Tania Louise Certified Organic Argan Oil: A Review (Hint: It's like, really good!)

Whadddduuuppppp, pretty people!

I thought, seeing as I recently posted a video, using all Tania Louise makeup products, which you can check here, I thought I'd show a few other products. One of my favourites is the Argan oil, which is actually the only product from the range that is not made in Australia (the Agania Spinosa plant is grown in Morocco). Tania's Argan oil is not only great for the skin, hair, nails, can be used as a face primer prior to makeup, but it can also be used to REMOVE said makeup!

When I was doing work experience with Tania at the Adelaide Hair and Makeup Trade Show,
(okay, I'd like to point out that while
Yes, I have done work experience with her to get my TAFE certificate.
No, she is not asking me to do this review.
Yes, I did pay for every product I use myself - they weren't supplied by her!) we had many potential customers with many colour swatches on their hands and the Argan oil worked A TREAT to remove them. I will show you below:

Image from the Tania Louise website

Here, I have a stubborn liquid lipstick swatch and an even more stubborn eyeliner swatch (the eyeliner from Tania's range!) that wouldn't come off with just a tissue, I thought I'd remove them with just a few drops of the Argan oil, and I'm pretty impressed with the results! I really don't have much more to say about this piece of awesome. So, if you want to purchase it and see the results for yourself, here's the direct link: http://www.tanialouise.net/collections/daily-essentials/products/argan-oil. Maybe this could be a great last minute Christmas gift!!!



Have a wonderful day and stay classy kids,



OH, AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Tiarna Ellen
xx

Highschool Hell

School, huh?
That joyful place where you get judged on what you wear, who you hang out with, the music you listen to (the major one for me) and whether your grades are good or not.
I'm not going to lie. My schooling experience wasn't the easiest and honestly, it wasn't the social side that I had a hard time with (well, sometimes it was). It was some of the teachers. Seventeen year-old me, with scraggly dark hair and braces was probably one of the strangest type of teenagers you could come across - in a way, wanted to fit in, but also, not wanting to give a shit of what other people thought of her and her quirks... and failing miserably.

I wish there was a way of telling sixteen year-old me this wasn't cute.

Hey, look! I made puberty my bitch!

I had an interest, (okay, more like, an obsession) with a certain boyband containing three dark-haired brothers who were made famous by the Disney Channel. Yeah, that one. Later, it was a certain then-recently-deceased music superstar who had probably the most famous fall from grace in the history of, like, ever. Apparently, neither of these were okay to like in social circles. While other kids were either listening to Top 40, dance music or even metal. I spent my nights alone in my room listening to Taylor Swift wondering why I couldn't get a boyfriend. Hell, I still can't seem to get a boyfriend!

I went on my first date at the age of 17 with a guy a good nine years older than I. It was at a bowling alley where some other kids from my class (one of which, I'm actually good friends with now, post highschool) was celebrating a birthday. It didn't last further than this first date, mainly because, while he was fun to talk to, I did find him a little handsy and a little awkward in places. Not to mention, the age difference was a little uncomfortable. Now, at 21,  I prefer older men!
He started to massage my shoulders when I started getting stressed due to losing the game. (Note: I suck at games and sports!)

But it was the next school day that the said friend's then-boyfriend loudly said in class, "Who'd go out with her!" This hurt a little. I spent an quite some time on a night that that week carefully wording, with the help of my parents, a Facebook Chat message to this guy on why I wasn't really interested taking it any further.

But it was the academic side of my schooling which was the hardest on me. I hated maths. Embarrassingly, I actually managed to fail Year 8 maths and pretty much every other year that it was compulsory, I JUST passed by what my mum would say - a bee's dick. Science wasn't much easier. I managed to do really well in Modern History and English, though, particularly towards the end of my schooling when I decided I should take this seriously if I wanted any hope of graduating and getting the hell out of there. My English teacher, while terrifying, taught me shit-loads. In honour of her incredible, shall I say, brain power? I feel I should say 'a great deal', but I'm going to settle for 'shit-loads'. She even taught me, even though it is hated by many a writer, the importance of the Oxford comma, which I love to use. I still talk to her when she comes into work today, even though she retired the year I graduated. I actually managed to pass Year 11 English with flying colours and that particular teacher seemed to dislike almost everyone. Even the cooler kids were like, "Why does she like you so much?" to which, I didn't have an answer for. When I thanked her for giving me such a high mark in my report card, she simply said, "you deserved it," to which I was so pleased with myself about. This was a teacher who we were given creative freedom with and having teenage kids of her own, she knew what we'd be interested in - particularly a certain music-based assignment where we had to analyse the lyrics of two songs with a similar theme.

My Modern History teacher, not only helped me pass in Year 12 by happily using a few lunch sessions in her office and helping me with my major end-of-year assignment but she made the lessons fun. One time she a few of us sit up the front of the class with our bare feet in a bucket of icy water and see how long we could last. She then set off a stink bomb and said, "This, kids, is what the battle zone may have been like in the winter." She then added that she wasn't too concerned about the stench because it was only Year 8's using the room next. 

But the beginning of Year 12 was difficult. I had one teacher who refused to sign me on to the next part of a particular assignment because, apparently, I hadn't done enough work compared to the other students. This really frustrated me, mainly because she wouldn't tell me how to improve it. She at, one point, emailed my mother, telling her I was lazy. I eventually dropped out of this class with the help of our assistant principal and my Modern History teacher, who also happened to be the Year 12 coordinator. It was also at this time that I found out that I have a slight learning disability after years of tests and going to psychologists and things. I, at 14, was told I had the maths brain of a nine year-old. This stung. We worked out that I mainly learn through discussion. It may take me longer to learn things than other people, but if people give me the time and the day, I can get it. 

I'm sorry that this was so long-winded, but I thought I'd share my story to get things off my chest. Highschool wasn't particularly easy for me. Like, is it easy for anyone? But I was blessed to have great teachers (well, other than that particular one) who helped me pass, when I (and I'm sure a number of others) thought I had no hope.

Cheers for sticking with me and stay classy, kids.

Tiarna Ellen xx

Products I Regret Buying | CLASS By Tiarna Ellen

Hello, pretty people!
So, as you can see, this was originally going to be a video, but
A) I could not be stuffed video editing. Like, at all.
B) The video I had filmed was horrendous quality because it was from my laptop's webcam because my dad has decided to claim back his video camera for a few weeks. Balls.

So, anyway,
I've decided, while I was going through my makeup kit this morning, to not only throw out some genuinely shitty products, bur to share my reasonings online. Because online sharing is the in thing, isn't it?

Natio Precision Brow Marker

Brunette

AU$12.95

I thought I'd start off with one of the crappiest. What I didn't like about this, is that the marker was way too watery for it to work well. It didn't blend nicely at all and looked as though the brows were literally drawn on.

Morphe Brushes

20 Concealer Palette

AU$55.63

I wanted to love this. I really, really did. And Morphe is a brand that has been RAVED about for the last year or so but I'm not going to lie. I think the concealers in this are absolute crap. The colour correctors work  well, but
A) No matter the range of shades, I can't find the one to match me perfectly. They're either too pink or too yellow 

and
B) They are so thick that even if you have even the slightest fine lines under your eyes, this tends to accentuate them. Even when I did 'dab it gently using the warmth of my fingertips' as suggested. 

Ugh. 

Ben Nye

Creme Highlight

AU$8.00 each

How are these even called 'highlights'? There are no highlighting properties in them whatsoever. I think I might be able to keep the dark and the light and mix them to make a pretty blush shade but I am truly disappointed by these. I don't even have words.

 Inglot

Brow Wax (574) and Brow Powder (559)

AU$10.00 each

I'll keep this brief. The wax was far too translucent and didn't even hold any of the brow hairs in place and the powder didn't blend nicely at all. And you'd think they'd put products together that would actually work together, formula-wise, would you?

Inglot 

AMC Face Blush (Liquid)

81 and 83

AU$26.00 each

These were absolute crap. Unlike the website promises, they do NOT blend. I've tried so many times to use them to no avail.

Inglot
Eyeshadow

465, 327 and 391

AU $10.00 a

 I LOVE Inglot's eyeshdows. Love them.

Except these few shades don't have much pigment to them and they're not very smooth and are difficult to blend.

BYS
Souflé Eye Cream

White Gold

AU$4.95

THIS. WAS. DISGUSTING.

It was patchy when I went to apply it (tried it with both brush and fingertip) and it creased so badly, even with powder eyeshadow over the top.

Thisis a HUGE shame because the colour is GORGEOUS, but the formula is horrendous.

And yes, I did have primer on.

Australis

Metallix

Eyeshadows

AU$9.49 each

 These weren't quite as bad as the BYS Eye Creams, but they also creased really badly, even with powder eyeshadows over the top. I had very high hopes for them. I may give them one more chance. Maybe.

Benefit
They're Real

Push-Up Liner

AU$37.00

  

I've been really liking Benefit lately, despite only being new to the brand. The reason I didn't like this product wasn't the formula, it was moreso the packaging. I find because the tip is so large, I find it quite difficult to control when trying to achieve the perfect cat eye. In saying that, it's fine when I'm lining the lashline, so I may keep it in my kit just a little longer.

Australis

AC On Tour

Contouring & Highlighting Kit

AU$12.95

This product was RAVED about, so of course I had to see what the fuss was all about. And I can tell you, the effortI went through in trying to contact the company to complain when the first one I bought was crumbled when I opened it only to be notified, like,  a month later by a rep that I should just exchange it at the store (UGH!) was certainly not worth it.

The highlight colours aren't very highlight-y and the contour colours are so pigmented that they don't blend nicely at all. Even though they now have different shades, seeing as these colours were either too dull or too warm for my skintone, I'm not even going to bother.

Morphe Brushes

8 Eyebrow Palette

AU$41.71

Another product I had high hopes for. The colours don't have much pigment and the waxes are even waxier then they should be. They have a weird consistency and you can see the brush strokes when you're applying it.

Illamasqua

Sculpting Powder Duo
Helioplolis & Lumos

AU$47.00

Should I just give up on having high hopes?

This was demonstrated on me in the store, but I think the lights at counters are crap, or the makeup artists there are trained to do what no other (even if the customer is a makeup artist themselves) and it looked fine at the time. Duh.

But the contour has little to no pigment and is way too dull for me anyway and the highlight has super chunky bits of glitter. I think I might keep them as eyeshadows.

Essence 

Brow Designer

Blonde

$3.05

 Thankfully, this was only like, $3 because as you can see in the swatch photo, I basically needed to colour my arm in to get any pigment out of it.

W7

Super Kiss Lipgloss

Irridescent

AU$3.99

Looks pretty.

Smells amazing.
Feels AWFUL.

This lipgloss reminds me of a cheaper version of Inglot's Sleeks liglosses with the fact that it's got that duochrome finish where if you shine in one way it's a certain colour and shine it another, it shines another colour. In conclusion, I was so sad by this. Lucky it was only cheap.

W7
Squeeze Me Lipgloss

So Pretty

AU$4.99

Exactly the same consistency as the last one. Sticky.

This one may even be moreso.

Amount of money potentially wasted: AU$378.69
I feel sick to the stomach!

Anyway, I'm over depressing crap. I'm out.
Have and wonderful day and stay classy, kids!
Tiarna Ellen
xx

A New Love: MAC | CLASS By Tiarna Ellen

Hello, pretty people!

So for some time, I've kind of avoided MAC products because they were ssooo expensive, but recently, I decided to bite the bullet and get a few things. These are just the basics.

The Eyebrows Crayon in 'Lingering' is so natural and pretty if you just need a little bit of filling in and it's not too waxy, but still pigmented enough to shape them.

I've been absolutely loving the Pro Longwear Foundation (my shade is N18) and it's corresponding concealer (in NW20) is right up there with my Inglot YSM Cream Foundation as an absolute favourite. It's a gorgeous creamy consistency that isn't too thick, though the only thing is, is that it can be a little drying, which is why I like to add a pump of Prep + Prime Natural Radiance Base Lumiére to it.

Prep + Prime is a great face primer. Not only lasts as long as I need it to, it has a light, creamy, moisturising feeling to it, which is GREAT for my skin, first thing in the morning.

Lastly, I've been LOVING my Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Soft Ochre, which works wonderfully either by itself as a cream eyeshadow or as a primer for my oily-AF eyelids. Like, if I don't wear makeup throughout the day, they almost go sticky, they're THAT oily.

I have a few more, like a lip liner and gorgeous lipstick that I've been wearing regularly (I used them in my "Pink Glitter Smokey Eye" video.

But seriously, I love these products.

Stay classy kids,

Tiarna Ellen.

xx

(Slightly Crazy) Feminist Rant #2: A price hike for women

Hello, pretty people!
So, it's been like, three months since I've blogged, due to losing my note book. Also slightly due to the fact that I'd lost a little bit of motivation to actually do so, but I'm back with yet another issue that drives me nuts; how women pay more for like, everything.

The source of the following information is from Buzzfeed, which I thought did this experiment brilliantly. Basically, they went to a Target store in California (the prices of some things aren't much different to those here in Australia)

So, without further ado, here are the findings:

Women's jeans: $27.99
Men's jeans: $24.99
Which equates to 1.12 pairs

Women's face lotion: $15.00
Men's face lotion: $6.99
Which equates to 2.25 bottles

Women's deodorant: $4.69
Men's deodorant: $2.99
Which equates to 1.16 sticks

Women's shaving cream: $2.99
Men's shaving cream: $2.49
Which equates to 1.2 cans

Women's t-shirt: $9.00
Men's t-shirt: $4.00
Which equates to 2.25 shirts, even though men's shirts usually use more fabric.


It was estimated in 1996 in California that women paid $1,351 more annually for the same things. They were the first state to ban gender pricing.

In all serious, I've gotten to the point where I can't even be bothered paying $15 for a cute little razor handle with half-blunt blades that literally last about a week. I myself, being naturally dark (and sometimes. Okay, often questioning my heritage) knows the struggle of ever-growing leg hair and has even give in to shaving in the winter. I'm not risking anyone seeing it through my sheer stockings at parties, okay?
Okay.
My naturally blonde mother came to me the other day, rolled up her pants and said, "Oh, hey look, I found leg hair!" to which I responded, "I wish I couldn't grow any."

Me at 18. With crappy eyebrows.

But no, seriously, government? Product manufacturers? Whoever is in charge of this, sort it out. I'm almost willing to smell like a disgusting Lynx or Brut to avoid paying the extra $2.

Tiarna Ellen out.

(Slightly Crazy) Feminist Rant #1: Apparently Women Can't Have A Sense Of Humour!

Hello, pretty people!
So, a while ago, I hated the label 'feminist'.
When I thought of feminists, I thought of half-dressed women violently protesting in the streets, bra-burning all that kind of stuff. But then I realised the term 'feminist' just meant one thing: wanting equal rights for women. There are plenty of men out there (my idiot teen-aged brother included) who say they hate feminists, only because they haven't made the effort to research the simple definition, which I find just makes them ignorant.
That being said, there have been three issues throughout the next few posts that have been bothering me. My first one to address is

Wippa's comment stating that women being funny is 'unladylike'.

On the 9th of April (which is a month ago now, but it still pisses me off enough to write about it now) Michael "Wippa" Wipfli, of the popular Australian radio show "Fitzy and Wippa" stated that, and I quote, "If you find the girl who's the loud, funny one in the pub, guys aren't into you. Not very ladylike. Don't be funny around guys" (I actually researched the situation and found the quote at www.mamamia.com.au). Ryan "Fitzy" Fitzgerald actually tried to shut him down.

I, myself, wouldn't say I'm funny, but I do have a cheeky sense of humour, and I can be a little on the louder side, after a drink or two. I also love a good discussion with a man, particularly when it comes to pop culture.

I also wouldn't call myself a dating expert, as I am currently single, but I did find on three different sites that most men do find a woman with a sense of humour attractive:

7 TOP QUALITIES MEN FIND ATTRACTIVE IN WOMEN:
1. Great personality (getting warmer...)
2. Good sense of humour (BAM!)
3, Reliability
4. Good listener
5. Be un-materialistic
6. Capabilities and independence
7. Physical appearance

and this other one was from a forum

DO MEN FIND INTELLIGENT AND FUNNY WOMEN ATTRACTIVE?
This was a public forum question, that gained around 30 responses. Most of them said 'yes'. My favourite answer? "Some men feel threatened by a funny and intelligent woman, but they belong in the 50's."
He also goes on to say that he has been laughed into bed in the past.

5 REASONS WHY FUNNY WOMEN ARE SEXY
1. It's disarming (being put off your game is a huge turn on. I guess it's like having a 'see what I did there?' moment.
2. Down for whatever (may not mean sexually, it just may mean they might be more adventurous)
3. Laughter mimics sex (if you're laughing hard, you often get flushed, breaths are more shallow and you lose control of your body - in a good way. From here, I'll just leave this to the imagination)
4. Banter (it makes someone want to have a conversation with you)
5. More comfortable (I guess it's easy to get along with someone who has a similar sense of humour to you)

My verdict: Women with a sense of humour can be attractive. Bite me, Wippa.

Album Review: "A Musical Heart" by Patrice Tipoki

Whaddup, pretty people!
Sssoooo, I was super excited when Patrice Tipoki's debut album "A Musical Heart" was released. It was actually the first thing I've ever pre-ordered because that's how flipping excited I was for the album to be released.

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMNET INTENDED.
TAKEN FROM THE iTUNES PAGE.

And she did not disappoint.

Here, I'm going to do a brief track-by-track summary:

1. "Shall We Dance?" from "The King And I"
Because why not start an album off with a song with one of the most successful songwriting duos in musical theatre songwriting history, Boubl.... (I know what you were thinking. That comes later.)
It's Rogers and Hammerstein. 
I actually remember "The King And I" as being one of the first musical films I ever saw and I honestly only remember parts of it. The community theatre group (the Irish call it the AmDram,
being amateur drama. So from now on, it'll be AmDram to me.) group I'm a part of did it in 2005 (eight years before I joined) and all I can say now, is that Patrice's cover has made me want to revisit the film. Or see the stage show. Or whatever I can get these chubby hands of mine on.

2. "I Dreamed A Dream" from "Les Misérables"
Here's the Boublil and Schönburg I promised.
It would probably be a dick move not to cover "I Dreamed A Dream" on one's debut album whilst being the CURRENT Fantine, now, wouldn't it?
When I saw the show on the 2nd of August last year,  (I'm really good with dates. It freaks people out. It freaks ME out.) Patrice did this GOOOOOORGEOUSLY. And this version is even better. Probably because you can do takes when you're recording an album (not that Patrice needed the extra work but the option's great for perfectionists, isn't it?)
I have no words on how much I love it. And I'm glad it was kept fairly traditional.

3. "Defying Gravity" from "Wicked"
Bit of a belt? Don't mind if I do. And like "I Dreamed A Dream", I am so pleased this was kept fairly traditional. But some of those lovely notes.....

Holy shit.

4. "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" from "The Lion King" 

The best way to Little Ti's heart? A Disney cover. 

I have no words. Just gorgeous. But I LOVE the African vibe. Sah pretteh.

Even though the song is traditionally a ballad, this is a great twist. 

5. "Anyone Can Whistle"

I'm not going to lie. I'm not exactly familiar with the show, "Anyone Can Whistle". But I loved the Patrice's version of the song. Get back to me when I've heard a bit more about the show ;)

6. "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers

A soppy love ballad? Tick.

A beautifully-voiced co-star to duet with? Tick. 

Patrice's "Les Misérables" co-star, Simon Gleeson (Jean Valjean) duets with her on this track sickeningly beautifully. Does that make sense? Does now.

And again, keeping it traditional. I like traditional.

7. "Tonight" from "West Side Story"

This is getting a bit repetitive, isn't I don't have a lot of words to describe my love for this album.
Now, I've never really gotten into "West Side Story", but this is wonderful. I don't mind somebody who can not only belt (referencing back to "Defying Gravity", but uses their head voice beautifully. Not a lot of people can do that. It's often one or the other. Even with trained theatre actresses. But this, again, was GOOOOORGEOUUSSSSS.

8. "Somebody To Love" by Queen

I'm a little sick of using the word 'traditional', but this was kept on the traditional side, with a bit of a gospel vibe. And I love it. The acapella "Find me somebody to love" part was kept in. Wait, of course it was kept in. This is a Queen song. 

And Queen is classic.

Because rock ballads are life.

9. "I'm Not Afraid Of Anything" by Jason Robert Brown

This, like "Anyone Can Whistle", I wasn't particularly familiar with, but it's well-done, and like many Jason Robert Brown songs, it tells a convincing story. And Patrice tells that story beautifully.

10. "Beauty And The Beast"

I'm not going to lie. I must've been hormonal when I heard this, because I cried. 

This is one of my favourite Disney songs... and... excuse me, I *sobs* need a moment.
I literally have no words to describe the perfection that is this track. A FAN-FLIPPING-TASTIC WAY TO END AN ALBUM!

I said this was going to be brief. 

I lied.
Sorry.
Sort of. 

Anywho, I'm out.

Have a wonderful day (it's actually night here, but you know the sentiment) and stay classy, kids!

Tiarna Ellen 

xx

Introductory Post: Review on Australis' Velourlips Matte Lip Creams

Hello, pretty people!
So, I thought as an introductory post, I thought I'd do one of my favourite things: review a makeup product.

So this, ladies and gentlemen (but mainly ladies), is Australis' Velourlips Matte Lip Cream. Two of them in fact, of the extensive range of 15 shades, all with city names spelled in a alternative way, I guess in a more phonetic way, such as "DOO-BAI", "PAR-EE", "MI-A-MI", "RIO-D" and "LUN-DUN", but here, we have "NY-CEE" and "MAL-I-BOO". 

 

The red colour is "NY-CEE" and the pink is "MAL-I-BOO"

I sincerely do apologise for the less-than-flattering photos. It's 8am. On a Monday. On my day off. Pre-coffee.

Trying on "NY-CEE"

Trying on "MAL-I-BOO", a shade I'm not too fond of, but with my blonde hair, maybe I should try a pre-lipo Barbie SFX look ;)

I can't even tell you how great the quality is! Last Tuesday, I put it on at 7am and this is how it looked at 5pm, no reapplications, and loads of junk food that day. That is like, 10 hours of lipstick awesome!

Yes, there's just the outline, but TEN HOURS, COME ON!

The texture going on is super creamy, but it dries without going flaky. And for those who are concerned, the product is vegan-friendly!

The Lip Creams are $9.95 each and I think that is money well spent!

Have a wonderful day, and stay classy, kids!

Tiarna Ellen

xx