DIY Pedicure

It's a real treat to go to the salon and have my feet massaged and my nails polished while I catch up on trashy celebrity gossip magazines.  But, to be honest, I don't have the time nor do I like to spend the amount of money to keep it up.  It can be pretty expensive.  So when the folks at Julep asked me to come up with a DIY Summer Pedicure, I was excited to take on the challenge.  Here is my version of an at-home pedi to keep your feet and toes sandal ready this summer.

Step One: Soak Your Feet

Image via Pinterest

This step softens your skin and prepares your feet for exfoliation. You can add Epsom salt or bath salts and a drop of peppermint or lavender essence oil if you have it.  You can also use a tablespoon of olive oil if you don't have essence oil. Remove any traces of your old nail polish and rub olive oil into cuticles.  Soak feet for about 5 to 10 minutes.  

AIN'T GOT NO TIME FOR THAT?  

Skip step one and try step two while taking a hot shower. 

Step Two: Scrub 

Image via Pinterest

Smooth a pumice stone over the scrub, roughing off callouses and rough patches. Rinse. 

Step Three: Groom

Pat your feet dry, trim and file your nails. Add cuticle oil (or olive oil) to the base of your nail and gently push cuticles back with a cuticle stick.  MOISTURIZE. Apply a rich cream on your feet, top and bottom. Don't forget your heels and cuticles.

Step Four: Polish

Clean leftover cream from nails with a cotton pad soaked in polish remover. Apply a base coat, two coats of nail color, and a topcoat. Give nails at least 15 minutes to dry before slipping on open-toed shoes (it can take up to two hours for them to dry fully). To speed things up, apply a quick-dry topcoat or quick-dry drops.

WANT TO GET CREATIVE WITH POLISH?

For my summer pedicure, I added these cute little white daisy's that I hand painted myself with a little help from Julep.  Julep has this new nail design tool called the Julep Plie` Wand that really has my creative juices flowing. Think polka dots, plaid nails, chevron tips...oh, the possibilities are endless.

Pour a drop of each color that you want to use onto a piece of foil paper. You don't want to dip the Plie` Wand directly into the bottle because it would get really messy. I used white and gold for my design, but you can get as creative as your heart desires.  Practice on paper before applying to nails!

Dip the small round tip of the wand into the white polish and tap lightly onto your nails. Gently tap on your nail 5 dots to form a circle, creating a flower. Wipe the wand clean with a tissue and dip it into the gold polish. Dot center of the flower with the gold.

For a final touch, take the brush wand and dip it into the gold polish. Very gently, brush tiny lines around the daisy.

Add a top coat over the entire nail and your oh-so-summer-y pedicure is finished! You. Got. This.

Here are the products that I used:
Olive Oil
Bath Salts or Epsom Salt
Foot Scrub
Pumice Stone
Cuticle Oil
Cuticle Stick
Foot Cream or Moisturizer
Base Coat
Essie Bikini Not So Teeny Blue Polish
White Nail Polish
Quick-dry Top Coat
Julep Plie` Wand (get a FREE Julep nail polish with this purchase)
 Julep Metallic Polish (or buy the gift trio set during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale)

Be sure to check out Julep's website for more info on the Julep Plie` Wand and their blog for video tutorials on creative nail designs!

Linked up with:
Weekend Blog Hop, Fab Favorites, Fashion Item Friday, Treat Yo' Self

Thanks so much for reading!