Master the at-Home Pedicure

Nothing kills the fashion buzz brought on by a beautiful pair of sandals like neglected feet. If tightening your beauty budget has made your bed mate long for the soft touch of a Brillo pad, we have some advice. Either sport ankle boots through the summer or learn the art of the home pedicure.

"The total time for a do-it-yourself pedicure should take no more than 40 minutes," says Jennifer Frederick, spa director at Ritual Salon & Spa. "We're out in the sun so much and we wear flip-flops practically year round (in Las Vegas). You're feet are going to dehydrate."

The experience may not compare to the spa pedicures you once indulged in biweekly, but the results will. Here are the essentials of a home pedicure, courtesy of Frederick.

Foot Soak
Novices will get by with a large bowl, but the more pedicures you perform yourself the more attractive a $30 jet foot tub becomes. If you can't get your gossip rag fix then you'll eventually insist on the bubbles. Whichever your preference, remember hot water alone doesn't do the trick. Frederick recommends creating a foot soak that doesn't exceed a gallon and adding to it 1 tablespoon of baking soda and 2 tablespoons of an essential oil. (The bath beads that tend to come with any lotion gift set work well for the essential oil.) Both will loosen the skin's surface and prepare them for the scrub down that's to come.

Don't: Use more than a gallon of water; soak mix won't be effective.

Estimated time: 10 minutes