Home confinement calls for home pedicures. I am hoping you managed to rescue your fingernails, now about your toes and feet? There is nothing worse than getting into bed and having your rough heel catch on the sheets. I have literally gotten out of bed to run to the shower for my foot emery board and smoothed them out. It’s like nails on a blackboard to me. Neglected and long toenails are also a pet-peeve of mine, so here are my tips for DIY home pedicures.

Some spa music and the scent of a candle or incense can put you into a more relaxed mood and mark this time, as yours, to care for yourself, aesthetically. You deserve it!

1. Let your shower run until it is reasonably hot. Now, place a washcloth over the drain, add a capful of shampoo or conditioner and allow the shower basin or your tub to fill a few inches, enough to cover your feet. Shower as usual but nice and slow so your feet get a good soaking and softening. The basin should be filling up. Don’t allow it to run over!

2. Cut your toenails or file them to the shorter side. Remember, it may be a while before you are able to get them done, professionally.

3. Now, file them smooth at the tops so they don’t catch on anything. You can also file them across the tops to smooth them. If you have a brick file, you can smooth them out with the brick.

4. Using a cuticle pusher, give your cuticles a little push back. Don’t push to hard as you don’t want to cause trauma to the nail bed.

5. Using your nail file, brick, pumice or a foot emery board, file across any areas that are calloused on the sides or bottom of your feet. Don’t file too hard, or the area can become raw. Just file off the hard, dead and dry skin.

6. Rinse your feet well of all this nail and callous dust

7. Taking toilet paper, wrap toes so they separate and aren’t able to touch each other.

8. Polish, starting with a base coat if you have it. If not, start with 2-coats of your color. Allow 10 -15 minutes in between each coat so your polish won’t bubble.

Apply a topcoat or quick dry if you have it. If not wait 15-minutes and place a drop of oil (any kind) on each toe but leave the toilet paper in for another 10 to 15-minutes before removing it.

9. Take a heavy, thick and rich moisturizer, the heaviest you have, even a thin coat of Vaseline and rub this into your feet, mostly on the bottoms.

10. Cut the toes out of an old pair of socks and slip them on. Put your feet up and relax, watch a rerun and leave the socks on as long as you can. Your feet will feel like butter when you remove your socks.
Remember, you can always use an exfoliant if you want to add a step. Sugar or salt mixed with a little oil make a great exfoliant. You can also use this on your legs to get rid of that winter, dry skin. Make it a real spa treatment for yourself.

If you have a restriction that won’t allow you to bend, just soak, exfoliate, moisturize and wear socks. I hope you have enjoyed my tips for home pedicures and enjoy those smooth piggy’s and stay tuned for the “BANGS”.

Warmly,
Rose Marie Beauchemin-Verzella
CEO of the Beau Institute of Permanent and Corrective Cosmetics
Director of Education

I believe the minute we stop complaining about what people feel is an entrapment, we can peer into our creative selves. What have you wished you had a little more time to do? Follow an inspiring and interesting person on Instagram? Order some audio books from Amazon, you can listen to while cleaning out a drawer or closet. I love, Author, Pam Jenoff. She is actually local (Cherry Hill) and several of her books make the NY Times Best Seller list. Recently, she has sold the movie rights to one of her books. I believe she is labeled as a historian and writes with incredible accuracy and research, spinning fictional characters and story lines, into these gripping facts. Enter her addictive writings and you won’t run out of things to read for some time!

It is a great time to purge. Our kids don’t seem to want our STUFF, so why not create a pile of give-aways or Facebook Neighborhood sale items. If you think your kids would want some STUFF, make a list and email it to them to be sure. Enjoy seeing their faces now by giving them something they have admired. You will never miss it!

If you can’t move things, make your list of all the STUFF or CLUTTER you wish to rid yourself of, once this critical time has passed. Tell yourself, one of everything. We don’t need 3 of the same size saucepans, 4 spatulas, silver serving pieces we have to polish, 6 vases! Yikes. Too much STUFF. It’s almost religious when you purge your home of your excess! It is actually fun when you get started!

Email letters or send cards to friends you haven’t seen. If you wish to learn something new or better, YOUTUBE will show you how! Learn a card-game, Mahjongg, how to knit, crochet, learn sign-language, etc. Make it fun and don’t forget to say, thank you, that you don’t have this ominous virus. God Bless and stay well!

It is so incredibly interesting seeing the new trends and techniques that have developed in permanent makeup industry. So many new artists and the magic of the internet has brought them right into our living rooms. I’m in awe at the generosity I see from so many of these talented artists.

As a leading permanent makeup training institute, our training and our language has changed dramatically with our trainees to teach them these techniques and how to achieve various effects on procedures.

For example, we once said, to every class, the slower you move the faster you’ll be done. Now, we ask our trainees, what effect does your model want to achieve and what needles and speed are you going to choose to achieve this effect?

The most requested permanent brow effect is, a few hair strokes showing clearly in the front of the brow, and shading or powdering in the rest of the brow.

Now, our trainees, after hours of practice and homework, can choose, their needles and speed of motion to create various effects.

For years, we had moved away from single needles, because new practitioners didn’t understand how deeply and easily, they could travel into the skin. If used on an eyeliner, they could easily migrate the ink and even pigment. This risk was increased by moving a tattoo machine, slowly, up onto the eyelid, so we chose larger round needle groups, since they didn’t travel as deeply and greatly reduced the risk of migration. Now, single needles are popular, once again, for hair strokes, some detail work but mostly whip shading. This single needle is used like never before on the face, and it’s beautiful.

Every day, I love reading, hearing and seeing the new choices made by our artists, ranging from the thinnest to the thickest needles (even .40 are growing in popularity) and see what they are doing with them. Interesting, we are not much different than the fashion world. We move into extremes and bore quickly, always in search of a new toy. Well, we have the new toys.

We have also evolved into the tattoo world, where I began, and have tattoo needles available that are extremely sharp; tight and loose, rigid and floppy, and these different configurations allow us to recreate any makeup technique that we wish, on skin.

There are so many choices and it is fun and exciting to work, again, creatively, but one thing has not changed that we always want to take with us with any new needle or technique, and that is stretching.

The more stretching we do in any area we are working, the better the entry of the needle. Depositing your color will ALWAYS be improved with good stretching. If you can manage a 3-way stretch, even in small areas, using your pinkie finger for the third part of the stretch, your needle entry will be easier and smoother.

Remember, how you put color in is how it will heal out. Stretching will never change or be less critical, even with all of our fabulous and artistic applications.

Is your face suffering winter dullness and in desperate need of an exfoliation, a glow and brightening? Here are some ideas as we adhere to social distancing.

Got Sugar?

Place a few teaspoons of sugar in a small bowl and add some Olive Oil and stir with your fingers! Now, apply the mixture to your face, using your fingers, and with fingertips move in a circular motion. Don’t rub too long or too hard in one spot so you don’t become irritated. 

Allow it to sit for 30-minutes, once you have moved across your entire face and neck. Don’t forget your forehead and yes, even your lips. 

If you are on Keto, don’t lick your lips! Now, remove with a soft washcloth or facial wipes. 

Your skin will be exfoliated, and this will produce the glow that was waiting to be unearthed.

Can you pass the Salt?

Salt, both ground and rock salt can be substituted for sugar. Salt can a bit more abrasive, so, again, don’t rub hard in one spot. 

After World War II, when soldiers came home with “Mary Forever” tattooed on their arms, and wanted to marry, “Betty” the only removal used was salabrasion. Ouch! Rock salt or table salt was rubbed aggressively in order to remove, Mary Forever! The pain had to be unbearable and the scarring was dreadful and appeared as though this guy suffered a terrible burn. Boy, he really had to love, Betty. 

My point is, salt can be abrasive if overworked. Don’t get crazy like we do when we are bored and think in our usual, More Is Better, mindset. 

Have glowing fun and please no nasty-grams that you overdid it!