Ultima Beauty: April 2020

I'm sure you're quite tired of hearing about Social Distancing, COVID-19, Coronavirus, quarantine, and the toilet paper apocalypse.

But in this post I have 20 different ideas that I am doing to keep myself busy and entertained while being stuck at home until further notice.

You can check out my video of my Social Distancing Diaries here

First, let me start by saying please STAY HOME!

There is nothing that is worth risking your or somebody else's health.

It doesn't matter if you are young, or healthy you can still catch this virus and even if you have no symptoms you can infect other people.

There is no party, no vacation, nothing that justifies the risk of contracting and sharing this virus.

Case in point:

(if you follow me on Instagram you probably already saw)

A couple weeks ago I was supposed to go on a trip to Boston that I had been planning for months.

If you are a subscriber you know how long I've wanted to visit Boston.

And to make the trip even more spectacular, I was fortunate enough to have purchased a photo-op at a comic book convention with my favorite actor (only for the past 15-years) Chris Evans.

Needless to say I was thrilled, it a was too good to be true, once in a life time experience. I could not wait for March 21, 2020.

But all that excitement and anticipation turned into disappointment and tears.

Obviously the event was cancelled, and although I fully support and agree with the decision nonetheless it broke my heart.

So, I completely understand the let down, but postponing or cancelling plans and staying home is the smartest, kindness, and most loving thing we can do right now.

You could literally save someone's life by following CDC guidelines to stay home.

Or if altruism is not your style, think it this way: the longer you don't stay home and practice Social Distancing, the longer we're all going to have to do it.

Therefore, STAY HOME 👌

Now that we have covered the reality of our current situation, let's move on to some ideas of different ways to keep our sanity as we stay home.

1. Spend Time with Family

If you are fortunate enough (or you may deem it unfortunate) to be quarantined with your family, spend some time talking with each other.

We are always so busy running in different directions every day that we don't always get to spend quality or quantity time together. Catching up with one another can help ease stress, bond us, and give an overall feeling of well being 👪

"But I'm not quarantined with my family"

You're not off the hook. With the numerous ways of connecting that we have, there is no excuse for not reaching out.

Texting, video chatting, emailing, or good old-fashioned telephone conversations go a long way in, safely, removing the distance between us and easing loneliness.

Personally, I have video conferenced with friends and family every day since this quarantine began and it is honestly the best part of my day. ❤

2. Spring Clean Your House

There are no longer any excuses to not do this.

I'm already a bit of a neat-freak, but I'm taking this opportunity to thoroughly clean every room in my house. Really deep clean as well, behind furniture, under furniture, cleaning out drawers, washing windows, dusting ceilings, reorganizing bookshelves, vacuuming vents, I could go on for days but you get the idea.🧹

3. Organize Makeup & Nail Polish Collections

I'm waaaaay overdue on this one, as you can see from the pictures above.

But with all the extra time at home I plan to reorganize my makeup collection.

Ideally I would love to have an organizer for each product category, but those can get pricy.

So, I'm going to neatly arrange drawers and dressers that I usually just toss products on or into.

Also, I am reorganizing my nail polish collection.

At first I alphabetized them by name of shade but ultimately I went with color grouping. Don't judge me 😂

4. Create Cosmetic Inventory Spreadsheet

Because I'm not a big enough nerd, a while back I created a makeup inventory spreadsheet to catalog my makeup and beauty collection. It tells me the amount of product I have left, whether I want to repurchase, or if I'm running low on a favorite.

I haven't updated it in quite some time so a lot of my newer purchases are not on there. Also I want to revamp the layout.

So, if you are a beauty nerd like me, this can be an oddly satisfying project.📈

5. Deep Clean Makeup Brushes

Sometimes I just spot clean a brush when I don't have time to wash it thoroughly, but that really can only extend it a couple more uses until it needs to actually be washed (like dry shampoo).

I was on a good schedule for washing makeup brushes but lately have been out of the habit.

But, now I'm definitely taking the time to do it right.

There is no one right way to wash a makeup brush, but what I do is:

1) put warm water, dish soap, and a splash of distilled white vinegar in a little bowl

2) Swirl brush in mixture, gently pressing brush against sides of bowl to ring out water and product (stop submerging brush just before where brush bristles meet handle. If you don't, over time the glue that holds bristles to handle will break down and you will start to lose bristles)

3) Gently swirl brush on a clean towel to remove any extra product

4) Rinse brush under warm running water to remove soap

5) Press each side of brush onto a clean paper toweling -- if color from product appears on toweling, repeat steps 1-4

6) Lay brush flat on a dry piece of toweling until it has completely dried (if you put it upside-down back in holder before it has dried completely, water will reach the glue that holds the bristles together and eat away at it)

6. Give False Lashes Some TLC

Although I sanitize them after each wear, every so often I like deep clean false lashes by removing the excess glue and mascara.👁

How I clean false lashes:

1) Saturate a cotton round in makeup remover and run it along lashes until all of the mascara is cleaned off.

2) Soak a cotton swab in rubbing alcohol and run it along the base of the lashes. Then use tweezers to pick off all the stuck on glue pieces.

3) Stick lashes back onto plastic molds to keep their shape and store them in their original box or a container with a lid to protect them from dust.

7. Catch Up on Reading

I love reading.

I would pick a print book over an ebook any day of the week (sorry, not sorry).

Books become my friends when I was in middle school and I was bullied by mean girls.

(If you haven't checked out my ASOUE series of makeup tutorials and tribute yet, click here)

To me, books are magic. When I read a good book I am transported to whatever world I am reading about; be it a pirate ship in France, an abandoned mansion in England, or an arena in the middle of a dystopian police state.

And right now when we literally cannot go anywhere else, a book can take us anywhere. A book can be an escape. 📚

A couple of the books I'm currently reading:

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

8. Puzzles

Jigsaw, crossword, Scrabble even, I love a good puzzle

(can you tell I wasn't popular in high school... Or now)

The best part about jigsaw puzzles is that the whole family can get involved.

The more pieces the better!

My favorite ones are of skylines, Disney (of course), or anything that has a lot of similar colors so it is extra tough 🧩

9. Start a Journal

I've kept a journal for years. And at a time like this it can be very therapeutic to get out one's feelings.

Another fun method of journaling is bullet journaling. 📓

A bullet journal is an engaging way to track, organize, and schedule nearly everything and anything in your life.

It's a cross between a planner/agenda and a vision board. It can be as plain or as artistic as you like.

Popular pages for bullet journals: sleep tracker, habit tracker, books to read/have read, movie list.

10. Start a Blog

If you've been kicking around the idea of starting a blog why not pull the trigger now?

It is incredibly easy to start a blog. This one uses Blogger as its platform with a custom domain.

If there is a genre that you're passionate about and could write about for days, I think it's worth the investment.

11. Start a YouTube Channel/Vlog

If starting a blog is easy (which it is), starting YouTube channel can be done with your eyes closed📹

As you can see from my channel, find a topic you're passionate about and create how-tos, or just chat about it. And then you too can have a video with five views lol 😄

It's not about the views for me, it's about having fun.

And just a word of caution: don't start a vlog just to trash or dump on people or things.

An honest review is one thing, taking cheap shots at something to make you feel better about yourself is petty and transparent.

There's enough cruelty and negativity out there right now, don't add to it.

12. Watch Movies

Needless to say, we will all be watching a whole lot more TV now.

And there are without a doubt great movies that we may have missed.🎥

A couple movies I just saw for the first time are the original two Jurassic Park movies.

I was fairly young when they originally were released and my parents were afraid they'd give me nightmares (my four-year old self thanks them).

But I ended up loving the OG Jurassic Parks. I am so used to seeing Jeff Goldblum play sort of quirkier roles; it was so interesting to see him in a more action hero-esque role. Very cool.

Here are my top five favorite movies (so hard to narrow it down) that you should totally watch (or re-watch):

1) Some Like It Hot (1959)

Yes, this movie is crazy old and it is also in black & white but it is so incredibly funny I didn't even notice it wasn't in color until the end.

Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon are musicians who inadvertently witness a mob massacre (not graphic at all) and have to leave town to avoid being 86'd for seeing the hit.

The only gig they can get is playing in an all girl band headed to Florida.

So, they dress in drag and hop the train to Florida where they meet Sugar (Marilyn Monroe).

Once in Florida hilarity and hijinks ensue as they try to keep their male identities a secret.

One of the funniest movies of all time.

2) Rocky (1976)

Photo Credit: Zakarie Faibis / CC BY-SA

I know, a lot of people knock the Rocky movies and think they're lame.

But I love them, especially the first one.

I think it's motivational and inspiring.

I'm sure I don't need to give a detailed synopsis of this one.

A nobody boxer gets the chance to fight one of the top boxers and he trains and fights hard to achieve his dream.

And "Yo, Adrian" I dare you to come up with a more motivational song than 'Gonna Fly Now' by Bill Conti.

3) Apollo 13 (1995)

Tom Hanks portrays real-life astronaut Jim Lovell in this movie based on the Apollo 13 lunar mission.

It is exciting, thought provoking, and spoofed in many TV shows (if you're not going to watch it because it's awesome, watch it to understand the pop culture references and quotes).

Tom Hanks is one of my favorite actors and no matter what role he plays, he becomes that character.

I forget I'm watching Tom Hanks and believe I'm watching the actual individual he's portraying.

"Houston, we have problem"

4) Clue (1985)

A fantastically funny murder-mystery based on the classic board game.

Tim Curry is the butler and makeshift detective in this whodunit.

Was it Mr. Green in the Observatory with the rope? Or Mrs. White in the kitchen with the lead pipe? You'll have to watch to find out how it really happened.

"Three murders? "

"Six altogether."

"This is getting serious."

5) Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Photo Credit: André Koehne / CC BY-SA

If you haven't seen this movie you have to watch it right now.

Seriously, bookmark this page and go watch it, I'll wait...

One of the ultimate 80's movies, Ferris Bueller is the quintessential high school slacker who decides to fake sick to take the day off from school.

After convincing his best friend and girlfriend to do the same, they take in the sites of downtown Chicago.

Between dodging his father, bitter sister, and principal who is obsessed with catching him faking Ferris has one epic day off.

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

5) Knives Out (2019)

(Not 6, it's tied for 5)

Photo via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

This is the murder-mystery comedy we have needed since Clue.

The star studded cast has the best chemistry in portraying this truly dysfunctional family.

(P.S. my all-time favorite actor Chris Evans portrays the brooding, yet irresistible, grandson, Ransom)

It is smart, witty, and intriguing. There is currently no other movie like Knives Out.

Clue is close, but Knives Out has more a winding, twisty plot.

A mystery writer dies in his home and all his relatives are suspected of foul play.

Fortunately, a southern detective (Daniel Craig) shows up on the scene to help the local authorities work the case.

With help of the deceased's faithful nurse they unearth secrets that this affluent family had hoped to keep buried.

13. Watch TV Shows

Binge watching has been all the rage for a while now, but it's about to get even more popular.📺

Below are my five favorite currently airing TV shows and five favorites that are no longer airing.

1) Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (NBC)

Jane Levy at WonderCon, 2013. Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore / CC BY

I adore musicals and honestly would love it if life had big musical numbers in it (why I was not cool in high school keeps becoming clearer to me).

This show is like Glee (but not in high school) meets Marvel superheroes.

Zoey is a coder at a tech company who goes to get a CAT scan and while she is in the machine listening music on headphones there is an earthquake that scrambles her brain waves and the music.

Afterwards she can hear people's innermost thoughts but expressed through song.

The rest of the world freezes while Zoey hears their "heart songs" and they have no idea she can hear them.

But with her new superpowers come great responsibility; she must do her best to help the person whose song she hears or be haunted by the song indefinitely.

It's such a fun show with a lot of heart.

One critique though; if Skylar Astin sang Sucker by the Jonas Brothers to me, I would not react so skeptically, I'd just go with it.

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist airs on NBC Sundays at 9PM Eastern

2) The Goldbergs (ABC)

Photo Credit: Mingle MediaTV / CC BY-SA

Super fun, part biopic of creator Adam F. Goldberg's life growing up in the 80's.

His crazy, but loving family provides endless laughs and many parts of the show are 100% true as Adam proves to us from his real-life home videos at the end of each episode.

And his (s)mother, Beverly Goldberg, has nothing on my mom.

The Goldbergs air on ABC Wednesdays at 8PM Eastern

3) Schooled (ABC)

Photo Credit: Adweek / CC BY Original posted to ABC Upfront Red Carpet 2019

A spinoff of The Goldbergs, Lainey Louis navigates life as a teacher at her high school alma mater in the 90's.

With tons of references to 1990's pop culture, this show gives me so much nostalgia.

The teachers at William Penn Academy are based on the real-life teachers who taught there that we get to meet at the end of each episode.

Schooled airs on ABC Wednesdays at 8:30PM Eastern.

4) The Masked Singer

This is not a costume from the show; it was just the only copyright free photo I could find that looked remotely related to the show.

I admit, at first I thought this was dumbest premise for a show since Skating with the Stars (yeah, that was a thing. Look it up).

I initially planned to watch one episode to laugh and never watch it again.

But, I ended up loving it!

Who would've guessed that masked celebrities dressed up as anything from an animal to breakfast fruit singing their hearts out could be so entertaining.

It's incredibly fun to listen to them sing and then try to guess who they are, because you know that voice, but without the face and the context, it is almost impossible.

Every week at least one celebrity is unmasked and sent home.

Add a super fun panel of celebrity "detectives" throwing their best (and worst) guesses out there, hosted by Nick Cannon and it's a crazy masked party.

This fever dream is currently airing its third season and I've only successfully guessed one correctly (White Tiger, but I won't tell you who was under the mask).

In past season I've had more successful guesses.

It's silly, fun, and uplifting.

Season three of the Masked Singer is currently airing on FOX at 8PM Eastern.

5) ???

Do I seriously not have a fifth currently airing favorite? Suggestions, please!

My five favs that are no longer making new episodes:

1) Boy Meets World (7 Seasons)

Probably my favorite show of all time.

Cory Matthews, Shawn Hunter, Topanga Lawrence, and Mr. Feeny, love all of them.

Cory navigates his way through school and life with the help of his family, best friend, girlfriend, and sage teacher with lots of laughs and nothing but love.

It starts off in season one cute, with Cory in grade school and then hits its stride providing nonstop laughter all the way through their college years.

Available to stream on Disney+

2) The Office (9 Seasons)

Photo Credit: Eva Rinaldi / CC BY-SA Originally posted by Eva Rinaldi on Flickr

If you have ever worked in an office, this show resonates with you on such a deep level.

Plus, it is side-splittingly funny and just crazy enough to make it stand out from all other shows.

Shot as mockumentary of the employees of the Dunder Mifflin paper company's day-to-day lives.

And it has Steve Carrell, what more could you want?

You either like the Office or, you're just wrong, I'm sorry

Available to stream on Netflix (for now)

3) Friends (10 Seasons)

Photo Credit: various / CC BY-SA

I'm actually listening to Friends in the background right now as I type this.

What would television be without Friends?

Such a feel good sitcom about six best friends who are navigating their way through adulthood.

And I honestly don't think coffee shops would be quite as popular as they are without this show.

Spending time with friends who have your back no matter what, how can you not smile?

Plus, the world's greatest theme song!

It was streaming on Netflix but not anymore. TBS and Nick at Nite air several episodes a day right now though.

4) The Big Bang Theory (12 Seasons)

Photo Credit: iDominick / CC BY Originally posted on Flickr

It's another one of those shows you either love or hate. I love it.
It was intelligent and quirky and it made being a nerd cool (thank you!)

Two physicists live across the hall from an aspiring actress in Pasadena, California, one falls in love with her and their two very different personalities cause so many interesting scenarios.
And the other physicist, Dr. Sheldon Cooper, is in a league of his own. He is an uptight, germaphobe, with an eidetic memory and a god-complex. But he is somehow still loveable and entertaining.
Toss in a bunch of unique scientist friends and we get the magic that is The Big Bang Theory.

TBS and FOX air episodes daily,

5) Sherlock (4 Seasons)

Photo Credit: Benedict_Cumberbatch_filming_Sherlock.jpg: Fat Les (bellaphon) from London, UK derivative work: RanZag / CC BY

I love pretty much all Sherlock Holmes adaptions (Elementary totally gets an honorable mention). But there is something so special about the way Benedict Cumberbatch portrays Sherlock, it is almost like the actor becomes the character when he is on screen.

Each episode is a modern day portrayal based on the Sherlock Holmes books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The only disappointing part is there are only about three episodes per season.

I don't know if this has been cancelled or is just on hiatus, but it has been several years since the last season, so I put it in the off air category (I would love to move up to currently airing).

Streaming on Netflix.

14. 6-Minute State Test

Kind of jumping back to Friends.

Remember the Thanksgiving episode where Chandler tells them about the 6-minute state test, and Ross loses his mind trying to complete it?

So, you set a timer for six minutes and try to write down all 50 states of the USA before time runs out. Whoever has the most states wins. It could even be done with friends via video chat.

But don't trust the numbers alone, West Dakota is not a state.

15. Cooking & Baking

If you follow me on Twitter, you probably already know that before I studied law I completed a degree in hospitality management & culinary arts. 🍪

So, cooking and baking are a big part of my life.

Being stuck at home is an excellent excuse to try some fun recipes.

Maybe I'll lose my mind and record a video and do a post on how my mom makes her quick tomato sauce. She's Italian so we are most familiar with her all day sauce, but she has a great recipe that is so simple, but the sauce tastes like it's been cooking for hours.

Pinterest is full of great recipes. Check out some that I have collected here.

16. Clean Out & Organize Closets

I like to clean out my closet seasonally anyway, but now I'm doing a super thorough job.

I'm looking at each piece of clothing and asking myself: 'Does it fit?' 'Will I really wear it again?' 'Do I even like it?'

Honestly, I had some jackets and shirts in my closet from when I was a teenager and the sleeves are way too short now. So, I washed them and will either give them away to friends or donate them (once we can safely do those again).

Also, I like to organize my closet by category; all my cardigans together, sweaters, hoodies, henley shirts, etc.

17. Workout

There are tons of memes circulating around the internet right now about coming out of this quarantine "X" amount of pounds heavier.

Instead of wallowing in this possiblity, why not be proactive and start a workout routine.

There are a ton of workout videos online, some free.

One that I like is Bloglates on YouTube. Cassey does quick instructional Pilates workouts that are fun and easy to follow along with. Most don't require any additional equipment 🏋

18. Watch Disney Movies!

If given the choice I would probably choose to watch a Disney movie over almost any other.

I love the originals from the Disney vault, the new generation, and nothing beats the 90's cartoons.

My newest Disney obsession is Disney's streaming service Disney+

All of my Disney favorites are in one place, even the Disney cartoon shows I used to watch as a kid.

Another fun feature of Disney+ is the Collections category.

There is Disney Through the Decades, which has every Disney short and movie from the 1920s onward (I'm currently watching my way through the Mickey Mouse shorts of the 1930s).

They also have all the Disney channel original movies through the years, which I plan to start next.

Quarantine or no quarantine, I could be pretty happy staying home and watching Disney indefinitely.

19. Self-Care/ Skin Care

One bright side to being stuck at home is finally having time to pamper yourself!

Break out your mani/pedi supplies, deep conditioning hair treatments, and relaxing face masks.

One skin care item I like is Biore's Self-Heating charcoal mask. As you massage it onto your face you can feel it warming up. After rinsing it off skin looks and feels sooo soft and clean. It's a winner in my book!

20. Subscribe to My Blog & YouTube Channel

If you are interested in beauty & lifestyle tutorials and reviews, with a bit of tongue-in-cheek like sarcasm, my blog and YouTube are perfect for you!

I'm currently updating past blog posts with better pictures and swatches of products so you will have a nice archive of posts to look through, along with the new posts I'm working on.

Subscribe to my blog and YouTube channel.

Again, you can catch my Social Distancing video here

That pretty much wraps my top 20 ideas to keep us entertained during the COVID-19 quarantine.

I'm sure I'll come up with more so stay tuned!

Thank you for checking out this post and above all stay HOME and stay SAFE.

We're all going to get through this and be able to be together again, we just have to hold on until then.

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Monday, April 13, 2020

Social Distancing Diaries: Beauty Editon | 20 Quarantine Beauty & Entertainment Ideas