Friday Favourites - Hand Lotion Feature

Winter is fast approaching and we all know what that means…dry skin! And let me tell you, nothing is worse than dry hands. Here at The Amazing Blog we make sure to keep our hands moisturised every day because hands are one of the first areas of the body to show signs of ageing. Thanks to hand lotions from Heathcote & Ivory, The Somerset Toiletry Company, Burt’s Bees,  Oskia and Boozi Body Care, we can be sure our hands will stay smooth this winter.

Originally inspired by Heathcote & Ivory, Morris & Co. created a collection of hand care treatment that works wonders on your hands. Enriched with Vitamin E, Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, Lemon, Aloe Extracts, Jojoba Oil and Macadamia Oil, the Shea Butter Hand Cream is easily absorbed and gives your hands a velvety feel. The Refining Hand Scrub contains Glycerin, Vitamin A, Vitamin E and Luffa Fruit Power that exfoliates and softens hands. Made with Glycerin, Sunflower Seed Oil, Almond Oil, Aloe Extract, Panthenol and Vitamine E, the Cuticle and Nail Cream works to protect hands and nails. Besides the ingredients, the intricate design of these products will catch your eye and the scent is absolutely wonderful. Even when I'm not using the lotion, I'm always smelling it! You can purchase the gift set here for £15.00.

Utilising the finest ingredients and striving to deliver beautifully packaged products at an affordable price for everyone is the motto of The Somerset Toiletry Company. Its Naturally European Sage Hand Cream does just that. It is paraben and SLS free, making it perfect for sensitive skin. It also moisturises hands, nails and cuticles with its many ingredients, including shea butter and avocado oil while soothing and healing the skin. It's beautiful packaging and fresh fragrances will immediately draw you to the product. Take a visit here and make sure to choose the sage fragrance!

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I've always loved the company Burt’s Bees’ so I was excited to try the Beeswax & Banana Hand Crème, which is super rich and made with all-natural products, such as aloe vera and vitamin E. These ingredients help to moisturise dry skin and the beeswax helps to seal and shield the hands from harsh elements in the environment. Although the lotion can seem a bit heavy and greasy at first, it soon soaks into your hands and lasts all day. You can even use this on your elbows, knees and feet! Plus, who doesn’t like the smell of banana? Browse around the website, and make sure to pick up the Beeswax & Banana Hand Crème. 

Oskia Renaissance Hand Cream made the 2014 Beauty Shortlist for Best Hand Cream, which isn't a surprise. It is deliciously perfumed with the scents of chamomile and rose. A blend of Macademia Seed, Rose Canina Oils, Swiss Garden Cress, Butterbur and Shea Butter improves hydration and elasticity of the skin and evens skin tone while also reducing inflammation. Organic AHAs improve the suppleness of the skin while also removing dry and dead skin cells. Take a look at the website or purchase the Renaissance Hand Cream for £21.00.

And for those of you not ready to accept the fact that the cold weather is here to stay, Boozi Body Care has the answer. With its set of hand lotions, Boozi Body Care has combined the fruit blends of cocktails with moisturising ingredients, allowing customers to enjoy something fresh and fun. You can now sit in front of the fire with the smell of your favourite cocktail surrounding you and pretend you're back on the beach. Check out the website and buy some lotions with a twist for you, your family or friends!

Each product has its own unique set of ingredients, fragrances, and packaging, so be sure to browse the websites and decide which set of hand lotion would work best for you. We guarantee you will fall in love with at least one of them!

Pure Gold Collagen

It is no secret that a daily dose of collagen is said to work wonders against the pesky effects of ageing. I personally always like to put collagen powders in my raw vegetable juices that I religiously now have 3 mornings a week. However, l decided to try another version separately in the guise of a collagen drink. So I gave a mission to our team at The Amazing Blog to research collagen drinks for me and they stumbled upon our first one which is Pure Gold Collagen 

Pure Gold Collagen is a ready-to-drink liquid beauty supplement, designed to quite literally nourish the body from the inside out and terminate all of the effects of ageing. Never tried taking your daily dose of collagen as a liquid? Well, after quite the extensive amount of research,  Minerva Research Labs, alongside European scientists, have concluded that liquid beauty supplements can be 20 times more effective than both creams and pills. It can also take as little as six weeks to make a difference. So, for those looking for the most natural supplement possible for anti-ageing, this is the product for you.

The method to the madness is a simple sugar-free blend of hydrolysed collagen, hyaluronic acid and Vitamin C. Once these ingredients are mixed into one and digested properly, they work together to target the fibroblast cells in the body and assist them in producing collagen. Overall, they claim that  the result should end in an increase of skin hydration, a decrease of wrinkles, and the general improvement of skin elasticity. Personally, I wasn’t too keen on the taste it was a little too sickly sweet for my palate (but that is just me). I trialled it for 30 days and haven’t noticed any radical change in my skin tone although to be fair I am looking a little more rested.  I would recommend this collagen drink as a great introduction for anyone who is considering added a liquid collagen supplement to their diet.

The Pure Gold Collagen can be purchased at your local Boots or on the Minerva website here for £35.99.

Gousto

To maintain a healthy lifestyle, we at The Amazing Blog find it effective to sit down and plan out our meals for the week. Nevertheless, we are a very busy bunch. Luckily for us, there are companies like Gousto to help make our meal preparation so much easier.

Gousto is an innovative company that shops and delivers all of the ingredients for any tasty meals you desire. Each week, Gousto offers 10 different meals to choose from. Once you have chosen what you want, they deliver all of the ingredients right to your doorstep. No matter how big or small, if it’s included in the recipe, Gousto will put it in your parcel.

One of the best things about Gousto is the quality of the ingredients. The vegetables are all organic, the meat comes from a family owned farm in Devon and the fish comes straight from a fish monger in Scotland. Not only is it convenient and saves time, but it allows you and your family access to only the freshest organic products available.

Gousto boxes contain the needed ingredients for three meals on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Though you may be thinking, ‘What if I’m at work, or unavailable to pick up the products from my home?” Not to worry, because all you need to do is simply let Gousto know where you want your parcel delivered.

We tried a Gousto box with recipes for Moroccan Spiced Lamb with Apricots and Couscous, Cream Pork Steaks with Apple, Thyme & Link and Crunchy Cashew Stir-Fry with Basmati Rice. Not only were these all delicious, but the recipe cards were efficient and simple to use. We enjoyed what we ate and we knew it was quality food.

Box prices vary depending on the meals you choose and the number of people joining you (2 or 4).  All pricing information and other FAQ’s can be found here.

Maison Dog

A dog is a man’s best friend! We at The Amazing Blog love to spoil our pets, and we believe that The Maison Dog is the perfect shop for furry fanatics of all kinds. The Maison Dog just opened its first store in East Dulwich on October 4th. Their website is split into two stores that you can access through the two front doors- ‘Antique Dog’ and ‘Retro Dog’, depending on which you prefer. ‘Antique Dog’ specialises in canine collectibles sourced from all around the globe, while the concept behind ‘Retro Dog’ is that of eco awareness and sustainability. Not really a dog person? Well, for you cat people out there, ‘Maison Kitten’ provides a small range of feline inspired collectibles and antiques as well.

Aside from their gorgeous canine antiques and collectibles, the shop also sells their own range of top quality leashes and collars, all made in England by a top saddlery maker in the finest leather and brass. They will also have luxury dog beds and blankets, toys and other accessories available for purchase.

Finally, the shop offers a fun feature called “Dog of the Week,” starring photographs of real pets sent in by people like you. In order to have a chance at getting your pet featured, send photos of your dog to maisondoglondon@gmail.com and tell the Maison Dog staff all about your little friend. If you are interested in having your pet become “Dog of the Week,” please include the name, sex, likes, dislikes, their favourite food and their favourite toy.

No matter what kind of animal you love or what kind of pet you may have, there is a little something for everyone who genuinely loves their pet. Visit the Maison Dog’s new store at 20 Northcross Road, London SE22 9EU or give them a call at 020 8299 3390.

Take a look at Maison Dog and everything they have to offer here.

Ogilvy's Honey

Have you ever wondered why we seem to pay more attention to our coffees and teas rather than what we add to them? Though UK consumers take pride in our milk and sugars, we at The Amazing Blog believe that honey is one of the most highly underrated sweeteners used every single day. Now that our friends at Ogilvy’s honey have sent us a wide selection of mouth watering flavours, we feel as though our sugar days may be completely over.

We were happy to receive the Honey Tasting Collection gift box, for it features a unique assortment of honey: Balkan Linden, Zambezi Plains, New Zealand Rainforest, and Himalayan Highlands. After sampling a selection of each individual flavour, we were intrigued to discover where each honey was sourced and how it was all prepared.

The Balkan Linden is found in the southern Danube in Serbia and extracted from Linden tree nectar, allowing it to feel airy and be light in strength. The Zambezi Plains flavour is found in the remote Miombo forest at the head of the Zambezi River, making it strong in strength and utterly delicious. The New Zealand Rainforest honey is sourced in the mountainous rain forest in New Zealand’s South Island and the Himalayan Highlands honey is found in the forest of the Himalayan Mountains, in the Kashmir Valleys. Both of the forests the flavours are extracted from are virgin forests, allowing an exotic taste and medium strength.

We were pleasantly surprised by the cooling sensation we felt when we tried the honeys. They are all cold pressed, 100% pure, and were selected to win a variety of stars for the Great Taste Awards.

Most would argue all honey tastes the same, however after trying the wide array of honey Ogilvy's sent us, we’ve realized that is far from the truth. From Eastern Europe to Africa and mildly to strong flavoured, no matter what kind of honey you are searching for, Ogilvy's products are sure to please your taste buds.

The Honey Tasting Collection gift box includes 4 x 42g jars and is available for purchase here, however the company offers a wide selection of other flavours on their website as well.