I was wandering if after all these years, you'd read a brush review written by me?

Hellooooo, are you well?

Sorry couldn't help myself there, but Hi! I'm back permentantly or indefinitely who knows but I'll never force myself to write a blog as I wouldn't want to deliver  you anything less than the top notch wit and poorly executed banter you've grown accustomed too.
  I am a little bit sorry I've been gone for so long, but my mental blockage was worse than your husbands the morning after you went out for an all you can eat buffet!

Anyway enough about me and your husband, how are you?
Now I've noticed that everyone is going absolutely bat shit crazy over Christmas this year, not gonna lie to you myself included. But you know its bad when it's only bloody November and already your local Home Bargains has nearly sold out of tacky baubles and elf related crockery.
Sacrilege.
(Admittedly I did buy myself an incorrectly sewn banner from there last week, but like I said they'd nearly sold out!)

All bitching about Home Bargains and Christmas aside today's blog is a review (did the title give you an inkling?) about some rather cheap brushes I ordered from Amazon for only £6.99!!! UBLOODYWOT?! Now I have had a set of these brushes before but these came from a different seller so I figured they would most probably come from a different batch. (and I was right *evil laughs*)

When  buying cheap or dupe makeup brushes it's important to know what you're looking for. But I'll explain that a bit further down. After paying pittance for delivery aswell these brushes arrived pretty quickly from hong-kong or somewhere in that general direction, in perfect condition. The brushes themselves are a sleek matte black with a silver ferrule and the bristles are well glued. The bristles themselves are made out of a synthetic material called Taklon that's designed to put back down what it picks up.

(Please read my makeup brush cleaning post for more info on Taklon and retaining the longevity of the glue in the Ferrules of brushes.)

There are 10 brushes all together in this set, 5 face and 5 eye/blending brushes.
Now although I don't really think that the face brushe are that great for applying foundation flawlessly by themselves they can be used as a duet to create a flawless base for yo'face. Using the Angled Kabuki apply your foundation and push it into your skin, then using the large domed buffing brush blend away any harsh lines around your forehead, nose, ears and neck.
The tapered face brush is perfect for applying and blending concealer as the tapered ends allow you to fully get under your tear ducts. The Flat Top kabuki is great for packing on face powder to set/bake your foundation.
*Apply the powder and allow it to set the cream products underneath, after 5-10 minutes using a clean fluffy powder/blush brush blend away any excess product from the skin. This is will set concealers/cream foundations without them going cakey.

The Eye brushes are brilliant, and I find the 'C' brush to be spot on for applying a gradual shadow into the crease of the eye, or blending together transitional colours. The Angled eye brush is great for adding definition to the outer orbital bone, or for blending smokey shadows on the movable eye lid.
The Flat top brush is a bit of a multi tasker as it can do all of the above, but it's also fabulous for strobing with or defining your contour. (Remember always blend your contour line upwards to your cheek bone rather than down so you don't get left with a muddy toned complexion.)

As I mentioned above here's a couple of tips on making sure that the cheaper brushes you're purchasing will still to do the job:

• Test how well the brush will blend product by moving it in circles on the back of your hand. If the bristles bend into eachother and overlap they may have been too tightly packed meaning they will break the colour pigmentation in powdered products and it will apply scratchily. 
• Test the Ferrule, give it a bit of a squeeze and a jiggle in your hand. If it doesn't move the bristles are glued solidly into place. 
• Alternatively grasp a couple of the bristles and give them the gentlest of tugs, if bristles fall out of the Ferrule they are badly glued and will most likely shed when you apply your makeup. (This can happen with the most expensive of brushes, OVER a period of time.) 

As always when reviewing things for you I have given you my full and entirely honest opinion. I've been using these brushes regularly since they were delivered so I would be able to deliver you with the full and honest review you deserve. Thank you so much for taking the time to read me drivel on about cheap makeup brushes, I really hope you enjoyed. If you do wish to purchase these brushes I will leave a link below. 

Until next time lovely blogger folk, 

'The Average Mum' x.

Make Up brush link:

www.cheapbrushesoffamazon.co.uk

Ombré lip tutorial.

Hello lovies, 

I hope you're all well. Today I had some wonderful news that my girlies have been accepted into the primary school we really wanted them too, so it's safe to say I'm over the moon! Now today's blog is going to be an ombré lip tutorial, ooh look another blog another self explanatory title. I've been messing around with this look for a while, and I think for day time or night time wear ombré lips are the way forward. 

They're also bloody easy to achieve! You'll need a dark lip liner, and a lighter lipstick of the same colour family. Or if you fancy you can mess around with some different colours, if you're into the crazy lips hype. 

I like to carve out my lips afterward with a skin toned concealer as it tidies up any mishaps, and gives them a bit of a highlight. 

I didn't even have to break this down, because it really is just this easy to do. 

Get started by lining your lips, I like to overline mine slightly, I know I know never been done before! My top lip is woefully small compared to my bottom lip so I like to think this evens it out a bit more! 

Once you've lined your lips fill in the outer corners with liner dragging it towards the centre. 

Ensure that the top & bottom lip are even with eachother then pat your lips to really push the liner into every crevice. 

Using your lighter lipstick and a small lip brush fill in the centre of your lips, then blend together. 

After doing that touch up the liner, and your done! It really is THAT simple! 

If you like as I mentioned earlier you can use a skin toned highlighting concealer to tidy up your lips and to carve them out allowing them to pop that tiny bit more.
 Also if like me you only have one half of the Kylie Jenner lips ombré lips are a great way to achieve fuller looking lips in a natural way.. Cough... *KylieJennerLipChallenge*

I hope you enjoyed reading, and if you have any tips on achieving an ombré lip please do tell :) as always Thankyou for reading and please feel free to comment, +1 and share! 

Until next time lovely blogger folk, 

'The Average Mum' x.  

A guide to the survival of long car journeys with children.

                                            Hello lovely blogger people,

I hope you're all well, now it's supposed to be summer but as I sit here typing this I look up at my window to see quite a dreary landscape before me, yay for England.

 Now it's gotten to that time of year where we've paid off the holiday and all that remains is too pack. Oh the joys, but also if like us you're not quite brave enough (or rich enough) to take your children abroad. So.. you also have a revoltingly long car journey ahead of you, and throw a couple of winging toddlers into the midst of you and your other half arguing over directions in a hot car on the M1 and it's fucking pandemonium. 

So I've compiled a list of peace keeping devices, to help this run as smoothly as possible (HA) Okay, to occupy the kids and help you to maintain atleast a small part of your sanity. 

1 - New books/colouring books, you can literally buy these for a few pounds from any shop. If your able to keep them away from prying sticky toddler hands until you set off to your holiday destination, this will enable you to create a distraction for your child to save the first initial 20minutes of ' where, why, how come, how long, and can we go homes.'

2. I find that a nice selection of snacks also helps to create peace in the car, eg; 

Child starts to winge..

- Mother "here have a snack" shoves food in child's mouth, child is instantly silenced.  

I like to pick sugar free or low sugar snacks, as nothing is worse than being stuck in what is essentially an oversized  tin on wheels with two hyper toddlers. 

3. A selection of music that you all like, We all have those songs that we stick on and the kids start bopping too, so stick them on in the car and you & Daddy can have a good laugh listening to the kids wail along. 

4. A bag of small toys, activities. Again just like with the books I like to keep some activities and small toys on me that aren't necessarily new but they don't know I've packed, so it's a nice surprise and distraction at the same time. - The smaller the better as bulky things tend to fall out onto the floor then you have to get into some crazy contortionist position to pick it up and hand it back to your demanding toddler. Kids are so lovely! 

5. Last but not least because everyone's on holiday here..  Some Sneaky treats for you and your partner to munch on during the drive up. If you can hide them from the kids that is! Oh and let's not forget to pray that the rocking motions of the car will lull them into a deep sleep for the journey like it did when they were babies, hahahaha I know I was a comedian in a past life clearly!  

All that being said though, I can't wait to get away for a bit with ma familia, and I hope everyone thoroughly enjoys their time away with the sprogs! If you have any other useful tips on the survival of long car journeys with kids, please do tell! 

As always Thankyou for reading, and please feel free to comment, +1 and share! 

Until next time lovely blogger folk.. 

'The Average Mum' x. 

IG - @tonitownsley 

Twitter - @tonitownsley 

- Product Review - 'Flawless by Sonya, for Aloe Forever'

'Infused with the goodness of Aloe and the latest innovations that nature and science offer, flawless by Sonya products empower women from around the world to explore and express their individual perception of beauty.'


Hey lovelies,

As always I'm back with my tail between my legs realising quite unfortunately that it has been some time since I last blogged, but I'm back. With a ridiculous amount of back log to upload, and unfortunately no spare time to do so! Oh well, I hope you're all well, and had a lovely Easter Bank Holiday weekend. As always with Easter there's been (fingers crossed) the last wave of bad weather, clearing the skies for SPRIIIING! Eventually. It's so nice to see sun again, although it's made me realise just how dusty my house has gotten throughout the duration of Winter.

I'm quite excited to write this blog, for it is the first product I have actually been asked to review for someone! I'm sure everyone by now has heard of the MLM marketing company 'Aloe Forever' they specialise in producing life changing aloe vera based products, that range from tooth paste to hayfever tablets. It's quite clever really, who knew Aloe vera could possibly go into so many different things?!

BUT one thing I wasn't aware of was the Aloe Vera inspired make up products, that could really come in handy for anyone with sensitive skin or people who just don't like the long list of unexplainable ingrediants that appears to go into most make ups. Along side the make up products also comes a great range of pre make up and post make up skin care products to help you keep your skin in top nick despite the level of coverage you tend to go for.

Now I was given a big range of products to play with, but due to the sheer size of it I couldn't review each product seperately as I'd be here all day and night reading, and you'd probably need a multipack of redbull to get you through. So naturally I decided to pick out a few of my favourites that I will definitely be purchasing! 

*DISCLAIMER* Please be aware all thoughts and opinions stated are entirely that of my own and I was not paid to advertise this product but did so willingly.* 

Sonya Skincare collection;

'The Sonya Skincare Range is a breakthrough in anti-ageing technology. The collection contains five fundamental elements for cleansing, moisturising, and maintaining beautiful, healthy, radiant skin.'

• The first product that I really loved and found to be extremely soothing and beneficial was the 'Refreshing Toner' 6floz/ 177ml.  This aloe based toner is also infused with white tea, I found the concoction of both scents to be quite soothing and refreshing before applying my makeup, and after removing it. 
• The second product on my list is 'Aloe Deep Moisturising Cream' 2.5oz/71g. This Aloe and pine bark extract infused moisturiser helped my skin to feel fuller and softer, and also claims to help stregnthen the skins natural collagen. (No wrinkles lads, no wrinkles.)  Apply after toning your skin, for that final transition into a fully rested face. 

- I HONESTLY thought I had made notes about more of the skincare range than that, but apparently it was mainly copious amounts of make up products, that's not like me... oh yes, it is.

Sonya Flawless Make Up Collection:

• The first makeup product I HAVE go to tell you about is the bloody bootiful BB Cream, oh my gaaaaawwwwd. It's amazing, I don't think I've ever quite felt anything like it, it's literally weightless and comes in two shades that adapt to your natural skin tone. The coverage as with most BB creams is quite light, but buildable and also long lasting which is something I really struggle with, even using expensive foundations. This BB Cream sets to be somewhere in the middle of matte - dewy skin. It's also perfect for the upcoming summer months as it can also be worn on it's own as a tinted moisturiser boasting an SPF level of 20, BOOM buy it. 
• The second is a product that compliments the first perfectly, and is the 'Delicate Finishing Powder' being just that, now we've all made the mistake of buying a £2,00 Miss Sporty face powder from Superdrug, using it to set our under eyes and looking like someones chewed on a cookie spat it up there, than left it to dry. Cakey is not even the word. Fortunately with this amazingly delicate powder that doesn't happen regardless of how much you slap on your face, love it. The formula isn't too chalky or that powdery either so it clings to your skin in a way that sets your make up but allows your skin to breathe a bit at the same time. 
• Now I don't know you but I REALLY hate buying blushes. They always literally always swatch well, apply like coco the clown, or they just don't apply at all. WHY?! Anyway, I think I've found some blushes worth actually buying because they actually work and are fabulous! I had two shades to choose from, 'Aanya & Mia'.

'Aanya' is a dusky pink, with coral undertones. It looks quite shimmery but applies almost completely matte and looks beautiful when blended into a matte contour. It kind of reminds me of that classic madonna-esque cheek heavily contoured, with a dark pop of rouge at the top. Completely sexy, completely sultry, oh so wearable. It also passes my three ticks when coming to make up, 'Good wearability, Good colour pay off, Worth the money'.
The second blush 'Mia' is  peachy toned  with nude pink undertones, the formula has some iridescent ran through to create a subtle flush to the skin tone with natural looking highlight. Beautiful for day time wear, and spring! This could also be a cheaper alternative to 'Nars Super Orgasm Blush'.

• Last but not least is the fabulous brush kit that they offer. For just £24.00 you can get a whole kit of brushes, literally everything you could need to create a perfect base of makeup, Obviously there are other brushes in the world, but these are the essentials. They look pretty snazzy too, and come displayed in a kind of metallic purple pleather zip case that also doubles as a brush stand for when you want to go all M.U.A! The brushes themselves are also a deep metallic purple, with navy/black taklon bristles. (Taklon is a synthetic hair, desgined for makeup brushes. Brushes with taklon bristles are more hygienic as they are designed to put down what they pick up, where as bristles made out of real hair harbor old makeup and bacteria.) This nifty little set includes:
• Powder Brush
• Blush Brush
• Flat Foundation Brush
• Concealer Brush
• Lip Brush
• Eyeliner Brush
• Crease Brush
• Flat Eye Shadow Brush
• Eyebrow Tool

I don't have prices for each individual product, but if you have found this via my facebook or instagram please contact me and I will be able to put you in contact with a very lovely lady who has her own Aloe Forever business. If you found this through other ways, ask around in your area for your local representative, this wonderful business is rapidly growing and changing peoples lives along the way. Also please don't forget that Aloe Forever do a massive range of health beneficial Aloe Vera products which you can have a mooch through on their website:

  www.foreverliving.com 

As always thankyou for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to comment, +1 or follow me on Google+! If you've also tried this range, tell me what you thought! Or let me know, if I've managed to persuade you to buy anything! 
Until next time lovely blogger people..
'The Average Mum' x

Go Lush Yourself.

Hello lovely blogger people,

I hope you've had a lovely January, I genuinely can't quite believe how quickly it has flown by. It's been a busy month, but a good one which I take to be a good omen! Starting off the year well can only be a good thing, right?!

 Today's blogpost is about my preferred skin care routine, and the products that I personally find work best for my dry/oily combination skin! So if you have the same type of skin the chances are that they'll probably work for you too. As always I'm sure you've gathered from the self-explanatory title that my preferred skincare is from Lush Cosmetics. Just a little bit of info about Lush, this company is just insane. They have the best ethics, morals and drive to please their customers, AND all of their products are 100% organic, naturally tested and nasty chemical free! They also fight very strongly against Animal testing, which I love. Basically if cosmetics was a war, Lush would win. 

*DISCLAIMER - no products mentioned in this blogpost are pushed or sponsored. The opinions given are entirely that of my own.*  

Taking good care of your skin is important to everyone but even more so to those who tend to wear a lot of make up. Covering your skin with as much Studio Fix foundation your Stippling Brush can hold is fine.... as long as your protecting the skin it's being applied onto. You need to prep your skin for make up, and clean your skin thoroughly after wearing it. 

The reason you wash your skin beforehand is pretty much the same reason we wash our faces every morning to clear out any dirt and sweat that may have gathered in our pores whilst we were sleeping. Once you've removed your makeup thoroughly with makeup remover or even a god awful wipe if you're into that third world kind of stuff, you then need to cleanse and tone your skin. Removing make up does exactly just that, it removes the makeup. It doesn't clean into your pores, dragging and pulling out any residual makeup. 

The key to finding a good skin care routine that works for you, is understanding the different stages that your skin goes through, and also understanding that it is possible to build up an immunity to certain products especially strong alcohol based ones *cough* clearasil*cough*. 

The product itself hasn't just stopped working, it's because your skin has changed which can happen all the time no matter how old you are, or what sex you are.  Your skin needs something that's going to do the job efficiently without being too harsh.

I recently discovered that my normal mask/cleanser 'Mask of Magnaminty' also from Lush, was far too harsh for my face at that time so I decided to change my cleanser to 'Angels On Bare Skin' and my god is it angelic, you know on those days when you've removed your make up and your skin feels that irritable you just want to claw your face off and feed it to a pigeon? 

This is what you need. It's gentle and soothing due to the Lavender and Rose Absolute properties whilst it also helps to even out skin tone and improve the health of it. I statrted using this a couple of months ago because I wanted to give it a really good try before I recommended it to any one and have definitely noticed a considerable change in my skin since then. This retails online or instore for £6.75 100 grams.

The second stage of my skincare routine after cleansing , is toning. I use a toner called  Eau Roma Water, with a small cotton ball or pad.

 My skin gets quite blotchy and I'm presuming it's because a lot of foundations feel quite heavy against my fairly sensitive skin. Alot of the time I tend to wear a BB cream because since using Angels On Bare Skin I don't need an awful lot of coverage. This toning water is perfectly calming with Rose and Lavender that also offers cleansing properties leaving skin extremely cleansed and calmed. This retails online or instore for £4.25 per 100g or £7.95 200g (p.s I didn't know it was possible to measure water in grams, I feel really thick. Thought I ought to share!)

My third and final stage is moisturiser! I spent along time deliberating on which moisturiser was the best one for my skin, a lot of the previous ones that I'd used always felt like I was clogging it up rather than adding moisture so for a very long time I opted not to moisturise! Naughty, I know but that all changed when I purchased Angels On Bare Skin and maybe okay definitely allowed myself to be talked into buying Lush's amazing  'Cosmetic Lad' yes, I know it's supposed to work better for men BUT just like mens deodorant this shit works, and then works some more! I've never felt a moisturising cream that's quite as nourishing as this or quite as light. 

A quick tip, if you really feel like a no make up day but have to nip to the shop simply slather some of this on your skin, fill in your brows and the jobs a good'un. This moisturiser leaves skin feeling soft and smooth whilst also appearing illuminated. Also seeing as this is what its designed for, use it after shaving for silky smooth lavender honey scented pins, pits or... bits?! This retails at £12.50 for 45g of product and is worth every single penny! 

All of the products I mentioned in todays blog are available online at

https://www.lush.co.uk/

If you have any Lush favs, that I've not mentioned on here before please do leave me a line below in the comments telling me which, or if you use any of these in your daily routine and have noticed a change in skin I'd love to read about it!

As always, thankyou for reading lovelies and please feel free to comment, +1 and share! 

Until next time lovely blogger folk,

'The Average Mum'. x

#girlfromthepublictodominicanrepublic

Hello lovely blogger folks, 

Calling all lovely single ladies. 

Now I'm not one to normally do this but a friend in need is a friend indeed!  

#girlfromthepublictodominicanrepublic 

My friends girlfriend has left him 5 weeks before the wedding, there's no hard feelings! But unfortunately he's now left with no one to share the amazing 4*star all inclusive honeymoon with! 

He's worked his little bum off to pay for this once in a lifetime trip, and this is where you my lovely readers come into it. Do you fancy a one off trip, and a chance to create a bond with another person that you probably won't get a chance to create again? 

John is offering YOU the chance to accompany him, all you have to do is follow this link to YouTube where his video will explain EVERYTHING. Get clicking ladies! 

www.youtube.com/girlfromthepublictodominicanrepublic

New Year, New BOOKS!

Hello lovely blogger folk, 

Happy new year to you all!
 I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. Sorry that I've been a bit of a ghost recently in terms of actually writing and posting a blog. It's been ridiculously busy as I'm sure you can imagine. The girls had a really lovely Christmas this year, and for the duration of December we had a little visitor from the North Pole. The Elf On The Shelf - ours is named Patch. He got up to lots of elfish antics and the twins loved it, he also encouraged good behaviour in preparation for Santa, it's essentially bribery for children.. In it's nicest form! 

But it's also a bucket full of fun, and I really recommend it if you have young children or older children who are beginning to wonder if it's all just made up rubbish.. 

Now enough waffle about Christmas and elves, let's go down to it. I've only made one New Years resolution and I wouldn't even particularly deem it as that. It's more of a challenge. 

To read 20 new books in 2015. 

Just to clarify the books don't have to be NEW just new to me. I want to give my brain a good work out and read all different types of genres. So far I've listed 8 books I plan on reading, leaving me with a further 12 books to find. This is where I'm asking for your help... What should my other 12 books be? 

I've decided not to include any series of books in this challenge, because I don't want to take up a large portion of my list in that way! If you're partaking in any reading challenges this year let me know, I'd love to hear about them( we all know how nosey I am!)
 As I've asked you to recommend a new book to me, I thought it would only be fair to return the favour and recommend one to you! 

'Noughts and Crosses - By Malorie Blackman' 

 I read this book when I was a teenager, and found it to be quite an eye opener. Although it is a young persons book I recommend for anyone of any age to read it, it will change your perspective on a lot of things. It's the first part of an astounding,  moving trilogy following the lives of Sephy and Callum, the Nought & the Cross. 
It's available on amazon, as always the link will be below! 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Noughts-Crosses

Thankyou for reading, and I look forward to receiving some book recommendations! As always feel free to comment, share, or +1! 

- as a little side note tomorrow I will be uploading a beauty tutorial about Contouring and Highlighting! I hope you enjoy. 

Until next time, 

'The Average Mum' x.