Ah, summer… Sand, sun, sea…and sandals ! After months of boots and pumps, make sure your toes are ready for their moment in the sun with our Summer Nail Care Pedi tutorial…

If you spend a lot of time barefoot, on the beach, or wearing flip-flops, as I do, you’ll find that your feet can feel less than satiny quite quickly, even after the best pedicure.  Wearing sexy heels is marvellous for your walk, adds length to your legs and wit to your conversation, but places a lot of stress on your feet, so you need to treat them nicely so that they repay the favour and put up with your glam new shoes without complaint.

Start off with the condition of your skin. Skin on the soles of your feet is naturally thicker so as to withstand the daily wear and tear, and is prone to callous in order to protect itself. I’m very lazy about buffing my own feet, and am all in favour of product that do the hard work for you, so I’ve found some great cheats for pretty feet !

Tip Top has a genius Callous and Corn Reliever spray, with a broad-spectrum anti-germ complex, to remove rough and dead skin. Just spray on, leave for 5-10 minutes, and then buff or file it away ! I used Ms Pedicure’s Smooth Talker 2-in-1 foot smoothing file, with its two stainless steel textures – coarse for the initial attack, and a fine side to smooth. Make sure that you don‘t over-file, as your feet do need some protection – too much filing will leave you tender and limping in your heels, and will encourage your poor abused feet to replace their protective callous in double-quick time.

While you’re attending to filing, give your cuticles some love with Sally Hansen’s Problem Cuticle remover. Apply this gentle cream to your cuticles, wait a couple of minutes and then gently push back your cuticles with the rounded edge of an orange stick, supplied with the cream. You can use the pointed end to clean out any soap and oil residue from underneath or down the sides of your toenails, but don’t use the pointed end on your cuticles or you’ll tear them. Cuticles are sensitive and delicate, and you’re better off having a second or third nudge than one really enthusiastic dig !

While your cuticle remover is working its magic, file your toenails with a dual-sided emery board – again, roughly-textured grit side for heavy-duty and smoother grit to finish and seal the nail. This prevents any nicks from catching and tearing post-pedi. Depending on the length of your nail bed, you may want to file down to the quick or leave them a bit longer. The best shape for toenails is squared across the top edge, to prevent ingrowing, even if you do leave them slightly longer in summer.  Use a fine buffer to smooth out any ridges or scuffs on your nails, and if you have rough callous next to your outer nail edges, you can remove it with a cuticle nipper. Just be very careful with this as they are really sharp, and you can make yourself bleed if you cut off too much. Gently does it, and tiny little nips, not large chunks, please !

Time to scrub up – use a medium-textured foot scrub to polish your whole foot – especially the tops and round your toenails. You can also use exfoliating gloves, which are my favourite for everything from elbows to heels. All you need is a squeeze of shower gel, and soap will even do !

Rinse your feet well to get rid of any dead skin dust and remaining product, and then give them a treat with a rich foot cream. I love the Body Shop’s Peppermint Foot Cream – especially at night, when it can really soak in. Do take a bit of care the next morning in the shower, though… If you’re heading out in the morning, and want to give your soles some soul, try Environ’s Derma-Lac Lotion, which absorbs quickly and won’t leave you slip-sliding away in your sandals.

Once your cream or lotion has absorbed, give your toenails a wipe with a non-drying nail varnish remover, to remove all traces of oil on the nail so that your varnish will stick. Now for the fun part…

A base coat is essential to prepare the nail bed for your polish, protect your nails and keep your colour on longer. If your nails are heavily ridged, use a smoothing base coat – Revlon does a very good one. You’ll need an opaque polish over it though, as it works by collecting in the nail furrows, and shows up quite white and streaky. If you’re going for a sheer colour, or French pedicure, rather use a clear base coat.

French is always pretty, but usually hellishly difficult to get right… Sally Hansen has brought out a fabulous 5 Minute French Manicure Pen Kit to sort out the woes of getting the white strip straight. You just prime the pen, touch the side of the pen to your nail tip and twist your nail, so that the white glides on evenly. Follow with the nude or pink shade and a top coat, and you’re done !

If you’re after colour, you have a smorgasbord of delights to choose from this summer ! From lovely tan-enhancing neons like Kangol’s Pink Sunshine and Sally Hansen’s Lightening (bright lemon), to ice-cream pastels like Rimmel’s new Pro varnish with anti-fade colour system in Misty Jade (pale mint) and Show Off (mid-pink), with a new super- wide brush that makes application a breeze. Maybelline has introduced nifty-sized Mini Colorama varnishes – I loved Peach Cocktail, a vibrant shimmery coral. Blue is big news for nails this summer – try Tip Top’s Blue meets Green, or Essie’s Coat Azure. Since it’s the silly season, and a girl needs a bit of sparkle in her life, cover it all with a glitter coat – shades range from true metallic gold and silver, to iridescent multi-tones like OPI’s blue-green Simmer and Shimmer. Finish with a top coat – I love Essie’s To Dry For – it sets and seals your varnish to be touch-dry in less than a minute.

For a festive foot, try a couple of tricks with loose glitter. You’ll need a fine glitter, like the ones available from the Body Shop (or even the CNA) and while your varnish is wet, dip or paint the tips in glitter, and finish with a top coat to seal it. You can also use an eyeshadow brush to paint the half-moons with the glitter for a more edgy look. Remember when removing glitter or glitter polish that the particles are large and can scratch your nail surface, so thoroughly saturate a cotton pad with nail varnish remover and hold over each nail for a couple of seconds to lift it before you  swipe or rub it away, and then use another pad for the colour underneath.

Read about an awesome Do it at home Candy nail art design, written by one of our Beauty Bulletin ladies. 

If you have friends going over the pond, beg them to come back with one of the magnetic varnishes for your Christmas prezzie. These fabulous finds have a magnet in the cap which pulls the larger metallic particles into a pattern as you hold the cap over your wet nail… Nails Inc. has the best colours… A definite nail Lust-Have !

If all else fails, and you just really can’t do it yourself, book a treatment with your nail technician and try BioSculpture gel overlays – my new fave for perfect toes that don’t chip, peel or fade, no matter how much I scuff them on the beach.

Put your best feet forward girls, and stride into summer

Article By: Janine Catlin