At Home Mani and Pedis

                                                           

Usually around this time of the year we are doing our big Craft Fair prep but with COVID, that is not happening this year.

Instead, we have been finding lots of things to do around the house. I’ve been giving myself pedicures and manicures so I thought I’d share with you my steps for some at home mani/pedis and some of my favourite products and colours to use.

For my pedicures I always like to do a nice foot soak the day before. Before I soak, I actually like to use a good foot file and scrap away all of the dead skin on my heels, side of the foot, and side and under the big toe. My favourite file is a wooden “dry” use one that I get at the Body Shop.

Then I clean up my toe nails and cut and shape them and take off an old polish.

After, I like to get a bucket and fill it with warm water and then add about ½ cup of Epsom salts and soak away for about 15 minutes or until the water gets cool. I like Dr. Teals Lavender Epsom salts the best.

I dry my feet and massage them with some lotion (Vaseline Cracked Heel lotion) and put on some socks and then go to bed.

The next day I paint. I’m usually a soft and simple person when it comes to colours. Essie is my favourite brand. My all time favourite for toes and finger nails is Ballet Slippers! I’m also a fan of Essie's Muchi Muchi, Buy Me A Cameo, Go Ginza, Berry Naughty and Heather Hustle, Sand Storm, and Racing Rose by Sally Hansen. I actually use Sally Hansen Quick Dry or Sally Hansen Diamond Coat as my base. 

I need to use toe separators when I paint so put those on and then start to paint. Depending on the colour, I usually do three coats as I choose lighter colours. I finish it all off with Essie’s Speed Setter top coat. It really works and sets things so fast.

Now for the fingers. I like to shape and cut the day before and buff away any bad stuff. Then I will use Essie’s Apricot Cuticle Oil and Eucerin, Glysomed, or Gold Bond hand lotion. I like to massage it into the dry skin on my hands. They are so dry now with all the sanitizer and hand washing.

I basically do my base coat, then three layers of polish leaving about 2 minutes in between. I finish it all off with the speed setter coat and then I’m done. I am still cautious with this speed setter coat but I feel less likely that any smudging will happen when I use this. A tip, make sure you take the top coat and paint it horizontally over the end of your finger nails; that will prevent chipping at the ends.

DIY Spa Day for Mom

Today we’re starting a two week break from our Pantone Spring colours to celebrate mom. We’ve planned two blog posts with mom in mind and then we promise to get back to our Spring colours.

It’s always fun going to the spa and being pampered, but we thought it might be a fun idea to put together a girls night in with mom and create the spa in the comfort of your own home. We have found some fun spa DIY’s that you can do at home with your mom this Mother’s Day. It’s always fun to get manis and pedis as well as facials and a nice sugar scrub so check out what we have for you below and you’ll be set to have your very own Mother’s Day spa day.

First of all, before we even get started on the things that you can do, make sure that you and your mom are super comfy. Maybe get her a nice new terry cloth robe and some slippers. You want to be comfy while you are doing your treatments. 

Set the mood and light some fragrant candles that your mom would like. Coming up with some healthy spa treat would be a nice idea as well. Try out this recipe for cucumber water...

Cucumber and Lemon Water:

Put ½ of a lemon and ¼ of a cucumber thinly sliced in a pitcher. Fill it with cold water and ice. Let it sit in the fridge for 10 minutes. Serve cold. As the water goes down just add more along with more ice. Add some fresh mint for an added bit of flavour.  

Have some fresh fruit and veggies (maybe a salad) would be sure to make your mom happy. I think making her a nice sweet treat to the end the spa day would be a perfect way to finish off the day. Take a look at next week’s blog post for an inspiration for a sweet treat. 

If you’ve got puffy or sore eyes use some cold cucumber slices or green tea bags. You can sit back with these one your eyes while you get your nails painted or while you do one of the other treatments.

Here are some other facial treatments that you can try.

To exfoliate and remove dry skin try out some of these homemade scrub recipes...

https://www.brit.co/diy-face-scrubs/

http://thecrunchymoose.com/natural-exfoliants-facial-scrub-recipes/

http://homemadeforelle.com/10-simple-exfoliating-face-scrubs/

For a nice mask treat your faces to some of these...

https://www.realsimple.com/beauty-fashion/skincare/homemade-facial-masks 

http://mamabee.com/52-homemade-face-mask-recipes/

http://www.livingthenourishedlife.com/4-honey-face-masks/

Before your mani and pedi you can soak your feet in warm water and Epsom salts in a big bucket or if you have a foot bath, then soak your feet in there. Afterwards massage your feet with some nice lotion or olive oil.

DIY Manicures and Pedicures:

Step 1. Prep your nails, so remove all old polish and clip your nails.

Step 2. Shape your nails. Some people like to have them squared off and some prefer rounded nails. 

Step 3. Smooth the nail surface with a buffer. You can get one of these at the drugstore. 

Step 4. Give your cuticles some love by pushing them back and then massage them with some oil or lotion.

Step 5. Make sure you are sitting at a desk or table and have your hands flat on the table. If you are doing a pedicure alone then you want to make sure your foot is in a position that you can easily reach. 

Step 6. Put on a clear base coat. Before this step if you have some, you’ll want to put on your toe separators.

Step 7. Now it’s time to start painting. Pick out which colour you want to use. I have a drawer full of colours (I collect nail polish), but if you have a limited collection then you can buy some colours before your spa day or get everyone to bring some so that there are lots to pick from. Paint each other’s nails for that spa feeling or if you’d rather, you can paint your own. 

Step 8. Apply two coats making sure that the coats dry in between layers. This usually takes 2-3 minutes.

Step 9. Apply the top coat.

Step 10. Let them dry. You probably want to do the nail painting after your other spa treatments, so save this for last and pop in a movie to watch while you dry.

And if you’re really adventurous...you can make your own sugaring recipe and give it a go.

Here is the recipe for the sugar paste http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Body-Sugaring-Paste

And this is how you do it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVKrLumCEpA