My feet have two modes: summer and winter. In winter, no one sees my uncared for feet. Pretty summer feet are important though, so I give my feet lots of TLC in the spring. To get from dry, neglected winter feet to soft, pretty summer feet requires some serious work. Here is how to get pretty feet for summer.

Putting a rich cream and sleeping with socks is a great way to soften feet. I don’t like sleeping with sock though, so I bought a few pair of very thin cotton ankle socks and cut the toes off. Now my feet don’t realize they are covered up at night.

I have tried many, many, many creams, but there are two I really like: Pacifica Body Butter and Dermal Therapy’s Heel Care.

Tahitian Gardenia is my favorite type of Body Butter by Pacifica. It’s a rich, fabulous smelling, luxurious cream made with essential oils, shea butter, almond oil and safflower oil. I use it not only on my feet, but also on other dry areas as well. The scent lasts for hours. You can find it on their website here: Tahitian Gardenia Body Butter. It is sold at Whole Foods, and you can check their website for other distributors.

Tahitian Gardenia cream is a spa treat in a tube!

When my heels need serious doctoring, I use Heel Care cream, which has urea and alpha hydroxyl to moisturize dry, cracked skin. The urea penetrates deep into the skin and attracts, absorbs and holds moisture in. The alpha hydroxy acids help slough off old dry skin. The cream is occlusive (it creates a barrier over your skin and it’s a bit thick), so I rub the cream in at night, put my toeless socks on and go to sleep. If my feet are in extra bad shape, I’ll wrap them in cling wrap. It’s the secret to baby soft skin. It seals in the cream, so it really penetrates the skin. When I wake up the next morning, my feet are ready for polish. You can find Heel Care cream here: Heel Care cream. They ship internationally.

This cream will whip your feet into soft submission

Normal nail polish has a trio of toxins in it. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is a reproductive and developmental toxin. Toluene affects the central nervous system and formaldehyde is a known human carcinogen. There are some great alternatives with no toxins out there. My faves are butter LONDON and Priti.

butter LONDON is available in the UK, Canada & the US, and they are very hip. They work with designers at Fashion Week  to arrive at the latest, coolest colors for the runway. butter LONDON’s fashionable friends include designers such as Alexander Wang, Victoria Beckham, Betsey Johnson, Calvin Klein and many more. And more importantly, they have such fun names for their polish! I love that they don’t take themselves too seriously. Check out their website here: butter LONDON

“Trout Pout” is the perfect color for summer

“Disco Biscuit” is a madly chic shade!!!

“Slapper” is very a modern color

Priti NYC polishes are fast drying, chip resistant, contain a UV inhibitor and are extremely durable and glossy. They are available in over 100 different shades including metallics, mattes, bright neons, rich darks, classic nudes, and everything in between. They have a great summer collection. For store locations (including internationally), check out their website here: PritiNYC 

These fun colors are (left to right) Horned Poppy, Red Maple, Day Flower and Lungwort

Quick tip: If you have trouble getting the cap off your nail polish bottle, wrap a rubber band around it, and it will unscrew with ease.

With a bit of TLC, you can get your feet in shape to show off the great colors available this season.