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Treat your feet at Snowmass Village Salon

Abby Margulis
Special to the Sun
Vanessa Portillo, of Glenwood Springs, paints toenails at the Snowmass Village Salon on Oct. 25. Portillo has worked at the salon for a year and a half.
Photos by Leigh Vogel/Snowmass Sun |

After hiking Smuggler too many times to count and picking at blisters and calluses on my feet for weeks, I decided it was finally time for a pedicure at the Snowmass Village Salon. From the second I climbed up into the chair and stuck my feet in the warm water, I was in heaven.

The Snowmass Village Salon has been around for 18 years since owner Mya Cote originally opened up shop. Offering a range of services including hair and nail care, waxing and spa treatments, there is something for everyone.

Vanessa Portillo, 25, has been a member of Cote’s team for the past year and a half. A resident of Glenwood Springs, Portillo started working at the salon after graduating from the Glenwood Beauty Academy. She said from day one she has never felt like an outsider and loves coming to work every day for the people and home-like feeling.



I can agree. I felt at home right when I stepped in the door, from the saltwater taffy to the fun conversation I had with Portillo. I’ve had my fair share of pedicures in the past, but none has compared to this one. The first step to healing my feet was to get rid of my calluses, and to do this Portillo rubbed on Be Natural Callus Eliminator, a gel that breaks them down for easy removal with a file.

Portillo wrapped my feet in plastic, letting the gel sit for five minutes, and then with little effort she filed the calluses right off. My feet were finally smooth again. I would have been completely satisfied if this was the end, but it was just the beginning. She rubbed a lime sugar scrub on my feet and then massaged away before finally painting my toes the “Dutch Tulip” pink that I picked out.




It was easy to see why Portillo loves what she does.

“I love the feeling of brightening someone’s day,” Portillo said. “A blowout is so simple, but it has such a great impact.”

Abby Margulis is an editorial intern working at The Aspen Times. She is a junior at DePauw University in Indiana.