Summer time, summer feet. Sweltering hot or a questionable sun, a sandal is quickly possible. What you need is a step-by-step plan for the perfect ‘sandal foot’, tips for good care, and information about the latest trends in paint and finishing. Voilà, you can get started with this. Summer time, feet time. But even if the weather is not quite in summer mood yet, or autumn is approaching, a sandal or slipper is often fine. But then your subjects have to look a bit nice. How do we do that? With knowledge of the basics plus a four-step plan, thanks to the input of care expert Herome.

Start with the basics

A beautiful nail is a filed nail. Yep, surprise: that goes for your toes too. Just as fingernails become less beautiful and rougher from clipping alone, toenails do not become more beautiful. So, file your toenails at least once a week. Then strong artillery such as cutting is usually no longer necessary. Before you go to bed, it is advisable to apply a nice foot cream to your feet, especially during sandal season. But if foot cream is out of reach or the skin on your feet is very rough and dry, that good old udder ointment from the drugstore can give a turbo boost. On this well-groomed basis, pedicuring yourself is a no-brainer.

Step 1

First file for the perfect shape. File from little toe to big toe, with a soft file. Clean your nails with an acetone-free nail polish remover, such as the Herôme Caring Nail Polish Remover. The nail polish remover from the exclusive brand KOH is ultra luxurious and has a pleasant scent. Because toes are painted less often, the paint here may contain several older layers and can therefore be difficult to remove. In that case, leave a cotton ball with remover on the nail for a few seconds, and then slowly move it from the base to the top of the nail. The remover immediately takes the leftover filings with it, so the base of your future paintwork is now ultra-clean.

File science

• That metal nail file from your mother’s toiletry bag is the hardest on your nails. So better stay away.
• The now common cardboard file is a middle ground: fine to use, if you are careful and gentle.
• The glass file offered by Herôme, among others, is the crème de la crème in nail care. Not very cheap, but very durable if you handle it carefully.

Step 2

A base coat is also important for the toenails. Precisely because we don’t treat our toes as conscientiously as we do our fingers (in the winter it’s just in a shoe, right?) a color layer can be absorbed for an extra long time and cause nicotine nails or yellow creeps. So, don’t use color paint straight away, but a layer of base coat, such as WIC Oxy Power Base Coat. In addition to preventing the color nightmare, a good base coat evens out.

Step 3

This is the most fun step: painting! Paint your nails from the outside Рlittle toe Рto the big toe. Have fun, because nowadays there are nail polish in dozens of shades. Not only OPI is famous for its ability to constantly bombard us with new finds, our own Dutch WIC by Her̫me now also has a basic collection of no fewer than 80 colors. Nail art is no longer reserved for the fingers. The fifties lover of polkadots goes for a red and white polka dot toe, the romantic goes for a beautiful pink heart on the big toe, and the business soul puts a few sleek stripes for a pinstripe effect. The textured lacquers are also relatively new: you may already be familiar with crackle, but are you also familiar with the velvet finish?

Step 4

Beautiful and well-groomed, all summer long? Quick and short maintenance helps! The toes have to endure at least as much as the hands in the summer. Especially on the beach, think of sun, sea water and chlorine. This means that minor damage occurs quickly and the color fades more quickly. You can carry out small and quick maintenance with the WIC Shine Shock. This special polish makes your nails look tip-top again within seconds. Small imperfections are faded, a beautiful shine is created and the color gets an extra boost.

Trends according to WIC by Herôme

An always-priced trend in the summer is color. Consider painting each nail a different color for a summery rainbow effect. The colored French manicure is very new. You do not use transparent polish to create a white edge on the nail, but you use two contrasting colors. An exciting choice, especially for brown feet.