Feet First

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It’s pretty much a given that French women are chic, have that certain je ne sais quoi when it comes to lingerie, sensuality, blah, blah, blah.

I’ll tell you where a lot of French women don’t have it together—their feet! In New York City, with its cheap nail salons at every corner, it’s rare to see a Manhattanite whose feet aren’t perfectly groomed. When pedicures cost $18, there’s really no excuse not to go at least twice a month.

Not so in Paris.

Pedicures here are called soin des pieds or beauté des pieds and are offered in spas and some hair salons. They’re also pricey—around 50 euros ($69 at today’s exchange rate!)—and usually don’t involve the major cutting, callus-filing and cuticle-removing that American pedicures are known for. It’s more like a sensual massage for the feet, with some filing of the nails and lotion-rubbing. And most places don’t have the vibrating Barcaloungers; you plop your feet in a bucket of water and onto your aesthetician’s lap (not so comfortable.) Getting your nails polished (pose de vernis) costs extra, too, and often is just two coats of polish. No base coat or top coat—what?!

So it’s understandable why feet don’t seem like a priority to Frenchies. Not when there’s wine and ciggies to pay for!

Of course, the French do have a secret weapon when it comes to tootsie maintenance. They’re called podologues. As far as I can tell, they’re podiatrists. But unlike the States, where you need some medical reason to see them, here you can just ring up your  neighborhood podologue for an appointment and they shape up your feet with sadistic-looking equipment that I hope only a medical doctor is allowed to wield. Some of them even paint nails and they’ve got those cushy medical chairs. You leave with baby-soft feet.

The best part is that most charge around 25 to 30 euros. Still not a bargain compared to a Korean salon, but you also don’t have to go as frequently.

Now that summer’s approaching—and I’m heading to Corsica this weekend–my poor feet need some podologue TLC. I avoided the NYC salons during my tour because I heard you shouldn’t get your nails painted while your preggers; it’s too toxic, apparently.

So while my feet probably won’t look like this again ’til after the baby’s born…

Toes!

I’m also not spending the summer looking like Shrek:

Shrek Feet!

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Filed under Beauty, Culture, New York, Paris & France