Foot patrol There's no getting away from it. When the sun comes out, your toes want to come out, too. If you've been happily ignoring them all winter, this will come as a bit of a shock to the system. Drastic measures are required to get your tootsies into shape for summer. So, here's what I recommend.
First, take a trip down to your local dvd store and rent out a really mindless "rom-com", the sort you would normally be well above watching. I went for Rumour Has It with Jennifer Aniston; it was perfect. You are completely vindicated if someone walks in while you are watching this, as you can explain that you are doing your feet and the movie is just a bit of background noise. So far so good.
Next, assemble everything you need for your foot overhaul. You don't want to have to go upstairs in wet feet to get anything you have forgotten. You need a basin of hot water, towel, and products. The good news about doing your own is that this is not going to be cruel on your wallet, either. Fabulous feet require a little tlc, not a lot of euros. So start with good smoothing, preferably with a foot file. I love my Tweezerman one, but Scholl does a very respectable model for €6.85. Start with the coarser side of the file to remove the most serious hard skin, then use the finer side to buff. Next, exfoliate feet, either with your normal body exfoliater, or a special one for feet. Boots does a lovely inexpensive range for feet, and has three-for-two offers on some products at the moment.
If you've had the water just a bit too hot to start with, it should be the perfect temperature now for a good soak. You can add plain table salt to the water, or a fancier product of your choice. Hopefully, this 10 minute soaking will coincide with a key plot moment in the movie, so you can keep up with the story. Your feet should emerge from the water looking a lot happier. Pat dry, and tidy up your nails. Now you can treat feet to a lovely moisturiser - the richer the better. For the best results, put on a pair of light cotton socks and leave on overnight, if this will not break the spell of the effortless, natural goddess he thinks you are.
The Goods
ORIGINS Reinventing The Heel I confess I bought this for the name, but was won over by the lovely texture and great results. A heavy duty moisturiser. Available from Arnotts, €25.50
JOHNSON'S Baby Oil Gel Serious softening, but you will need the socks, to minimise the mess. From pharmacies, €3.69
L'OCCITANE Shea Butter Exfoliating Foot Care Like a snake that has shed its skin, your feet will feel renewed after using this lovely scrub. It costs €19.50 and you could follow with the matching foot cream, also €19.50. From L'Occitane outlets.
To finish things off nicely, why not give your toes a polish with either a great all round neutral, BOURJOIS Very Vernis Nail Enamel in Beige Rose Delicate, €6.99 at pharmacies, or CHANEL's Le Vernis in Deauville, a beautiful perky pink that says "it's summer". It costs €18.50, from Arnotts