Any magic cures for summer sandal phobia?

Q FIFTY-TWO years of wearing heels have left my feet in a state. Are there any rescue remedies to help before a summer of sandal-wearing?

A I want to tell you about a foot treatment that costs £140 — I know! But hear me out. the Bastien Gonzalez Pedicure at the Spa at the Mandarin Oriental, London, is designed to overhaul your nails, skin and feet.

toenails are buffed, shaped and massaged; dead skin, calluses and corns are spirited away; and lots of delightful shaking, pulling, pinching and rubbing on the lower legs and feet will restore mobility in your joints and circulation in your legs, plumping up and rehydrating your tissues and helping you walk better.

and it all comes with an avalanche of helpful footcare advice. Oh, and your toes will never have looked rosier. I know it costs a bomb and you may have to travel, but I really think it’s worth it.

Other good foot revivers are Margaret Dabbs Medical Pedicures (£85, margaretdabbs.

co.uk), and Cowshed Pedicures (£60, cowshed.com), which are ‘regular’ cosmetic pedis that are so well administered, they feel like a proper foot treatment.

Both have at-home foot kits too: Margaret Dabbs Discovery Kit (£39, cultbeauty.co.uk) and Cowshed On the Hoof pedicure kit (£20, cowshed.com).

Ingeborg van LotrIngen is beauty director at Cosmopolitan. email questions to inge@dailymail.co.uk.