foot pedicure applying red toenails on white
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You buy her flowers or take her to dinner to show your appreciation, but sometimes a girl just wants to be pampered. If you want to spend time with your wife, but still give her a spa-like experience, treat her to a pedicure at home.

Make your wife comfortable. Have her sit in a comfortable chair with a footstool and have her prop up her feet. Lay a towel down on the footstool to provide some padding and to keep the furniture clean.

Moisten a cotton ball with nail-polish remover. Swipe the cotton ball over her toes, one by one, to remove any existing polish. Use a clean cotton ball and more nail-polish remover as one becomes filled with polish.

Fill a basin about half full with warm water. Add ½ cup of Epsom salts and a few drops of essential oil to the water. Lavender, rose, jasmine or eucalyptus are good oils to use for a spa-like pedicure experience. Mix the water around with your hands to distribute the salt and oils.

Have your wife place her feet in the basin. Soak her feet for about 10 minutes in the water to help soften dead, dry skin.

Lift one foot out of the water. Gently massage the bottom and top of her foot and ankle with an exfoliating glove. Move the glove in small circular motions over the entire length of her foot to slough off the dead skin. Place that foot back in the water and repeat with the other foot. Return that foot to the water to rinse the skin. Remove her feet gently and pat them dry with a soft towel.

Clip her toenails with toenail clippers. Angle the clippers slightly when clipping and clip each toenail evenly. Wipe each toe with a soft towel after clipping to ensure the nails are no longer wet.

File each toenail with a nail file. Place the file directly under the toenail and move it in a swift motion in one direction over each nail until the edge of the nail is smooth. Go over the smooth part of each nail with a nail buffer to even out any bumps on the nail surface.

Put a few drops of cuticle oil into the palm of your hand. Use the fingers on your other hand to massage the oil onto the cuticles of each toe. Let the oil sit on the cuticles for about 3 minutes, then push back the cuticles on the toes gently using a cuticle pusher or orangewood stick. Hold the cuticle pusher at a slight angle and push the cuticle in toward the base of the nail.

Put a quarter-sized amount of moisturizing lotion into the palm of your hand. Rub your hands together, then massage the lotion onto your wife’s feet. Don’t forget to apply the moisturizer in between the toes. Wipe over each toenail with a soft towel to remove any moisturizer that got on the nail itself; lotion left on the nail will interfere with the polish adhering properly.

Place toe separators in between the toes on both feet. If you don’t have toe separators, put folded tissues in between each toe.

Apply a clear base coat to each toenail. Allow it to dry for 10 minutes.

Apply two coats of colored polish to each toe. Seal the colored nail polish by applying a top coat. Let the nails dry for at least 20 minutes. Remove the toe separators after the top coat has dried completely.

Tip

Light some candles or put on relaxing music to help make your at-home pedicure feel like a spa experience.