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If eyes are the windows to your soul, your shoes are the windows to your character. Being well dressed doesn’t stop from your shirt to your pants. It goes right down to your shoes, too. Thus, don’t miss out on your shoes. Always take time to shine them on your own. After all, it does not take an hour to do so. Here are some quick and easy steps to do it.

1. Prepare all the items you need. That includes shoe polish, brush and clean cloth. The polish could come in wax or liquid form as long as it matches the shoe color. However, if you have quite a number of shoes to shine in different colors, it is ideal to buy a shoe polish with a neutral hue. This saves you money.

2. Using a damp cloth, take out loose dirt from your shoes. You may also use a shoe brush to do this.

3. Put on the polish to the shoe surface. If you want greater shine, a wax polish can be more effective than a liquid one. Wax protects the shoe more because it is resistant to rain in spotting them. However, it’s your call what to use. If you’re using a liquid polish, slide it along the shoes. On the other hand if using the wax type, rub it on until the shoe appears murky or dull. Apply it by moving in a circular motion using the puff that comes with the wax polish. But here’s a warning when you’re polishing leather shoes. Shoe polishes have alcohol. Too much exposure of leather to shoe polish may cause drying and cracking of your shoes. Thus, you might need to use polish alternately with wax and liquid polish.

4. Let the polish dry for 10 to 15 minutes. You may proceed doing steps 1 to 3 with the other shoes you need to shine.

5. Time to brush the shoe. Use a shoe brush for this and make sure to stroke it from side to side. Always check if you have left any part not brushed.

6. For a gleaming finish, make use of a soft cloth to buff it in a backward and forward motion. You can use an old shirt to do this and it works better if the cloth is made of cotton material.

7. Insert shoetrees to maintain the shoes’ shape.

8. Store the shoe shine materials in a box or bag for easy access.