Happy Feet

Feet are the workhorses of your body. We shove them into tight shoes, punish them with designer heels, and roughen them by walking around barefoot. When I was a teenager, my feet were oh so soft. Now they have become hard and tough from abuse. I can’t always afford a trip to Nail Fever (my mall pedicurist of choice despite the awful name. Seriously, Nail Fever sounds like something I wouldn’t want to catch). But I love getting pedicures, and I miss the days of having touchably soft tootsies. What’s a bella to do?

One of my afrofellas, Bygbaby came to the rescue.

He’s just come out with a line of products called Quench Essentials. If you’re like me and you love supporting small businesses by good people, you should check it out!

I was lucky enough to sample the MinTea Spa Soak, but at first I was worried. We now live in a home that doesn’t have a bath tub, so I haven’t been able to enjoy bath salts or bubble baths at all this year. I tell ya, I miss a good, long soak in the tub.

I wanted to recreate the Nail Fever experience, so I bought the HoMedics BubbleMate Luxury Foot Bubbler. At $20, it’s as cheap as it gets for a foot spa, but the negative reviews are right. This thing makes quite a splash and ideally should be used on tile with a big towel close at hand. Also, you need to add your own hot water. But still, with the MinTea soak added, the bubbles overflowing, and a glass of riesling, I was in foot soak bliss!

MinTea smells exactly as you’d imagine it would — minty fresh and good. I like it, and for $7 you get enough for several uses. I followed up my foot soak with a little scrubbing (the HoMedics bubbler comes with a little foot-shaped exfoliating brush, loofah, and sponge set. Very cute!), and then I really spoiled my aching dogs with Quench Essentials Elbows, Knees & Toes.

It’s a thick, buttery blend of shea, cocoa butter, and coconut oil. The Sweet Butter scent is light, soothing, and very pleasant.

The combination of butters and oils made my feet as slippery and soft as you might expect, so I’d recommend slipping into some bedroom slippers or soft socks after slathering this stuff on. The small jar costs just $12, and I love this stuff! It really made my feet feel pampered and made a notable difference in the toughness of my soles. Two thumbs up for Elbows, Knees & Toes!

The whole procedure took up a good hour of my Sunday evening, and was well worth it. Quench Essentials will become a part of my weekend beauty relaxation time, and I highly recommend it for any of you with unhappy feet. Now my little piggies are ready to go out dancing!

** edit March 14 — Good news, bellas! Bygbaby was so thrilled that he’s offering Afrobella readers a 15% discount.  The coupon code is 03afrobella07 and this will be good until 4/15/07. Happy shopping!