I would absolutely love to get a pedicure every week, but like most college students, I just can’t afford to do that. So I sacrifice my poor, little feet in order to have money for essentials like, I don’t know, food. In order to keep myself free of hunger pains, my feet have taken a turn for the worst. They are cracked and dry, and no matter how cute my nail color is, they still look bad.

Enter the world of Exuviance: it’s like a pedicure in cream form. I’ve been using this for just a week and my tootsies already look way better. Watch the vid for my review!

[Disclaimer: I received this product to review and received no payment (as in money) for a "good" review. This review is 100% my personal opinion based on my experience with the product.]

I’ve missed my sandals. I missed them so much that I dragged them out of the back of my closet a month ago, only to gaze longingly at them every day, sigh, and pull on another pair of warm socks. After a long, hard fall, winter AND spring of boots, rain boots, and snow boots, I am dying to leave the house in nothing but a kick ass summer dress and a fantastic pair of gladiator sandals.

Before that happens, though, I have to take care of one teeny problem. You know that long hard winter of boots I mentioned? It has left my feet looking….less than pretty. So, in preparation for the day when all my sandal dreams come true, here are some step-by-step instructions for an at-home pedicure that will have your feet ready to see the sun before you know it!

Step One: Polish Prep
Soak a cotton ball or cotton pad with nail polish remover and remove all your old polish that has been on there since last August.

Clip toenails straight across. Seriously, DO NOT cut anything but straight across. If you try and clip down on the sides you risk a seriously painful ingrown toenail. Ouch!

Use a nail file to smooth the edges, and if you want to round down the sides a little, this is the time to do it.

Step Two: Soak It Up!
(Side note: if I’m pressed for time, or just feeling lazy, I’ll skip this step and pumice my feet in the bath or shower before I polish).

Fill a low, wide bucket with hot water and add a half cup of Epsom salt, which eases muscle tension and de-puffs tired feet. If you’re feeling super-indulgent, toss in some scented bath salts or elixir – anything with a scent you really enjoy.

Soak your feet for 5 minutes or so, and after they’re good and soft, take a pumice stone or a foot file and use it to slough the rough bits of your feet: the balls of your feet, your heels, and the outer edges of your big toes and pinky toes.

When you’re smooth, pat your tootsies dry with a towel. If you would like, push back your cuticles (don’t cut em! Another recipe for ingrown toenails!) with the edge of an emery board, and then slather both feet with a super moisturizing foot lotion or cream.

Step Three: Time To Polish

Wash the moisturizer off your toenails with soap and water and let them dry.

Use a foam toe separator to create space between your toes. In a pinch, I have been known to use neat little rolls of paper towel between each toe for that purpose, but believe me, the foam spacers are way nicer and pretty cheap.

Apply one coat of base coat, two coats of color and one coat of top coat. I try and do one wide stroke down the center of each nail, and then two thin ones down each side.

Use a Q-tip dipped in nail-polish remover to clean up any messy edges or other polish mishaps.

Now, this is the most important part: Let your polish dry COMPLETELY before putting on close-toed shoes. This means several hours. If you’ve got to go asap, caaaaarefully slip on some sandals. Apply a new coat of top coat every three days or so, just to keep your polish fresh and chip-free until you’re ready for a new paint job!

This is the time of year when I long the most for new shoes. Summer shoes are bright and fun and eye-catching. And it’s warm enough that you don’t have to cover them up with pants, jeans, or other such nonsense.

But sometimes, friends…sometimes summer shoes betray us. Sometimes high heeled sandals bust our heels. Sometimes seemingly-perfect shoes cut up the backs of our feet. So while I can’t guarantee anything, I have combed the internet searching for shoes that at least look like they might not kill you.

Here, dear College Candies, are the shoes I am lusting after right now, that I imagine will leave me with chaste, unharmed tootsies.

Drool.

I’m sorry, I’m a sucker for faux snakeskin.

These little ditties are, yes, wedge platforms, but they’re not too high and they have a peep toe so your toes won’t get squished. Plus, the foot-bed is pretty high so you have a better chance of it really holding your foot in and not rubbing.

For the price of a movie and a small soda, you could have these cute metallic (very in this summer) sandals from Payless. Not bad!

Aren’t these cute?! There’s something very Westerner’s-idea-of-India about them, but, what can I say? Totally sexy. Even better, you can order them online; doesn’t get more comfortable than that.

Look at these adorable little yellow sandals! I just want to eat them up. Or like hug them, or something. Anyway, you get the point. They’re freakin’ cute. Plus, flat. Your foot will be held in snugly with a slingback. Ah, perfection.

Some may say a little pain is worth it, but I totally beg to differ. Especially with the flat, gladiator sandal making its mark this summer. This shoe is perfect with a dress and can be worn to walk all over town, to a long day of work, or even a long night of dancing.