Did you develop any new "normal" habits during quarantine that you'll keep around for good? There are a few new things I tried while things were shut down that I can honestly say I'll keep around for the long haul.

Today, I wanted to share with you my manicure and pedicure quarantine hack. I'm not really sure it's 100% a hack, other than instead of paying $80+ for my nails to get done every month, I'm now paying less than $10. I really only say $10 because I'm a little bit addicted to trying out new polish colors and they're about $9.99 at CVS so I allow myself one per month. 

When things shut down, I had a dip manicure. I've been doing dip manicures for almost 2 years with no break. I started off by removing my dip manicure with acetone that I found at CVS. I soaked pieces of cotton ball and wrapped my nails with aluminum foil until all the dip was removed. I figured out very quickly that while my nails felt super strong with dip on them, when I removed the dip I had frail, sensitive nails underneath. This made me want to find a different solution because it took about a week or two before I had the smooth, strong surfaces of my nails back. 

I did a lot of research beforehand. I wanted to find something better than regular nail polish that required equal or less amount of effort. Enter Sally Hansen Gel Nails. The colors run about $10 at CVS and the top coat is also around $10. CVS often has coupons on their app for a certain amount off purchases if you search around I'm sure you could find one. I'm a CVS regular customer so I usually end up with an $8 off $40 coupon at some point during the month which allows me to grab a new nail color alone with other items. You can also join their carepass club and you get a $10 coupon each month. 

I would say this method obviously isn't quite as durable as dip, however I have zero guilt when it peels because I know I can easily re-do it at no extra cost for services. This polish goes on easy and the color looks perfect. The lighter shades do require more coats, but overall I would say this is a definite money and time saver. 

Not to say I won't continue to get manicures. I love my pamper time at the salon, but this is definitely an easy hack that I haven't tried but ended up really loving. 

What's a trick or habit you started during quarantine that you'll end up keeping around?