Dolling Up For Going… Nowhere!!

Social distancing can be a tough thing to deal with. It can get pretty frustrating and boring at times. 

For the first few days, after this lockdown started, I was just so busy trying to adjust with the new lifestyle, I completely forgot to ever get dressed up and looked like a stranded slob every single day!

But me being me, I didn’t let that ‘unkempt look’ phase to last too long. 

Very soon, I took charge and upped my game a bit….because I truly believe in the ‘you feel as good as you look and you look as good as you feel’ mantra.

You can’t argue with that, can you?

Here are my top 6 tips to help you maintain your sparkle even when you have nowhere to go!

1) No high-end fashion expected but at least please get dressed every morning!

Even though it’s tempting to just lounge around the house in your worn-out pajamas, it is a good idea to get a wee bit dressed up for your office meeting or your kid’s online school or even for just a video chitchat with your buddies.

A cute top, soft trousers, some tinted lip balm, and an eyeliner… and you’re done!

If you’re having a virtual party with your friends then go ahead and dress up like a babe.

Trust me, you will feel better and so will the others around you. Do not sacrifice comfort at any cost but please do make that little extra effort to not look like a miserable wretch!

2) Follow a quarantine fitness routine

Don’t blame this lockdown for throwing your fitness routine out of the window.

If anything, this lockdown has given all of us a lot more time to work on our fitness and health.

Start your day with yoga or a little home workout session. There are millions of yoga/workout videos available online for you to choose from.

If you are not a morning person and these workouts are not your cup of tea, at least have a wild, crazy, fun dance party with your kids every evening. Good enough!

3) Don’t go overboard, when it comes to cooking or eating!

Yes, you’ve stopped eating out. That’s quite a positive lifestyle change, ain’t it?

This can do wonders for your health. But not if you end up baking cakes and muffins every day!

Yes, the kids are home and hungrier than ever and you’ve got ample time to give in to their food demands, but try keeping it as healthy and nutritious as possible.

Social media is overflowing with drool-worthy pictures of food and it looks like a cooking competition that the whole world is participating in.

I can almost smell food whenever I get on to any of the various virtual groups that I am part of!!

 It’s good to see and learn from this but do not try replicating each of those zillion dishes in your kitchen every day.

Choose the healthy ones.

The fattening, heavenly and sinful ones can be saved for occasions or maybe some weekends.

Try staying as far as possible from sugar, refined flour, refined oil, fried snacks, and packaged food. 

Good for you, for your kids, for your system and most importantly, for your waistline.

An occasional cake or two though, to keep the thriving baker inside of you happy, is okay. 

4.Showering and all the basic, girly hygeine stuff

Nowhere to go doesn’t mean you should skip showering on days that you feel lazy.

You can actually do that and nobody would know but trust me, starting your day with a nice, relaxing shower keeps you more energized and happy-looking throughout the day.

Also, invest in some good wax-strips, tweezers and hair color kits (to cover those annoying greys that keep popping out).

Looks like this D-I-Y phase is here to stay for a while and these products are going to be your much-needed companions. 

5. Take it easy and smile

Don’t let the conference calls, business meetings, house chores, online schooling, and all the chaos drive you up the wall.

Take it easy.

It’s not compulsory to get everything done every day.

Yes, it’s a global crisis but it’s definitely not the end of the world.

There’s a nice, bright tomorrow waiting for you. Any unfinished tasks can be done tomorrow.

If you saved yourself some energy by not mopping your house clean on a certain day, don’t waste that energy by fretting over how unclean the house looks.

If you sneaked in some extra time for yourself (by not helping your kid do his school assignment) to cook or bake or paint or meditate or to do whatever it is that keeps you sane, then don’t lose your sanity over the fact that your kid didn’t finish his assignment!

Don’t fret, keep that smile on and do what you can the next day. A smiling you will always look better than a grumpy, frumpy you. For sure.

6. Moisturize your skin

These days your hands have been doing a lot more than just pressing keys on the keyboards, scrolling up and down or browsing.

It’s only fair then to pamper them more than you ever did. All that cooking, cleaning, mopping, has led to some excessive washing of hands, leaving them looking dry and worn out.

So rummage your skincare collection and bring out those moisturizers.

If you’ve run out, you can make your own moisturizers at home too. 

However lazy or tired you feel and no matter how much you just wish to crash on that cozy bed of yours right away, do not skip moisturizing your hands and face every night and you’ll wake up feeling and looking all bright and beautiful. 

---

It may be a while before this evil virus makes an exit from the world and our lives but what needs to vanish asap is your ‘disheveled hair and pajama’ look. 

You may not have glanced at your makeup & skincare kit for some days now but it’s about time to just grab these, get going and look upbeat, fresh, and pretty!