Feet in the City

During my many explorations of New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, I realized that "urban" foot care is a topic that absolutely must be discussed.  While I love the idea of 5 inch heels all the time, in reality, it just isn't possible.  For those who never take the subway, barely walk, and get driven from destination to destination, there is no need to read any further.  For those of you who like to explore a city on foot, and *gasp* take public transportation like the subway in New York or the Muni and the BART in San Francisco, read on my dears, because this post is for you!

This brings me to my first topic, foot wear choices.  Let it be noted that I adore heels, this is not a post from someone that is dedicated to sacrificing style in the name of comfort.  Crocs have never and will never touch these feet!  However, it was a sad day when I realized I needed to expand my footwear selection beyond heels because my 5 inch Pradas were just not feasible for exploring the streets of NYC.  I have found low heeled boots, wedges and closed toe flats to be my friend. The closed toe descriptive must be noted.  Although I do love my embellished sandals during the summer, I find for a long day of exploring, the filth that accumulates on my feet while wearing sandals is just, well, sickening.  Granted, some days you have to wear sandals, just keep in mind, your feet will be black after a long day of walking.  One more thing, let's try to keep rubber flip-flops for the beach, m'kay!  I know my San Diegans will be up in arms when they read this last line, but if you want to look pulled together, flip flops just aren't the way to go.

Now that we've covered footwear, let's explore the next topic...foot care. Just because winter is around the corner, doesn't mean we should be frightened by our feet.  In order to keep those pedicures fresh and your feet revived from miles of walking, or hours of dancing for that matter, you must have an arsenal at your disposal.  You must also diligently care for your feet or else they will get out of control and fast!  These are my tried and true faves:

1.  The Body Shop Peppermint Cooling Foot Spray - This spray is heaven for tired feet.  After a long night of dancing, my friends line up their feet so I can do a reviving spray mist assembly line.  It is also an excellent deodorizer.  In the summer, you can put this in the fridge for an added blast of iciness.

 















2.  The Body Shop Peppermint Cooling Foot Rescue Treatment - This cream is thick and luxurious - perfect for smoothing on at night before you put on your spa socks.  It contains cocoa butter, grape extract and sweet almond oil.

3.  Young Nails Rose Cuticle Oil - This delicately scented cuticle oil helps keeps your cuticles from breaking and peeling and should be applied every day on your hands and feet.  Keep in mind, if you apply cuticle oil or lotion on your feet and wear open toed shoes/sandals, the oil will attract grime like a magnet!  Therefore, I like to apply this at night with my moisturizer so in the morning my nails and toes will be in tip top shape.

4.  Yogapro YogaToes - Years of wearing heels, running and playing sports have caused a slew of foot ailments.  These odd looking wonders really work to stretch out your feet and relieve foot pain.  You shouldn't walk around in these, but they are wonderful for nighttime when you are relaxing with your feet up.  Yogapro also claims that wearing YogaToes will help correct and realign foot structure, strengthen and stretch foot muscles, and improve circulation and appearance.  All I know is my feet feel better when I wear them.

5.  A quality foot scrubber - Scrubbing your feet is a must and I really feel it should be done every day in the shower to remove dead skin, grime and calluses from your toes and the bottom of your feet.  I find that a fine grade coarseness really works the best to get rid of skin softened in the shower.  Using a scrubber like this right after the shower when your feet are still soft also works wonderfully and you get the added benefit of seeing all that dead skin flake off your feet, if you are into that sort of thing.

6.  Comfy spa socks - Any sock will do, but nothing beats those extra fluffy socks that look like blankets.  You may not want to wear them around with your lingerie, but you can always wear them when you are just lounging.  They now have socks that have treatments within the sock and are good for around 50 uses.  I have never tried Sephora's Spa Socks, but they have a very high rating.  If you don't feel like shelling out $36 for a pair of socks, you can always do the tried and true trick of slathering your feet with lotion and cuticle oil and putting on the inexpensive fluffy socks, or basic cotton sock.

7.  Band-Aid Friction Block Stick - I have this in my purse at all times along with a couple band-aids just in case of emergency.  The friction block stick works to prevent chafing and blisters from your shoe.  It looks like a mini deodorant stick and is easy to apply since you don't need to use your fingers.