaces I could turn into non-stick. And that is when I thought of nail edges. Now, I simply spray a Q-tip with Pam. Then, I wipe it around the perimeter of my toe nails right before I paint. Paint won’t stick to it because IT REALLY IS NO-STICK. Now my nails look like a professional did it and with Pam’s help, it takes no time at all
6. Snap
I see the cutest details on toes like daisy flowers, whimsical designs and even smiley faces. It must take forever and a small fortune right? Not at all. If you have a toothpick and a few colors to choose from, the sky is the limit. For any artistic detail, a toothpick allows the artist in you to design in a snap. Load it up for a polka-dotted flower or lady bug; barely dip it for a delicate leaf or a dainty scroll. Either way, it is cheap, disposable and a way to get the creative juices bubbling.
7. Showcase
With all the money I have saved on my simple at-home Pedi, I am off to find some fabulous sandals to show off my pretty toes! (I might even SPLURGE on a toe ring…)
Bonus Tips:
· Cotton circle pads are much easier to use when removing nail polish. Dip in remover, and set on top of polish for a few seconds. The thin surface lets the pressure of your fingers get right to work to remove the polish. You also won’t have a sopping wet ball of remover that you have to rotate with each swipe.
· Dark polish draws attention to your toes. If you choose a darker polish, make sure you intend to touch up chips and keep your toes well manicured. The lighter the polish, the less immediate maintenance required.
Holly Stone is no stranger to business and the beauty industry. Starting as a model at the age of 14 she decided that she preferred to be behind the scenes rather than in front of the camera. She choreographed fashion shows, selected models for events and assisted her agency with make-up.
Her skill for make-up artistry quickly became recognized and the demand for her talent launched a career that would take her all over the country. She received a bachelor’s degree, and took a position as VP of Merchandising for Overstock.com. There she learned the business skills of resourcing, buying, marketing, and negotiating. She moved on to train in Los Angeles at AWARD, a leading make-up artist school in the west.
Today, with her business skills and her passion for the art of make-up, she manages a successful career as an educator and a veteran make-up artist of 16 years. She works in various media with actors/actresses, models, brides, and photographers. She is a consultant to several cosmetic distributors, spas, and salons where she teaches application and technique. She is a nationally recognized educator of cosmetic application and is a personal image consultant to people ranging from high position corporate figures to the every day woman.
Holly is the owner of Re-Creation Studio, School of Media Make-up Artistry. For information about her classes, visit www.learntodomakeup.com.
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