Like every girl in the world, I think my mum is just gorgeous. It's true. A combination of taking excellent care of herself and being very fortunate in general has made her look, well, really great. 

Mum was never shy about giving me advice and here are just a few of the things I learned from her: 

Moisturise like you mean it. 

The love of moisturiser runs in my family. I think between my grandmother, my mother and myself we could fill a swimming pool with the total amount of moisturiser we’d ever used. Mum always recommended rubbing moisturiser into my face with circular motions that gently pushed upwards, like you're defying gravity. Moisturiser for the body was always said to be best after a shower for legs and arms, elbows and knees, tummy and back, or any area prone to getting dry and scaly.

 

Vaseline is your friend.

To this day Mum carries a mini pot of Vaseline with her everywhere she goes. It's her skin-soothing lip balm of choice and does a great job of healing up chapped lips. More advice from Mum – never lick your lips if they'll feel dry, relief will be temporary and you'll make things worse. 

A little perfume goes a long way.

Mum, like most mums, seems to have super senses. In her case, she wasn't crazy about strong smells and taught me that a gentle whiff of perfume was far better than an overpowering blast that would repel anyone who got within two metres of me. 

 

Paint your toenails. Just do it. 

Mum's a bit of a glamazon and you'll find her toenails neatly lacquered in a subtle pink shade, even in winter when no one's going to see them. I'm all about this, too, because nail polish is one of those fun flourishes that makes you feel good. When it's on your toes, it's not going to break any school uniform rules either, so paint away, TGs!

Now it's your turn TGs – what's the best beauty advice YOUR Mum ever gave you?

Hi TGs!

It's mani time again. Here's one for all you pastel fans - I know you're out there! Pastels are really associated more with spring and summer, but there's no reason not to embrace them all year long. 


This is probably the easiest nail art effect I've featured so far. I also recommend it for my TG who asked for a rainbow manicure - do one nail in each colour. This is way less fiddly than trying to do several colours all on one nail, which is really best suited to advanced nail-painters.

What you need:

• Three or four different pastel nail polishes.
  Go to your local Target, Kmart, chemist or supermarket. 

What to do:

1. Easy-peasy! Just paint each nail the colour of your choice.
   
   The funny thing about pastel polishes is they sometimes tend to be a bit see-through. You might need two or even three coats to get a smooth, even colour. 
2. Be patient and allow drying time.
3. Finish with a high gloss top coat, or even a matte coat if you'd like to try something a bit different.

Simple, huh? Now your nails are candy-licious. 

Love and candy,
Claire XOXO

Hi TGs and happy Wednesday! 

Today I thought I'd open up my handbag and share with you some of my glam essentials. 

Take a look:

Hi TGs! Today I'm answering a snail-mail letter from Mia. 

Q: I'm always asking others to paint my nails on my right hand since it's almost impossible for me to use my left and do a good job. Is there ANY way for me to paint my nails of my right hand myself?

Claire answers: Mia, I totes feel your pain! I have been a nail polish fan for years and, being right handed like you, did a pretty wonky job when using my left hand when I started out. Like most things you'll get better at it the more you practise! Trust me,it gets easier.

Try these tips (which, by the way, should also work for left-handed TGs who struggle to paint the nails on their right hand):

Slow and steady: Go for precision and care, no matter how long it takes. Try painting each nail in three strokes: left, right, then straight down the middle. This should minimise mess.

Do a repair job: if you paint some of a nail's surrounding skin (as even professional manicurists sometimes do!), you can fix it up. Wait for your nails to dry, then take a toothpick, wrap a small amount of cotton wool around its tip, dip it in remover and use this as a tool to tidy up your nail. Sorted!

Choose carefully: you might find a wide brush easier to work with. It might be easier, too, if you find a brush attached to a nice chunky bottle cap to hold.

Mia, I hope this was helpful. 

Love, 

Claire XOXO

Hello, lovely TGs!

I don't know about you, but I can't get enough of hair accessories! They liven up any outfit and also do all sorts of useful things, such as keep the hair out of your face, keep a growing-out fringe under control, tame wisps and wild bits of hair and also dial the cuteness factor up to 11!

Have you noticed how they can also lift your mood? It's pretty hard not to smile when you've got a bow or a ladybird on your head!

Here are some I found and just had to share with you. They might give you a bit of style inspiration.

Hey hey TGs!

A lot of you ask questions about looking after your face so I thought I'd share some of my best skin care tips.

1. Try a simple skin care routine. Before bed, get a gentle foaming facial cleanser and use it on your face, avoiding your eye area. Use it over a sink and rinse with cold water; do not scrub. Your facial skin is delicate compared with other parts of you so go easy! Afterwards, carefully moisturise your face. Use a light moisturiser so you won't feel too greasy.

2. Use a sunscreen every day, in all weather. You can get agood moisturising sunscreen and make sure you put it on every morning. The Australian sun is a tough cookie so get some protection on!

4. Eat yummy, healthy foods including lots of fruits and veggies and drink plenty of water. This will keep your skin so healthy it glows! Steer away from too many lollies.

5. Pimples are a downer for sure. The above hints should help you prevent some of them. Also avoid touching your face with your fingers too much and do not share face products with your besties. The sad news about pimples is there pretty much going to do what they want to do so it's really best to leave them alone. Don't be tempted to squeeze or pick them. 

What's your best skin care tip? Leave a comment below!

Love and fragrant moisturiser,

Claire XOXO

Hello TGs!

Nail art would have to be one of my fave beauty tricks. What you can do with your nails is limited only by your imagination! If you want to do something epic, go for it!

I get so many emails from TGs asking for nail art ideas, I've decided to dedicate a whole bunch of my beauty blogs to it!

Gorgeous Glitter Nail Art!
Instructions:

1. Wash your hands thoroughly, making sure to clean any dirt out from under your nails
2. Once dry, give them a quick trim, and file the edges smooth (never do nail art on super long nails - it doesn't look quite right! Neat, squoval (square-oval) shaped nails are perfect.
3. Instead of spending hours painting layer upon layer of glitter polish to build it up, instead paint your nails in the same colour as your chosen glitter, then, while the nail is still wet, carefully dip it in the glitter (or you can grab a pinch of glitter and sprinkle it on).
   
   BYS sell glitter pots in loads of cute colours, or you could buy glitter from a $2 shop. Glitter can be messy, maybe put down some newspaper first.
4. Seal the glitter in with a clear top coat.

Want to sparkle up just the tips of your nails? Do an ordinary basecoat of colour, let it dry completely, then paint some clear nail polish over the tips of your nails and then dip the wet bit into your glitter pot. Let the excess fall off and you're done!

Tip: Try two different sizes of glitter to get the effect you can see here! Even tiny diamantes will work!

 

Hey TGs! Welcome to the second post in my series of blogs on DIY nail art. 

This week I'm going dotty for polka dot nail art! This effect is fun, girly and best of all it's really easy.

Let's get started. 

You'll need:

• One nail polish colour to be your base colour;
• One (or more!) nail polish colours to contrast;
• A skinny paintbrush or toothpick

What to do: 

1. Prepare your nails: get them clean, free from grease, dry and neatly shaped with a file. 
2. Apply your base coat - two or more thin coats should build up a nice base colour. Allow drying time.
3. Here's the fun part. Dip the tip of your fine paintbrush or toothpick into a contrasting nail polish colour and gently place dots of colour onto your nails. Go easy: just a little pressure should form a nice neat dot. Also, try not to get too much polish on your dotty tool - you might accidentally make a splodge! 

Don't worry if the dots are not all the same size. It can be cute with a few different sizes of dot. You could do just one colour of dot, or go crazy with multi-coloured dots! Seal your art with a clear top coat.

Tips: This can be a bit fiddly, especially with your left hand (assuming you're right-handed). You could either ask Mum for help or else try a 'feature nail' - just decorate one of your 10 nails. The ring finger is best for this. Or, you could try this effect on your toes, like in the picture. That's cute too.

Which cute nail art looks would you like me to explain? Leave a comment below!