Beauty School Pedicures

Even though the weather is turning colder, I'm still holding on to summer clothes and colors. Here's a nice summery color for nails, Spa Ritual in Last Tango. 

I picked this polish up when my friend and I got pedicures at the Douglas J Aveda Institute in Ann Arbor. I love going to the beauty school for pedicures. The way I look at it, I'm just helping a student get their hours to graduate!

In the express pedicure, they do the normal pedicure foot soak, nail polish removal, shaping, cuticle care, buffing, exfoliation and lotion massage.When I got in the chair the student gave me a neck pillow that smelled so good I've been on the hunt for the scent ever since. After polishing the student then has to have his/her instructor come over and check out their work.

In my experience, the students are usually a little nervous, but always very friendly and careful. And I feel like they pay special attention to detail because their instructor has to look over everything. The take a little bit longer than normal pedicures (I would block off at least 1.5 hours of time), but honestly, I don't care at all. To me, it's just extra time to relax! 

At the Aveda Institute it's $32 for an express pedicure, and you get to keep your polish. They use to have OPI but have since switched to SpaRitual, which I really like. They have a strict policy against no tipping, but this may not apply to all schools, so I would highly suggest asking when you book your appointment.

Have you ever went to a beauty school for a manicure, pedicure or hair service? If so, what did you think?

Super Bowl Sunday Manicure

Not into the Super Bowl? You're not alone. I'll be 'half' watching the game with friends, mainly tuning into commercials and the half time show. If you'll be partially tuning in, why don't you multitask and take care of your tips. Give yourself a fun DIY mani! Maybe paint them your team's colors? Mine would be black and yellow for tomorrow's game (Go Steelers!).




Manicure tips:
1) Remove old nail polish completely
2) File those nails! I like to keep them square, personally. A trick my friend Tina told me is to make sure you don't 'saw' them, going back and forth with the file, instead, file just one way, for example, right to left, it's better for the nail.
3) Buff'em! I like the 3 way buffer from Sally Beauty by Tropical Shine and the Lil' Whistler, which is easy to use because of it's shape.
4) Apply cuticle oil (I love Handbag Holiday and CND Solar Oil) and then soak the nails in warm, soapy water. Make sure to use a fun scented soap, dime size amount of your favorite body wash :)
5) Dry of your hands and push back cuticles gently with an orange wood stick or cuticle stick
6) Wash off cuticle oil (nail polish does not go over cuticle oil well) and make sure to lightly scrub over nails. You can use an exfoliater as well, to remove dead skin cells. Try Reversital as an exfoliater, helps hands look younger. Also works on elbows and removing self tanning mistakes :)
7) Base coat time, try Poshe 4-in-1 Treatment Base Coat
8) 1-2 coats of color (usually 2, unless you're using Avon, which goes on really well with just one). Make sure to wait at least 4-5 minutes in between coats, or else your nails will remain really sticky. Pictured to the right is Spa Ritual in Enlightened.
9) Top coat - I like Barielle's No-Chip Speed Dry
10) Now don't touch anything for 30 minutes! Well, maybe a small little Super Bowl snack, but be careful not to smudge'em!

A really good manicure kit that contains everything you need for a salon equivalent DIY is Ms. Manicure's Handy Dandy Mani contains everything you'll need to make your tips pretty.