Salons are reopening around the UAE, however not everyone is choosing to visit their favourite parlours just yet, which means you may be well overdue a home pedicure.
Now, we're not talking about a quick polish-off, polish-on – no, no, no. To fully recreate the salon experience, you want to soak, scrub and treat your feet, before even considering which colour you're going for on your nails.
Bonus points if you light a few candles, play some relaxing music in the background and pour yourself a refreshing green tea, to truly recreate that salon experience.
1. Start by soaking your feet
To begin, give your foot a good soak in warm water. Ideally, you also want to add some fragrant bath salts. If you have foot spa, great! If not, a basin or wide clean bucket also works, as do baths and the bases of your shower.
After soaking for around a minute, you want to attack the dead skin on your feet, which will have been softened by soaking. Reach for a pumice stone or foot file and gently smooth the skin on your heels. Try and keep your second foot soaking if the set-up allows. After filing, rinse your feet.
For extra soft feet, use the pumice or foot file between pedicures.
2. Get shaping
While your feet and nails are still soft from soaking, reach for the clippers, nail file and buffer. You want standard nail clippers to cut your nails down to the desired length, a file to shape them and then a buffer to get them nice and smooth.
3. Massage your feet
Treat yourself to a bit of a massage. We appreciate that this is easier for the more flexible among us, so you can always enlist a willing family member – remind them that you have just buffed, cleaned and scrubbed your feet within an inch of their lives. Use a body lotion, aromatherapy cream or foot cream (any moisturiser you have in the beauty cupboard will work, really) and massage from your toes to your calves, paying special attention to the arch of your foot.
4. Check your cuticles
It is not recommended that you cut your cuticles at home, leaving that to a professional is best. However, using a cuticle oil you can soften them and then push them back towards your nail bed. Wooden cuticle sticks work best.
5. Pick your polish
If you have toe separators, great, if not, a rolled up piece of kitchen towel weaved between your toes works just as well. Apply a base coat, followed by a few layers of your chosen colour and a top coat. Try not to rush this and give the paint a few minutes between each coat to dry, so that it doesn't go clumpy.
You can lean your feet on a stool (cover it with a towel if you want to avoid unwanted drips) to make reaching your nails to paint them a little easier.
6. Sit tight
Avoid rushing out anywhere too soon after applying the polish. You don't want to smudge all your hard work. But if you do have to go anywhere, reach for the flip flops and steer well clear of socks for a few hours. It's the perfect time to catch up on a couple of episodes of Normal People or Brooklyn Nine-Nine with another cup of tea.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
WTL%20SCHEDULE
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SPEC%20SHEET
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
ARGYLLE
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Why does a queen bee feast only on royal jelly?
Some facts about bees:
The queen bee eats only royal jelly, an extraordinary food created by worker bees so she lives much longer
The life cycle of a worker bee is from 40-60 days
A queen bee lives for 3-5 years
This allows her to lay millions of eggs and allows the continuity of the bee colony
About 20,000 honey bees and one queen populate each hive
Honey is packed with vital vitamins, minerals, enzymes, water and anti-oxidants.
Apart from honey, five other products are royal jelly, the special food bees feed their queen
Pollen is their protein source, a super food that is nutritious, rich in amino acids
Beewax is used to construct the combs. Due to its anti-fungal, anti-bacterial elements, it is used in skin treatments
Propolis, a resin-like material produced by bees is used to make hives. It has natural antibiotic qualities so works to sterilize hive, protects from disease, keeps their home free from germs. Also used to treat sores, infection, warts
Bee venom is used by bees to protect themselves. Has anti-inflammatory properties, sometimes used to relieve conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, nerve and muscle pain
Honey, royal jelly, pollen have health enhancing qualities
The other three products are used for therapeutic purposes
Is beekeeping dangerous?
As long as you deal with bees gently, you will be safe, says Mohammed Al Najeh, who has worked with bees since he was a boy.
“The biggest mistake people make is they panic when they see a bee. They are small but smart creatures. If you move your hand quickly to hit the bees, this is an aggressive action and bees will defend themselves. They can sense the adrenalin in our body. But if we are calm, they are move away.”
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
MATCH DETAILS
Barcelona 0
Slavia Prague 0
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Nick Coleman
Jonathan Cape
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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HOSTS
T20 WORLD CUP
2024: US and West Indies; 2026: India and Sri Lanka; 2028: Australia and New Zealand; 2030: England, Ireland and Scotland
ODI WORLD CUP
2027: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia; 2031: India and
Bangladesh
CHAMPIONS TROPHY
2025: Pakistan; 2029: India
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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