It’s day God-knows-what of working-from-home, the novelty of rolling out of bed into a makeshift home office at 8:58 is wearing off and the fatiguing prospect of staying at home for the indefinite future is causing you to lose track of what day of the week it is. The lack of structure and social life – group Facetimes just aren’t quite the same as the real thing. Isn’t this exactly what we all wanted, though, More hours in the day? If we’re going to be stuck inside for the foreseeable, now is the time to focus on being your best self. Skincare, haircare, working out etc. Here is Voir’s summary on how we plan to achieve a quarantine glow up as we make way into a hot girl summer.
PSA: it’s completely OK if you’re feeling anxious and if seeing people online treat isolation like a self-care/wellness retreat or who seem to be doing a million and one things at once is stressing you out. It’s also OK if you do just want to spend your time watching Netflix or YouTube videos if that makes you feel good in these weird times!
Reset Your Skincare Routine
We’re all guilty of having dozens of skincare and beauty products hibernating in the depths of our bathroom cupboards from a 10-step daily routine we started months ago and kept up for a week before slowly falling out of the habit. If you’ve been neglecting your skin, now is the perfect time to start paying it some extra attention – that face mask you’ve been saving for a special occasion, that night oil you forget to apply each night until you’re already too wrapped up in the warmth your duvet, that serum you don’t bother applying in the morning for fear of turning up to work looking like you’ve just run a half-marathon in 25-degree heat. If you don’t have any masks around you can also refer to the Voir’s article of homemade skincare(https://www.voirfashion.co.uk/post/from-cupboard-to-skin-homemade-skin-remedies) of natural organic products found in your home that can serve as skincare alternatives. Even if you’re not going anywhere, there’s nothing better than fresh feeling skin, and in however many weeks when we emerge from our quarantine, we’ll all be glowing.
Work Out At Home
Apparently, there’s something about being forced into confinement that’s giving everyone the itch to get up and move – everyone, even the people who haven’t so much as run 100 metres since school, seems to be downloading Couch to 5K or proudly sharing their home workouts on their Instagram stories. When you’re stuck inside, sat at a desk or curled up on the sofa for hours on end, there’s nothing better than exercise to break up your day and give your body and mind a shot of energy in the form of a run or a home workout. So, now’s the time to start that home fitness plan you’ve been putting off for weeks, or simply try one of the plethoras of free workout videos on YouTube and Instagram. Getting some fresh air is also one of the best ways to get a physical and mental refresh, so if you can, put on a podcast or your favourite playlist and step out for a (socially distanced) walk.
Try New Recipes
Feel good from the inside out and nourish your body by trying out some healthy new recipes. Dust off the old cookbook on your shelf or download a recipe app and find comfort in the joy of home-cooked food – the Deliciously Ella app (https://deliciouslyella.com) is a go-to (and affordable) favourite for easy, healthy plant-based recipes. Or, bake some indulgent treats that’ll give you a little something to look forward to each day.
Get Creative With Social Media
Not sure how to maintain a perfectly curated Instagram feed while quarantined? Get creative with the content you can create from the confines of your home – after all, there’s only so many throwback pictures we have backlogged in our photo rolls to post. Practice taking the perfect WFH OOTD selfie-and yes, that means changing out of your pyjamas and actually getting dressed – or stack your favourite necklaces and snap your layered (the latest Instagram jewellery trend). Organise your room to create a -worthy display of joy-inducing memories and pieces – whether it’s snapping a colour-coordinated bookshelf, your favourite aesthetically pleasing beauty products in the bathroom or simply a thoughtfully put-together collection of personal objects.
Practice Make-Up Tutorials
Since you most likely won’t be seeing anyone (besides whoever you’re living or isolating with) for a while, now is your chance to hone your makeup skills and get outside of your beauty comfort zone by experimenting with some bolder looks. YouTube offers a cornucopia of tutorials for a schooling in how to perfect that contouring or cut crease. If you are not sure where to start here is a list of makeup look to try. (https://www.voirfashion.co.uk/post/5-eye-looks-to-try-if-you-re-wfh)
Practice Mindfulness
We all know by now that meditation and yoga are great for combatting stress and anxiety and for focusing your energy on yourself rather than everything going on in the world around you, but there’s never been a better time to slow down and take some time to be more introspective. It can be hard to really remove yourself from the outside world at first, so find an online guided meditation or live stream yoga practice to help you get started. Even if it’s just devoting an hour or so of time a day to doing something that you enjoy away from any distractions – taking a bath, journaling, tackling the pile of books you’ve been meaning to read for months. Here are some examples of yoga meditation sessions that will help you find inner peace.
Clear Out Your Closet
There’s nothing more satisfying than a perfectly organised, uncluttered closet. Now is the time to Marie Kondo your wardrobe. Practice the art of Kon Mari (https://konmari.com) by throwing out anything that no longer inspires you when getting dressed (but of course, donate or resell rather than throwing away if you can). Go one step further and clean out your whole room, flat or house – after all, an organised space is an organised mind.
Words by Ruby McAuliffe
Graphics by Katie Janes
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