For smooth leather monochromatic shoes, you must have good shoe polish. Even the best shoes are easily scuffed and a bit of regular polishing will keep them looking nice and new. Modern shoe polish usually comes with a sponge, making the polish application easy, but if you really want to do it right, you should invest in a good horse hair polish applicator. You can get 100% horse hair brushes in light or dark colors for light or dark shoes. This is the best way to achieve maximum shine in your shoes. If you don’t need any polish but your shoes are looking a bit dull, a lambswool buffer or horse hair brush will quickly restore gleam to good leather.For suede or nubuck, you want a hard wire purpose-built brush. It’s easy to maintain suede once you get the hang of it, but you may want to take the shoes to a good shoe repair person first and ask for some pointers.Shoe repair shops and banks used to give away promotional shoe horns, because everyone used them. People have gotten out of the habit now, but if you want to make your shoes last longer and look better, you should get a shoe horn and use it to guide your foot into a stiff heel, rather than rely on your finger.

source: lovetoknow