Pretty Party Feet

Warm woollies help keep our toes warm–and hidden–in winter. But holiday parties will soon have us swapping slippers for strappy evening shoes. This means exposing our feet for the first time since we packed away the summer sandals.

Luckily, your feet can be as pretty as a wrapped present in three easy steps:

Step 1: Pedicure

Soak feet in warm water for at least 10 minutes. One foot at a time, rub a palmful of Epsom salts or sea salts gently over the skin on your feet, paying close attention to the heels, ankles, and balls of your feet. Rinse.

Clean under and around nails with a nail brush. Massage organic sweet almond oil or olive oil into your cuticles. Carefully push back cuticles with an orange stick, as cutting cuticles can lead to infection. Pat feet dry.

Using straight-edge clippers, trim toenails straight across, to a length near the end of your toe. This will help prevent painful ingrown nails. Remember that regular scrubbing and exfoliation is effective in removing painful calluses and corns, even after party season has wrapped up.

Step 2: Treatment

Apply a generous amount of organic sweet almond oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil to your feet, and be sure to treat the area between the toes. Take time to gently stretch and massage each of your toes, as well as the heels and tops of your feet. Slide on a cozy pair of cotton socks before heading to bed. You’ll have baby-soft feet by morning.

Step 3: Decoration

Add some sparkle to the tips of your toes with nontoxic water-based polishes. Free of harmful phthalates and formaldehyde, these natural polishes let you showcase pretty feet while honouring your health.

First, file your nails in one direction to eliminate snags that can ruin your hosiery. Next, apply a clear base coat to make your polish last longer. Wait about 15 minutes before applying colour–and remember that parties are a great excuse to go bold with hot pink or red. When colour is dry, follow with a protective clear top coat.

With such lovely feet, you won’t want to hide them in your boots!

Tip

Have nontoxic polish remover and a cotton swab handy to quickly remove polish that wanders onto your skin.