Meet our featured beauty with brains Tarnya Cook, a beauty and wellness therapist based in the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia. Here is an interview with her.
1. Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.
I am the owner and operator of Tarnya Cook Skin and Wellness, I have been inspired by beauty my whole life but only recently has it become a full time career choice for me. When I was younger I was always doing my friends’ make up, or at home beauty treatments, styling their hair, sometimes even cutting it. I had absolutely no experience, just a passion for doing it and some crazy friends who let me do it. So later on after getting to a cross roads of sorts, I decided it was high time to take it up professionally. I’m now passionate about providing my clients with treatments that not only are results driven but a form of ritualistic self care. Something we all need in our everyday lives. Like my tag line says “Your skin will be glowing, hydrated and plumped. Your soul will be rejuvenated.”.
I’m on my own self love journey, now in my 40’s I’ve realised how important it is to create a life you love and not just play victim to the life you have. I think thats why I’m so drawn to helping others through my own little niche of the beauty and wellness world, not only do I get to help others but I also get to explore my own path and begin a new journey of re-invention. My twenties were all about looking forward to what I thought I needed to be really living and then in my thirties after becoming a mother, I spent a lot of time looking back to what I now had lost from my twenties. So my forties are about just being present, living the life I have and not spending too much time on the what ifs or dwelling on the past. Just trying to accept life where I am and make the most of everyday.
2. Growing up, what were your goals and dreams? Have you fulfilled them?
My goals and dreams have evolved with life and experience. I’ve never been one to only have one destination in mind. I’ve lived my life by allowing opportunity to take me in different directions, to constantly re-visit what makes me happy and most importantly what’s not working for me. I’ve always let go of things that weren’t working for me in terms of jobs, and opportunities that haven’t turned out to be the right fit for me. I don’t believe in the old school beliefs of going to school, getting a job and doing that no matter what for the rest of your life. But I do believe in exploring life and getting out of it the most you can.
3. According to you, what makes a woman truly beautiful?
Beauty is just a concept. Physical beauty is different to everyone, what one person finds attractive another might not. So I think beauty is about being the best you can be which isn’t to be confused with being perfect or setting yourself impossible standards and expectations. Its about being comfortable in your own skin, embracing your own inner beauty and letting that shine through. When we like ourselves, it shows. When we’ve done the work to accept ourselves, it shows. And of course looking after your skin and maintaining a natural glow is of utmost importance!
4. Who or what inspires you?
I’m inspired by people who are going for what they want in life. It doesn’t matter what it is, but if they’ve conquered their own inner critic and are working towards their goals then I find that majorly inspiring. I’ll often be brought to tears by these stories and it doesn’t really matter who it is or what they are achieving, for me its more about that struggle of acheiving. Its not always easy to go after your dreams and the rollercoaster ride can be really hard. So when I see someone achieving a major goal or accomplishment it really triggers an emotional response and a connection in me. And its these connections rather than the people behind the stories that fill me with emotion and inspiration. But of course it would be remiss of me to not say that my kids are a constant source of inspiration. I want my children to be inspired by me, to make what they want out of life. To stray from the normal course and really explore what their passions are and what connects them to their experiences of life.
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