As Seen on MNB

Ms. New Beauty has decidedly unique preferences in television. She loves Gossip Girl but will only watch episodes that have been recorded on her DVR, never the live broadcast and she can never watch repeats. But with any of the seasons or cities of the Real Housewives, MNB can watch over and over and over again. She also has an equally fickle relationship with some of her favorite Food Network chefs. She can only watch two episodes of Rachel Ray per week before the canned goofy/perkiness starts to wear her out - seriously, who really prefers to call a sandwich a sammie? Who? - but the absolutely divine over-the-top antics of the Neely's never fails to amuse Ms. New Beauty. Quite possibly her strangest tv habit is her love affair with infomercials. Since the time she got a television in her room as a child, MNB has delighted in watching these 30 minute long commercials. Her favorites tend to be any kind of cleaning or cooking products. Ms. New Beauty practically knows the dialogue for the Ron Popeil Showtime Rotisserie Grill and absolutely adores the perky redhead of a certain age who can always whip up a five course meal with just a can of soda, some frozen fruit and the latest stovetop cooking innovation. Of course, MNB enjoys a good skincare or mineral makeup informercial. Despite all this consumer-centric viewing, Ms. New Beauty has never bought anything off of an infomercial. Recently, she did find herself in the As Seen on TV aisle of her local Duane Reade and ended up picking up one little gadget that's going to be her savior for sandal season.

The Ped-Egg

When I first saw the very cheesy commercial for this little gadget, I immediately rolled my eyes and changed the channel. See, I've been scrubbing my feet with a pumice stone in the shower every day since I was about 14 years old. That few minutes followed by a good body cream and white cotton socks has been keeping my feet baby soft ever since. I had absolutely no intention of modifying or supplementing my pedi maintenance routine. But, after spending a good 30 minutes in a Duane Reade that only had 5 minutes worth of interesting products, I ended up wandering down the As Seen on TV aisle. And sitting right in front of me, looking innocent enough, was this little foot scraper. Since the price was cheap enough, I figured, why not?

I was actually very pleased with the results. First, this comes with a filing blade that looks like rows of menacing razors but is in fact quite gental. Just a simple back and forth motion gently filed the dead skin away and buffed the new skin soft and smooth. There's a collection cap on top that holds all of the filings and it can be a little jarring to see just how crusty your tootsies were. But be careful. I found that when I was particularly rigorous with the buffing, some of the dust fell through the holes and ended up on my floor. What I really liked about this was the fact that you use on dry skin, not in the shower. That means anytime your heels are looking a little ragged, you can handle the situation right on the spot - no waiting to get home or into your nail tech's chair.

$9.99, available at Target and drugstores

Keep those feet soft and smooth for your sandals, and don't be too scared to try what you see on TV, but just don't forget that Ms. New Beauty told you!