How to keep feet looking chic in the heat.
Hot days mean bare feet are on view, and while a good pedicure can keep your toes sandal-worthy, it’s key to keep the rest of your feet supple and callus-free. This season, a bunch of products are employing natural essences to soothe and soften:
1. Dr. Hunter’s Foot Comfort Creme is made with essential oils and cooling extracts ($11 at Caswell-Massey)
2. Zip’s Sole Spray uses witch hazel and orange-blossom extract to refresh and ward off infections ($12 at Whole Foods)
3. Archipelago Botanicals’ Milk Foot Scrub has natural pumice and green clay for exfoliation ($17.50 at Spa Sun)
4.Burt’s Bees Coconut Foot Creme has moisturizing vitamin E and coconut and peppermint oils ($9 at Anthropologie).
If your feet need a bit more of a kick-start, some doctors, like New Jersey’s Janet Neigel, are offering the pedi-peel, an acid wash that sloughs off layers of calluses within a few days ($150; 973-325-7779).
Smells Like Fall
Fashion designers launch their new scents.
Sicily by Dolce & Gabbana “For the passionate woman who confronts risks with courage,” D&G reps tell us, this scent contains Sicilian bergamot, honeysuckle, and jasmine. Available in October at Saks Fifth Avenue; $65.
Diptyque Essence of John Galliano Candle The first couturier-designed product from the Parisian candle-maker, this subtle woody fragrance has hints of iris and vanilla musk. $50 at Barneys New York.
Romeo Gigli Inspired by the romance of Romeo and Juliet, this spicy floral is geared, the company says, to the “sophisticated woman” (Juliet was 14!). Available in August at Barneys; $60.
Carolina by Carolina Herrera For the “woman with traditional roots,” say Herrera reps, this fresh, oriental scent contains cardamom and bitter orange. Available in September at Saks Fifth Avenue; $49.
Beauty Spots
Check In
In keeping with the trend of first-rate hotels opening first-rate spas, the St. Regis has unveiled the Carita Spa in partnership with the famed Parisian Carita House of Beauty. In addition to a fitness center with flat-screen DVD and MP3 players at each cardio machine, there are three different facials given in softly lit marble-appointed rooms, plus a full array of massage. And don’t worry about bringing your own toiletries—they even have mini-cans of shaving cream. (2 East 55th Street; 212-753-4500.)
Padded Cells
Although working out in summer certainly has its merits—your muscles are more flexible, and building up a sweat is easy—the big drawback is what that sweat does to your skin. Since rushing to a sink isn’t always an option, try one of the moistened pads made for fighting skin problems. The Dorit Baxter Spa’s After Sport pads cleanse, exfoliate, and balance skin ($18 at Dorit Baxter). Bioré’s Blemish Fighting Cleansing Cloths have salicylic acid to deep-clean pores ($6.99 at drugstores), and L’OréalÂ’s Pure Zone Skin Clarifying Cleansing Cloths pair marine botanical extracts with salicylic acid ($7.99 at drugstores).