1. Press-on Nails
The words might bring back a sense of nostalgia from your childhood, but they might just be perfect for your adulthood at the moment. Press-on nails require little time and effort, are relatively inexpensive, and come in enough varieties to last you all of the quarantine. There’s very little possibility for error. The worst that can happen is you glue your fingers together or place a nail in the wrong position.
2. Self-Bronzer
This one’s a bit riskier than press-on nails, but if done right it might help you miss the beach and sunbathing a bit less. One of three things will probably happen: you apply the self-tanner unevenly, you apply a shade that is too dark/orange-toned for you, or you give yourself a great tan. If either of the first two happen, the odds of anyone else noticing is very low. YouTube beauty guru Carli Bybel has a great how-to tutorial for self-tanning, using Bondi Sands.
3. Eyebrow Touch-ups
Whether you usually wax, thread, shape, or don’t shape your brows, you can relatively safely touch them up at home. You can: Pluck hairs with a tweezer (tip: to avoid over-plucking, try plucking only hairs on the outside of your main brow area, those that don’t belong to your essential brow shape). Painlessly remove hairs with an eyebrow razor. If you’re up for it, you could even try using small wax strips.
4. Waxing
If you’re into waxing/hair removal, you could wax your upper lip, legs, bikini line, face, all from home pretty easily. Wax strip packs can be ordered online and some even come with a numbing cream. Sally Hansen sells some that are easy-to-use and mess-free.
5. Hair Styling
You could really have fun here- whether you want to use heat products or not. Leave your hair in a braid overnight or use a curling/crimping tool. Straight it sleek or come up with a few #WFH messy-but-actually-not-effortless updos. Try a bunch of different looks and see which ones you like best- for your future on-campus events, weekend brunches, or internship.
6. Pedicures
All it takes are a few tools, warm water, and some lotion. Sure, it might not be nail-tech professional quality, but it can still do the trick. At the very least it can relax and keep you busy for a bit. If you don’t want to invest in nail polish or think you might not be good at painting your toes, press-on nails for your toes are also an option.
7. Facials
Cleanse. Exfoliate. Steam while masking. Moisturize. In that order. Odds are you have a cleanser, exfoliator, a mask, and some water to create steam at your disposal. If not, the first three are available for purchase online at a variety of prices. Suggestion: throw on your robe or favorite PJs and add some aromatherapy into your space for a relaxing ambiance.
8. Hair Coloring
Dying your hair the wrong color/having it get damaged is a scary thought. But, luckily, semi-permanent dyes, toners, and sprays exist. A semi-permanent dye won’t last forever and tends to have easy-to-follow application instructions. If you have light-colored hair, you could play around with toning it a fun color, or a darker color. Toner is less permanent than a semi-permanent dye and there is less of a possibility for error. If you don’t want to commit, a color spray that comes off with one or a couple of washes might be your best option. Reminder: make sure to follow your trusted hairstylist or the product package’s instructions.
9. Gel Manicure
Gel manicure kits are sold online but, unlike press-on nails, they do require the purchase of nail polish. However, gel nail polish might last longer than a pressed-on nail. A perk of purchasing a kit is that the machine will likely last you beyond quarantine, so you can give yourself a gel mani whenever you don’t have the time or money to go to the salon.