Think of self-isolation as an opportunity to experiment and get organized.

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Bright sides are few and far between during these turbulent times. I’ve been using this time of social self-isolation to pause and really think about what’s important to me and to cherish my relationship with my family. But truth be told, being cooped up together 24-7 for who knows how long is making me go a little bit koo-koo-bananas. Carving out me-time is becoming increasingly important, and a lot of my me-time has revolved around beauty.

 

I’ve written about the importance of my skincare routine during this time, but it’s also time to let loose and get experimental. If you’ve been putting off starting something you’ve wanted to try in the beauty realm, now is the perfect time to get to it! If your beauty life is a mess, it’s time to work through it! Below I’ve got six ideas on how to best use your beauty time during this lockdown. So let’s get to it.

 

 

1. Try out those artsy graphic liner looks

 

All the cool kids are doing it, and they make it look so effortless. With all this downtime, why not perfect the art of a killer liner look? Look up some tutorials and brush the dust off your wildest colors. Practice makes perfect, and by the end of this you might just become a pro.

 

 

 

 

2. Get on acid

 

Have you been dying to kickstart your active acid game but were afraid of the possible visible side effects? Who cares! Ease on into retinoids, AHA, or whatever else you’ve been too afraid to tackle! If it doesn’t work for you and you turn beet red, you won’t have to cover it with makeup and potentially irritate your skin further. If you trigger a purge, you can let your zits crop in peace during your hiatus. Plus if you’re keeping indoors, you have less exposure to the sun, which is huge considering what a big no-no the sun is when you’re using acids.

 

 

 

 

3. Peel winter away

 

Speaking of chemical peels, there is no better time to strap into a deep peeling foot mask and let it work its gruesome magic. Afraid of shedding sheets of dead foot skin at work in your peep-toes? Don’t even sweat it! It’s just you and your house slippers now! By the time this is all over you’ll have soft, sandal-ready feet raring to go.

 

 

 

 

4. Experiment with new products

 

Much like the acids fear, introducing a new product can be a scary thing if you have sensitive or acne-prone skin. Now’s the time for experimentation since a filter can easily hide any adverse reactions during your video chats.

 

 

 

 

5. Clean ALL your brushes

 

You’ve got time to burn and a collection of brushes that need attention. It’s time to give them the deep cleaning treatment they deserve. Sit down, turn on a podcast, and give those brushes a good hearty scrub. (Check out some genius brush cleaning hacks here.) I recently did this with my (embarrassingly large) collection, and the sore wrists I had afterwards were totally worth it after the rows of gleaming white brushes greeted me the next morning.

 

 

 

 

6. Organize your stash

 

Now’s the time to go in and take stock of everything that does and does not work for you. (Some tips on how here.) It’s time to purge the expired product you shoved back into the bowels of your shelves and bring the forgotten experimental purchases to the forefront. After you’ve done that, organize it all nice and neat and feel that rush of accomplishment and relief that a good spring cleaning always brings.

 

 

 

 

 

With more optimistic news being released daily, hopefully we’ll be getting back to our normal soon and things will be wrapping up before we reach for the scissors and decide we’re totally qualified to cut our own bangs.

 

Are you trying any new beauty products while in self-isolation? What are you doing to get through this time?