They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but not many would agree that beauty is best enhanced after three days with no shower and a coffee stain on your old T-shirt. With more than forty percent of American workers working remotely from home, many of us have slipped into routines like working in our pajamas and calling ‘bun hair’ ‘done hair.’ We’ve tossed out old routines of skincare, hair dye, and even lip gloss and settled for our comfiest pair of bulky wool socks.
Soon enough, the pandemic will end, and we’ll all need to get back to appropriate dress and doing more than brushing our teeth while the coffee brews. Whether in the workplace or retail outlets, we’ll have to do our best to embrace beauty routines again.
Of course, forming habits takes time, so why not start now? For some tips on how you can rekindle old habits and reclaim and maintain your beauty routine during quarantine, read on.
Substitute for trips to the nail salon.
Shutdowns and restrictions have made places like nail salons harder to access. From juggling unemployment checks to the logistics of it, many have turned to press on nails or even leaving nails bare. If you were once someone who treated yourself to manicures for your fingers or toes, there’s no reason you can’t renew that self-care in quarantine.
From stickers to gels, and even fake nails, there are a number of ways to pretty up those nails that don’t involve traditional polish. You don’t even have to get fancy. A layer of clear coat will protect your nails now and at least get you back into good routines. Take the time to both file and give your nails some love weekly starting now in the safety of your home.
Practice dolling up once a week.
Don’t stop at your nails. Keep yourself busy at home by renewing your skincare routine too. A good exfoliant at night, sheet masks, or even a weekly dress rehearsal for life in a world without masks will go a long way toward making you feel more like your old self again. For almost a year, many of us have overlooked our lips altogether. Lip scrubs, glosses, and general moisturizers tucked in the back of drawers can come out again if you’re looking to maintain beauty habits in quarantine.
Have fun with this. Reward yourself with a new lipstick, mascara, or even an online beauty subscription box for each month or week you manage to doll yourself up. You don’t have to be going anywhere. Instead, you might even feel more productive than you have with your best cherry gloss on.
Plan something worth dressing up for.
While part of that regular routine could also involve dressing up, why not get yourself in the mood by coming up with a plan for adventures ahead? You could plan an amazing vacation after the pandemic ends, set a date for the anniversary celebration you missed, or make plans to see friends you haven’t been able to connect with. Planning for events will help you get more in the mood to bring those beauty routines back again.
Maybe the pandemic has changed you too. For some who used to spend hours on hair and makeup, it’s helped us to decide that we don’t mind our gray roots and are content with a more natural look. That’s okay too. But self-care can still include taking the time to restore old habits that made us feel good. Altered or not after the year we’ve been through, we deserve it. Think about the beauty regimen that will work for you and get started now before the world opens back up. You’ll thank yourself for it. Your mood and your skin will too.