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Wednesday
May292013

How to Get the Perfect Summer Pedicure

Don't hide your toes in the sand. From: lensENVY on Flickr

Hello ladies! With Memorial Day behind us, and June fast approaching, summer is beginning in earnest.  Which means I have to shove my A/C unit back into my bedroom window before my apartment once again turns into a hotbox (NYC-specific, first world problems). It also means that we'll all be wearing a lot of open-toed shoes. For the gathered lady, the perfect pedicure is a must-have summer accessory, and below I've assembled a few tips on how to get it.

  1. Take care of those rough soles. Basically, you need to find the thick patches of skin, select the rough surface of your choice and apply friction. Experiment to find which rough surface works best for your feet. I like everything from natural pumice stone to those cheap sand-papery foot files you can pick up at the drugstore. For extreme cases, I’ve heard drywall screens can be very effective, although, you may not want to tell anyone why you have them.Flickr
  2. Exfoliate for touch-ably soft feet, top and bottom. I’m not particularly fond of scrubs for my soles, but they can improve the look and feel of the thinner skin on your feet. Concentrate on the tops, arches, ankles and toes to make sure your entire foot is soft and smooth.
  3. Moisturize every day (and every night). Feet dry out very quickly. Don’t skip your feet when you’re moisturizing after a shower. At night, slather your feet with Flexitol, followed by a heavy moisturizer and put on socks before you crawl into bed. I sometimes put plastic wrap around my feet before the socks, if I’m getting really serious. Quick tip: If you have carpet, try not to spend too much time running around on it barefoot. The fibers in the carpet do an excellent job of absorbing all of the moisture out of your feet, so invest in a nice pair of slippers for around the house.
  4. Take care of your cuticles. The cuticles our toes tend to get neglected, which is unfortunate since they can be the first sign of a pedi in distress. So, the next time you’re lavishly moisturizing your feet, pay special attention to your cuticles. It keeps them soft and supple, which prevents the fraying that can make them so unsightly. If, like me, you aren’t a fan of having your cuticles trimmed, a good cuticle oil is especially important, as well-maintained cuticles look kempt without being cut. If you do trim, I wouldn’t recommend doing it yourself unless you really know what you’re doing. Some things (like wielding sharp cutting implements near your skin) are better left to the professionals.
  5. Tweeze those toe hairs! Yes, I went there. It’s OK—many women have to deal with those two random toe hairs sprouting on their big toes. It may not be extremely noticeable, but we are striving for perfection here! Plucking stray hairs takes next to no time and you’ll be grateful the next time you have another person wanting to get up close and personal with your feet.
  6. Keep your toenails short. Seriously. I feel like I’m stating the obvious here, but it’s worth emphasizing anyway—no matter how long you like to wear the nails on your fingers (that’s another post entirely), the nails on your toes look best when kept short. Long toenails look like neglected toenails. Even when freshly polished, if your nails are creeping over the end of your toes, it won’t look like you’ve had a fresh pedicure at all.                                                             Pretty Boho Trio by butter LONDON
  7. No matter what color you select, choose a quality nail laquer. This doesn’t mean you need to blow $12+ on a single nail color (I'm looking at you, butter LONDON!), but unless you’re swimming regularly, your pedicure should last at least three weeks. If you see chipping much sooner, it’s probably time to try out a new product line. Also, invest in quality base and top coats and never skip these steps. They’ll lengthen your pedicure and the base coat will prevent nail staining. Yellow nails are not cute, and are a definite barrier to wearing sheer, sexy nudes.
  8. Maintenance. This is probably the most important step in keeping your pedi perfect all summer long. Regularly buffing (every other day), moisturizing (twice a day), filing and polishing (every 3-4 weeks) are vital. It is very easy for a shiny new pedicure to become unkempt. Think about it, if you walk out of the house without putting any lotion on your feet, they're going to look crusty, even if you had a pedicure the day before. And it doesn’t matter how cute your polish is if your nails are grown out. Trust me, build a little extra time into your routine each day and your feet will always look pretty.

 

Saturday
May252013

Happy Memorial Day... See you Wednesday! 

Hey fashionistas, wishing you a very gathered Memorial Day weekend, and we'll see you next Wednesday!

Have Memorial Day pics you'd love to share? We can't wait to see them! Email us, and we'll post them in the next Saturday Fashion Spread! 

Friday
May242013

9 Heavenly Items For Your Beach Bag

Well, well, well fashionistas... June is swift upon us, and things are heating up all over this great nation. Anybody else hearing the waves calling? I sure am! The beach is one of the best things about summer.

I’m not going to go there about whether you’re body is “swimsuit ready”, but I would like to point out 9 heavenly items for your beach bag. It’s a hard job, because there are actually way more than 9 essentials, and your beach bag should be big enough to fit way more, so look for updates throughout the season. Here we go!

1. Statement Shades

Duh. Like, you need shades. This season, big ‘ole statement shades are the bees knees, so let your imagination run wild. Don’t forget to wear sunscreen on your face, however, or you will deserve the raccoon circles in your future. You have been warned.

2. Sun Hat 

This is one of my favorite, versatile summer accesories. A huge hat to protect you from the sun and make you look demure, yet bold and fabulous! Go for a hat made of raffia, a hardy material that can stand up to crumpling and folding and still maintain its shape and flexibility. Invest well, these hats never go out of style. 

3. Summer Reading

Oceanside is a great place to catch up on your reading.  Snag the latest beach read, bestseller, magazine, library book... whatever tickles your fancy. Also, books also make excellent face shades when catching a nap on your back. It's a win-win! 

4. Barefoot Sandals
Ah, the perfect beach “shoes”. If you’ve never invested in a pair of beach sandals to show off that perfect pedicure, you really should. There are so many materials and variations, you have a plethora to choose from. For one-of-a-kind designs, check out etsy.com. 

5. Summer Scent 

Right about now you should be starting to wear a summer scent, with warm notes that evoke happiness. Toss a trial-size or solid perfume or lotion into your beach bag so you don't wash of the good smells and end the day smelling like seaweed. Personally, for summer I love citrusy, clean scents with jasmine notes... what's your pleasure?

6. Fan
The beach is hot, but you don’t have to suffer. Pick up a personal fan. I like to go high tech with an electronic personal misting fan, but you can even go vintage with a ladies’ hand fan (perfect for slapping the wrists of those overly-familiar suitors surrounding you on the sand). These come in very handy, when the beach is crowded and the breeze disappears.

7. Long Skirt

Consider this the beach cover-up reimagined for 2013. The long skirt trend provides a fresh update and cover while scoring you major style points. Letting your freshly pedicured toes and glittery barefoot sandals peep from the long hem qualifies you for automatic sirenhood- sexxxy! La vie boheme come to life.

8. Portable Speaker

What’s the beach without tunes? With wireless bluetooth technology, no prep is needed. Just connect your ipod or smartphone and you can stream away! Better start making your playlist now.

9. Sandless Beach Mat

Ah, the wonders of modern technology. Instead of or in addition to a conventional towel or blanket, upgrade with a sandless beach mat. Consider this the end of the “hate” part of your love/hate relationship with sand. This mat is made of special military-grade material that filters sand through the mat and away from your tender parts. No scritchy-scratchy... forever! Romantic beach nooky just became an option again. Upside: risky pleasure. Downside: potential arrest. The choice is yours... 

Did we miss anything? Of course we did! Let us know in the comments below, or email or facebook your thoughts to us. We’ll be sure to include your suggestions in our next post!


 

Wednesday
May222013

Ladies of the World… Pamper Yourselves!

FlickrAs you may have noticed, I had a birthday earlier this week. And while 26 isn’t a landmark birthday, it’s always nice to do a little something to celebrate the passing of another year. For me, it was a spa day (my masseuse worked some crazy magic, I felt so good) and the final day of a short Blueprint Cleanse. I may do a full review of the juice cleanse in another post sometime soon, but today I want to focus on the more indulgent aspect of my big day—the pampering.

As gathered ladies, we focus a lot on presenting our best selves to the world, and this is very important. But I also wonder if we sometimes forget to take care of ourselves on a more basic level in our efforts to be fabulous. I recall my mother—an absolute force and quintessential gathered lady—calling me into the bathroom one day, shortly after I reached puberty. It was a weekend, and she was getting ready to soak in tub that she had likely spent part of the morning scrubbing. What followed was a conversation on the importance of regularly pampering myself as detailed as those she had given on the virtues of good hygiene or perfect posture. Her thesis: every woman should have some recurring personal time, during which she should do things to relax, de-stress and feel good. Now this could be a standing massage appointment, but for me, I usually pencil in some time with my tub. Inspired by my mother, I am now a strong advocate of the weekend soak. Draw a hot bath, drop in some bath salts, light some candles and set some mood music. Really make an event out of it and disappear into your bathroom for a half-hour or two. The great thing about pampering is that you don’t have to burn up a bunch of your disposable income to enjoy yourself. Below are two of my favorite recipes for cheap spa days at home:

Flickr

Easy (& Delicious) Hand & Foot Scrub

You’ll Need:

  • Raw Sugar
  • Oil
  • Honey
  • Lemon (optional)
  • Essential Oil (also optional)

I’m lazy and impatient, so I just eyeball these concoctions rather than measuring out exact amounts. That said, it’s really hard to mess this scrub up, since it is so easy to make. All you need to do is dump a fistful of brown sugar in a bowl and drizzle your favorite oil over it until the sugar is wet, but not floating. I prefer either almond or coconut oil, but you can use whatever you like. Mix in a dollop of honey (don’t go too crazy with it since it will get sticky) and you’re ready to start scrubbing. This is great for buffing hands and feet (I slather it on after using my pumice stone). You can also use it as an all-over body polisher, but I usually add a little more oil to make the scrub a smidge thinner, so it spreads easier over the large surface area (your sugar still should not be floating in oil!). I’ve also added some fresh lemon juice for extra exfoliation, and I’ve heard of people adding a few drops of essential oil to add fragrance, but I personally love the natural smell. Your skin will be super-soft and hydrated after using this scrub, you can use it as often as you want and it is really cheap to make!

FlickrHydrating Yogurt & Honey Hair & Face Mask

You’ll Need:

  • Plain full-fat yogurt
  • Honey
  • Lemon (optional)

As you can tell, I love DIY beauty recipes with multiple uses and this mask is great for hydrating both your skin and hair. Honey also has antimicrobial and antibacterial properties, so it’s a good option for acne-prone skin like mine. My natural aversion to measurements aside, you’re looking for a ration of roughly two parts yogurt to one part honey. How much you make will depend on if you’re treating your face and hair, and how much hair you have. Upside is you can eat any leftovers!

Have any tips on how you like to pamper yourself? Or perhaps an easy DIY beauty recipe that you love? Share it with us through email, Instagram, Twitter or Facebook!

P.S. Just wanted to send a quick thanks to Bree and Danni for their lovely post on my birthday. Thanks ladies!

Monday
May202013

Happy Birthday Charity! 

We'd like to take this moment to wish our most lovely and talented Senior Editor, Charity, a very very happy birthday! It's your time to shine chica, we hope that your day is everything gathered