Hey TGs,

Hands up who saw (and LOVED) Disney's Frozen? Thought so! Let It Go is only one of THE most ah-mazing musical numbers as sung by Elsa. Did you know Elsa's beautiful voice comes from Idina Menzel who you might recognise as Rachel Berry's mum on Glee? 

Anyway, the singing is one of many things to adore about Frozen. I'm also really into the hair. Check it out: 


Here's how to get hair like Elsa and Anna. Obvs it helps to have long hair that is all the same length. 

Elsa's plait
1. If you want your hair to have lots of height like Elsa's, use a hairspray and a comb to raise a quiff over your forehead. 
2. Work a smoothing serum through your locks, comb them and pull them over one shoulder. 
3. Plait the hair without tying it off with an elastic first. 
4. Secure it at the end with a bit of ice-cool sparkle. For extra Frozen magic, ask an adult if you can lightly dust some silver glitter through your hair, or use a glitter hairspray.

Anna's pigtails
1. Work a smoothing serum through your hair and part it to one side. 
2. Divide the hair into two sections and pull them forward over your shoulders, then neatly plait both sections.
3. Take some of the hair in the tuft at the end of each plait to wind around and hide each band. Secure with a bobby pin at the back. Optional: finish with a glossing spray. 

These are super easy and way simpler than a French braid. Try them and let me know how you go. And tell me all about your fave things about Frozen in the comments!

Love and icicles,
Claire XO

Hey hey TGs!

My fave cat-loving kooky chick Katy Perry has done a new take on her Killer Queen fragrance (which, by the way, might be the best celeb fragrance line ever, soz Tay!).

Katy Perry's Killer Queen Royal Revolution puts a cool blue spin on the now-iconic bottle that looks like a huge, regal jewel. You know, big and sparkly like Katy's personality. 





Katy says a great fragrance is a big confidence booster: "like an invisible suit of luxurious armour ... your secret weapon!"

Smells like: pink freesia, pomegranate, sandalwood, orange flower, jasmine petals, and lots more!

Wear it when: you need an extra burst of awesome: maybe you want to land a spot on the debating team, or you made it into the netball finals!

 

Hey gorgeous girls,

Today I'm having a play with some of the awesome swag I've been sent (luckiest girl alive or what?!). 

The vibe: Yep, it has occurred to me that you TGs possibly don't associate blackboards with school - you all have interactive whiteboards. So bear with me - I guess this look is kinda old-school cute. 

The product: ulta3's blackboard nail art set ($12, find it in Aussie pharmacies). You get a black nail polish that dries matte, plus a bunch of sweet pastels that paint on with a thin nail art brush. You also get a metal tool for your art. 



The verdict: The box says to do two coats of black but it's so thick and gloopy I reckon one coat is okay. It really does dry to a chalkboard-y finish. Cool! 

It takes a bit of time to get used to the long, skinny brush in each pastel bottle. Take care not to get too much polish on your brush. The brushes work really well for straight lines so letters are a great choice but you can draw whatever you want. I suggest letters like F-A-N-C-Y. Can you tell I've been listening to lots of Iggy Azalea? Make sure you listen to the radio version only, TGs.




I'm testing the product on my workie, Monique. Cute, right?

Would you try the blackboard look? You can DIY it with black nail polish, pastels and a nail art brush. Have fun!

XOXO Claire

Hey beauties, 

Have you been to see Disney's Maleficent yet? It's dark and gorgeous and I think you'll love the way Elle Fanning lights up the screen as the beautiful princess who must be awoken from her cursed sleep. 

Watching Elle I had a major lighting bolt of hair-spiration.

In the movie Aurora has amazing, long blonde locks that are actually as achievable as they are pretty. 

To get the Princess Aurora look: 

1. Wash your hair and work through some texturising product. Aurora lives in a magic forest and is kind of free-spirited so this is a slightly messy look. You can use styling mousse or salt water spray. Work it through damp hair, pull it into a low ponytail, plait the ponytail and leave the plait overnight.

2. Carefully undo the plait the next morning and gently finger-comb out the waves.

3. Pull back two thin sections of hair from either side of your temples and wind them around each other. Pull them together at the centre of the back of your head. 

4. Leave lots of wispy bits of hair around your face. If you like, you can decorate the twists of hair with little flowers like Aurora does. 

Check out Aurora in the trailer for Maleficent:



Would you try the Aurora look? Leave a comment below!

Love and Disney princesses, 

Claire XOXO

Hey hey TGs,

My TG friend Annabella came to visit TGHQ to test out some cool hair widgets from Scunci.

Here's what she thought:

Topsytail

This fab design will make your hair look beautiful in minutes. With the six amazing different styles you will definitely get creative. My fave design is the half up style as I found it pretty easy to do. I love that it has such an amazing effect that isn’t that hard. This style works for many different hair types, as it is basically the half up, half down style just glammed up!

Another one of my favourites from the topsytail packet is the basic style. Even though the steps are pretty basic to get to the end result it looks really cool. This hairstyle would be great for most types of hair except if your hair is really short like a bob. The amazing end result would work beautifully for a special occasion like a wedding or even just casually.

Claire's tip: you don't need a tool to do these hairstyles. You should be able to pull your hair into either a ponytail or a half-up style, pull the elastic down a bit, gently create an opening and then flip your hair through for a similar look. 

TGs, would you try a cute ponytail with a twist? What's your fave way to do your hair? Leave a comment below!

XOXO Claire and Annabella

Hey TGs!

What do you do on a Sunday night? For me, this time is all about a fresh mani to set me up for the coming week. 

I dug into my big box of mani things and found Elegant Touch nail wraps in a super adorbs black and white with contrast spots and even a few flashes of silver!

I totes fell in love because I just finished reading an ah-maze book about a magical night circus that is all black and white. Inside its striped tents you find delights such as an ice garden and cloud maze. It was so beautiful that my mani of the moment HAD to be black and white. 

Here it is: 



Nail wraps are pretty tricky to get perfect. In my case, the key is to give them a bit of a trim so they're not too wide, and when applying them, to stretch and pull them to avoid crinkles popping up at the edges. 

Want to get this look without using nail wraps? You'll need a black nail polish, a white nail polish and a dotting tool. You can get real nail art tools for this purpose, or a nail art pen, but you can also use patience and a toothpick. 

Would you try a black and white mani? Let me know with a comment below!

Love and dotty dreams, 

Claire XO

Hey beauties!

OMTG it's April and you know what that means ... Easter is a hop, skip and a jump away!!!

Helllloooo chocolate!

But why restrict yourself to treats that come wrapped in brightly coloured foil? Lush has sent over some fresh Easter swag and trust me, you'll find it super adorbs. 





See? Squee! That, by the way, is my TGHQ desk's resident grass bunny. He doesn't have a name just yet - perhaps you'd like to suggest one? 

Those carrots are Lush's fruity bubble bath, the golden eggs are bath bomb melts, the big, bright egg produces 'sunny citrus' bubbles and the carrot soap is actually made of lemon oil, cocoa butter, carrot oil and more. 

Best of all, Lush promises this is cruelty-free beauty. That makes me a happy bunny!

Want some tips for a clean, green Easter? Pick up an April Total Girl mag now and flick over to Eco Zone.

What kind of Easter surprises do you want to get? Leave a comment below!

Love and chocolate
Claire xx

Heya beautiful girls, 

Did you know? A new look Total Girl is coming and I am sooooo excited!!! Just wait until you see May! You will love it, I promise. 

Anyway, we're doing a bunch of cool, new things, including the Ask Me Anything section in Girl Talk. You TGs get to ask us, well, anything!

 

Hi TGs,

I looooove it when the Easter Bunny visits me. Somehow this guy knows that my fave kind of choccy is peppermint chocolate - it is the BEST. 

But OMTG I've already had a visit from the lesser-known but very cool Beauty Bunny. 

Want to see what I've got? Check out these eggcellent Easter manicure ideas!



Pastel nails are massive, girls, and these ulta3 ones are a little more spesh because they've got dark flecks in them that makes them set with a speckled finish!

The speckles are just like the marks and mottles on pretty bird eggs and the colours are sweet like sugared almonds.

The colours have names like Hot Cross Fun and Hippidy Hop and that's adorbs. 

These nail colours will make you say, "Cheep, cheep," (LOL, let me know if you get my punny gag) because they're totes not exxy - they're $3 a bottle. 



Top pick: The robin's egg blue. The speckling isn't easy to see but the colour is joyful like a clear, sunny sky.

Surprise smash: Yellow - the speckles stand out and look cute.

Egg fans only: The grey-green shade is cool and fascinating as it totally does look like an eggshell, but it's a bit quirky for most. 

Which colour is your fave? What's your Easter manicure idea TGs? Leave a comment below!

Love and Easter chocolate
Claire xx

Heya TGs!

OMTG overnight I heard that Lorde, New Zealand’s own singing superstar who has two Grammys at the age of 17, is doing a beauty collab with totes famous brand MAC. 

Need a Lorde style shortcut? Try a super dark nail polish!

Maybe her close friend Taylor Swift will give her products a try?!

As we’ve been talking about hair so much lately, I want to take some time to answer TG Amy’s question posted in the comments of my ‘How To Dry Your Hair’ blog entry.

Hi Claire

I got a straightener for Christmas and don't know how to use it.
It didn't come with instructions so I was wondering if you have any tips?

From Amy

Hi Amy, follow these tips and you’ll be BFFs with your straightener in no time!

XOXO Claire

1. Safety first. Like an iron, hair straighteners are hot, can burn and can start fires. Don’t go there! Hold the appliance by its cool, outer plastic parts and never touch its hot plates – my own straightener heats as hot as 230 degrees! That’s hot like an oven cooking your pizza.

Do not let the straightener cook YOU.

Avoid touching your skin with the straightener and don’t leave it clamped around your hair – it can burn it. Also, don’t leave it on and forget about it.

2. Protect your hair. Heat and hair are not best friends. Yes, straighteners can make your mane look smooth and glossy, but too much heat can damage your hair and make it dry out.

You might want to use a heat protecting spray first.

3. Prep. Your hair should be wet or dry depending on the model of straightener you have. Detangle first before you start.

4. Straighten in sections. Got too much hair in there? The straightener won’t work well on a huge chunk of hair. Use the straightener on sections of hair, and try to go systematically around your head. Start at the top and smoothly glide the tongs from the root of the hair to the tips of each section. Keep going until you’re all done!

Finish with some hairspray for extra hold – your hair will stay straight until it gets wet again.

 

Hey TGs!

So here I am in exciting new animated form. Yay. Go me!

 

Anyway, ever wondered how to dry your hair? It seems pretty easy - plug in, point the hot air at hair, and you're done! But wait, there's a little more to it than that. 

A couple of things: safety first! Don't mix your dryer with water and definitely don't blow dry in the bath! Your dryer wants to be dry. Clue's in the name. 

So ... you're freshly showered, your hair is wet, what next? 

1. Wring out as much moisture as you can with your hands. That'll save you heaps of time. You can also (gently!) towel dry your hair. One celeb tip is to use a soft, old T-shirt for drying.

2. Choose the heat setting that's right for you. I have stacks of hair. SO MUCH HAIR. I use the hot setting, but not all the time. You might want the medium setting. You might want the odd blast of cool. Suit yourself.
 
3. Dry your hair in sections and, as you go, finger-comb out any knots. You might also like to use a wide-toothed comb for less snagging. My fave thing? It's a Tangle Teezer. Looks kind of like a pet brush but works super, super well on knotty hair. 

4. Want a profesh finish? You'll need a round brush and some patience and practise. Run the brush through sections of hair and roll it through the underside. Your Mum will be able to show you how to do this. 

5. Don't dry for too long - too much heat isn't good for your scalp or your hair. 

6. You can finish with a touch of glossing spray. Ta-dah!

Hope this helps! 

Oh, hey, do you have any beauty questions for me? I'm doing a cool beauty Q&A so hit me with your best beauty Q's and I'll give you some A's in an upcoming mag!!! Leave your questions below. 

XOXO Claire

Hey hey gorgeous things!

Let's talk about pretty scents, perfumes and all things that smell like unicorns. Yep, I've never smelled a unicorn (have you?) but I'm more or less certain they smell GREAT. 

Some of the perfumes at TGHQ: left to right - Crabtree & Evelyn pear and magnolia fragrance; Jeanne en Provence rose fragrance; Harajuku Lovers Love perfume; Pavement Petals Arielle perfume; and Pink Glitz perfume.

If you've ever been to a perfume counter, you've probably been overwhelmed by choice. It's all so shiny (those bottles!) and after a while - and 10 or so tester strips later - your nose can get muddled by things that smell same-y.

So, here are some of my fragrance tips for you:

1. Find a perfume that suits your personality. Sweet and girly? You'll want florals. Sporty and active? Try something that smells fresh and clean. There's a scent out there for everybody. 

2. Perfumes can be a little exxy. You'll need to save your coinage, or else maybe give Mum a hint around your birthday. A lot of perfumes come in cheaper, smaller sizes (say, 30m or so), or in a body cream and these are usually a lot more affordable. 

3. Don't fall for a pretty bottle. I know, SO hard to do, right? I've totally done this. Remember, though, you're not going to wear the bottle, so no matter how beautiful it is, make sure you actually like what's inside. 

4. Celeb perfumes are usually a good bet. They're made with girls like you in mind, and it's pretty cool to go out knowing you smell like Taylor!!!

5. Don't overdo the spritzing. It's easy to get carried away when you find one you like, but less can be more unless you want to bowl people over when they get within metres of you. Try this trick - spray into the air, then step into the space you just sprayed. If the scent is milder you can spray directly onto your skin, but keep it to just a squirt or two.

What scents do you like best? Leave a comment below!

XOXO Claire

Hi TGs!

Reaching for a new nail polish colour, I felt some regret setting in. 

I mean, sure the polish was pretty good. But I kept trying to figure out why the sight of my nails was making me so queasy. Like, bleuggghhh.

I worked it out - liver nails! I was wearing a colour the shade of a squishy internal organ. Uhhhhhh so gross!!! Trust me, I Googled livers and the shade is like super on-point for a real, actual raw liver. But I don't want to gross you out, so here's a nice illo.



See - liver hands of doooooommmm.

Anyway, on with the story. TG's Lattitia was working on one of her amazing DIYs and she had a whole heap of spare glitter on a plate. It was already mixed with glue so we couldn't keep it. 

So, I stuck my hands in it. Like this: 



Obvs it was super messy. To seal the deal, I added a coat of Rimmel's finishing touch glitter topcoat. Then I washed my hands to get rid of the excess glitter (it went EVERYWHERE). 

Result! Glitter-bombed nails. It's, like, 10 times shinier than normal glitter nail polish. Give it a try!



Would you try extreme glitter nails? And do you actually like liver nails?! Leave a comment below! 

XOXO Claire

Hi TGs!

I don't know about you, but I'd quite like to be here:



You know what I mean: nothing but white sand, palm trees and pineapples. Also bright cotton dresses, jewel-coloured birds (that talk!) and lots of seafood to eat. Ahhhh!

When it's not possible to actually run away to a tropical island, summer's a great time to try a few products that make you feel like you have. 

I found these: 

Clockwise: pineapple-flavoured lip-balm from Bomb Cosmetics; a mango bath melt from Lush; Garnier Fructis surf hair texturising paste; Beachcomber frangipani lip balm, and Pure Coconut glossing spray, also for hair. 

If you want that island fantasy feeling, just look for scents inspired by island fruits and flowers and you'll soon be in an endless summer. 

Don't have the pocket money for new beauty goodies? Don't sweat it. Coconut oil is cheap as chips and looks and smells lovely rubbed into dry, scaly limbs. Tuck a frangipani behind one ear, or weave a few into your wavy locks. If you want 'just had a swim' surf-tousled hair, get a clean spray bottle and mix up some water, salt, hair conditioner, then work it through your mane.

Aloha, girls!

XOXO Claire

Hey TGs!

HAPPY 2014!!! A big thank you hug to all you girls who sent me a birthday message – you TGs are the sweetest girls ever!

Guess what I did on my break? I painted some walls! This was totes hard on my hands and nails, and I thought I’d do a post explaining some thing you can do when your nails are having a tough time.

 

The sitch

I painted my nails before bed and woke up with a weird sheet pattern all over them. Eeek.

The fix

Sheet-pattern nails can be fixed with a quick glitter topcoat the next morning.

The sitch

My pinky toenails are weird.

The fix

Pinky toenails are smaller and more vulnerable than your other nails. They can get squeezed and rubbed by shoes and can spilt, crack, have a strange texture or grow a bit lumpy. They might need extra care and trimming. Try and keep them coated in polish to add some extra protection and to prevent them from snagging your socks and stockings.

The sitch

My nails have split.

The fix

Your nails as made up of thin layers, like a delicious pastry. Try not to clip or file them when they are wet. File in one direction only, don’t use a see-saw action. And don’t use them as a kind of all-purpose tool – go easy on them. And if they do start to come apart, carefully buff the split part to avoid further damage. Get a block buffer – they’ve usually a light foam covered in various rough surfaces, like sandpaper, and gently sand away at the split area, then buff to a high-gloss shine.

The sitch

My nail has torn into the pink part – ouch!

The fix

If your nail begins to rip horizontally, act fast. The last thing you want is for the torn edge to catch on something and rip any more than it already has – owwie! Carefully cut the white part as short as you can, and try to clip off the pointy or rough part of the torn bit. File the edge. Now all you can do is wait for the nail to grow out again – it’ll look a bit funny and lop-sided as it grows back, and it will need TLC until the part that tore has grown right out again.

What do you do when your nails need rescuing?

XOXO Claire

Hi Total Girls!

If there's one thing I love, it's memes. See?

That's why I thought I'd make a few more. I mean, what's the internet for if not adorbs and totes hilarious memes of cats and dogs (or, in lolspeak, kittehs and goggies). 

So, without further ado, here are some of my favourite beauty lessons, as told with memes. 



Did you know applying heat to your hair isn't the best thing for it? Try not to blast your locks with super hot heat for too long – that can be damaging. 

Try the lower setting with occasional blasts of cool air, or in summer skipping the dryer altogether. If you want to use a heated tool, such as a straightener or curler, try adding a heat protecting product to your hair beforehand. 

Listen to the kitty! Protect your peepers in the summer months – and all year around – with cool shades. You'll thank yourself one days and in the meantime, you'll look pretty cool. Don't forget your SPF30 sunscreen, your long sleeves and your hat! Keep an eye out for Jan's mag for more cool sun safety tips from a super Aussie swimmer (guess which one?!)

I get soooo many emails from girls who bite their nails and want to stop (you'd be surprised at how many grown-ups have this problem too). 

If you've tried the chemist remedies such as foul-tasting products to discourage biting, try some good old willpower. This is definitely one habit you want to break!

What are some beauty tips you'd like to see as a meme?

XOXO Claire

Hey girls, do you like my grey nail polish?

That background you see is a Christmas card from the TG festive card kit, get yours with your December issue of Total Girl!

I would never have thought of grey and nails as being a good combo. Grey can often be thought of as more drab than fab. But think of all the great grey stuff: kittens, silvery rain-slicked pavements, your grandparents’ hair. Grey is a cool colour and it was fun to break free from the usual nail colour suspects (pink! red!) and go for something different.

It’s fun to take a beauty risk and shake up your manicure. Here are my top four quirky nail colours:

1. Canary: It’s bold for summer, it’s sunny, it’s optimistic, it’s the colour you want to wear when you’re enjoying the sand and the surf. I guarantee it will make you smile.
   
   
2. Green: any shade is okay by me as it’s one of my favourite colours. There’s a green for every mood. Try a pastel nail if you want to be summertime sweet, a hit of fluoro lime if you want your nails to be loud and proud, or a darker forest green if you want to be a bit mysterious.
   
   
3. Metallics: Bling bling! Silver and gold nails are like jewels for your fingertips, but surprising shades of colour done in metallic are also as cool as it gets.
   
   
4. White: A bit stark, a bit bleak? Nah. A white nail is your ultimate canvas for nail art. You can do all kinds of things against white – one really cool thing to try is to get some Sharpies and do some graffiti-style doodles, then seal in the art with a clear topcoat.

What's YOUR fave unexpected nail colour?

XOXO Claire 

 

 

 

1. Hey hey glam TGs!
   
   TG Aish has some hair-related blues: 
   
   I have really short hair, and it's making me feel a bit self-conscious. It is as short as the average boy's hair, and sometimes people mistake me for a boy. My school doesn't allow fancy clips and hair accessories as it doesn't mix with uniform well, so how can I look like a girl and still abide by school rules? I am growing my hair out, but for the time-being, I don't want to be confused for a boy.
   
   If you can't wear fancy clips, you can probs still wear simple bobby pins, perhaps in the same hue as your school uniform or house colours. 
   
   Keep your short 'do girly with cool texture: try messing it up with mousses and gels.
   
   People know you're not a boy. Also, try not to focus too much on your hair. I bet there's 10 million things more interesting about you than your short locks.
   
   
   Love your hair instead! Here are four reasons to embrace it:
   
   1. Summer is coming and you'll adore the feeling of a breeze on the back of your neck instead of that sweaty sensation. 
   
   2. Hate waiting for your hair to dry? No probs! When it's short, it's so easy to care for. Drying time is practically non-existant.
   
   3. Without lots of hair to hide behind, you just might discover a confident new you.
   
   4. Short hair is made for experimentation! On weekends, try adding some hair chalk for some cray cray colour, tie a headscarf over it, or tuck a fresh flower behind one ear. 
   
   XOXO Claire

Cray cray hair? Yeah, yeah!

Take one sizzling pink curl of clip-in hair and add two fancy, flouncy clip-in feathers. There’s a party on my head and you’re all invited.

 

I’m testing out some feather hair extensions from Vixen Body Art ($11.95 each) and also a Headlines Hairpieces Splice Curl ($15.40 to $24.20 depending on length) in an amazeballs pink worthy of Nicki Minaj. Yeah, you’d probs wear these one at a time, but hey, more is more, right? Sometimes, it totally is.

Feathers are meant to be eye-catching – in nature, they’re a look-at-me display of beauty. That must be why my feathered hair is grabbing so much attention over at TGHQ.

These hair decorations are easy and comfortable to wear – they feel about the same as any other hair clip, but they do tend to wave their crazy colours around the edges of your line of sight. They can easily be clipped out again when it’s time for school or hair-washing, and they are reusable.

Here’s a picture by TG’s Lattitia who dared me to wear this whole set-up home on the train.

I did the dare and guess what? No one was especially surprised by my fluffy, feathery, crazy tresses. Anyway, this approach is not necessarily recommended – these kinds of pieces are best suited to a party when everyone wants to show their true colours.

 

Hi Claire :)
I don't chew my nails but they don't seem to grow. I put Diamond Clear Strength nail polish on to help them and I clean them every morning and night to make sure there is no chemicals under them. Can you help?
From Gemma
 
Hi Gemma,
 
Nails grow slowly, like, really slowly. Seriously, waiting for nail growth is like watching paint dry. Chill out about your nail growth. One thing you can take care of is the food you eat – include protein and stay hydrated. Keep your hands away from any harsh products and keep washing up gloves on. Still kind of bummed about your nail length? Fake nails could be your friend, but keep these for special occasions only. I personally like my nails on the short side because I type so much. It can get kind of hard to use a smart phone with long nails. Good luck.
 
XOXO Claire

---

 Hi Claire
My fringe is really annoying. It always goes curly or bumpy. it usually looks really bad and even when I try to blow dry it nicely, it stays like that for half the day and then it curls again. I don’t want to straighten it everyday ‘cause I don’t want to ruin it. Do you know any ways I can make it stay nice? Thank you! :)
Monique
 
Hi Monique,
 
I have naturally curly hair too. Your hair will pretty much do what it wants to do, which is curl up in your case. You might be happier without a fringe at all – this could be easier to live with than a fringe behaving badly. If you’re really into having a fringe, pick a great hair straightener and give your fringe a good spray with strong hold hair spray (remember to protect your eyes). Don’t like using a straightener? Try experimenting with a fake fringe that you can clip in, or else try pulling back the fringe and hiding it under a cute headband when it gets out of control.
 
XOXO Claire