Friday Favourites: Lip Balms

Whenever packing our handbags for the day ahead, we at The Amazing Blog always make sure to have lip balm with us. It’s essential to protect lips and as an added bonus it keeps them looking glossy throughout the day.  Today we thought we'd share with you our current favourite lip balms that will keep us pouting all summer!

We’re back and ready for more on A.T Antao products! We particularly enjoyed using the Intelligent Sleep Mask and OMG Eyeliner. The luxury brand founded by Teniya Tao, made their UK debut at the CEW Beauty Awards Product Demonstration Evening earlier this year. After unveiling their newest products, we were excited to try the Colour Awakening Lip Balm. The lip balm is in a sleek black casing and is the perfect  shade for summer. The subtle blush pink gives the lips a natural pop of colour for a simple and feminine look. However, the best part of this product is that the colour will change according to body temperature. Purchase the lip balm here for £8.80 and tell us about your colour-changing story!

Something that we all should be conscious of are the chemicals put into certain beauty products, and thankfully, Nathalie Bonds is one step ahead of us. Bonds began her company during her pregnancy with her son. During this time, she learned not only of the harmful chemicals we consume but of the chemicals in skincare products that have adverse effects on reproduction and developmental issues. She believes that less is more, and in doing so, she has created a natural skincare line that is high-quality and effective. We started using the Revive Lip Balm in spearmint and Bloom Lip Balm in rose geranium. The organic cocoa butter formula moisturises, protects, and improves skin flexibility. Each balm also contains olive oil to help chapped lips and calendula oil to soothe and reduce excess oil. You can purchase the Revive Lip Balm here for £7.00 and the Bloom Lip Balm here for £6.00.

Lastly, with the full-on 30-degree summer here in the UK, we started using Eco Cosmetics’ Lip Care Stick that contains an essential SPF25 to protect our lips from burning. We were eager to try this out after previously using their hair mousse. The stick uses Titanium Dioxide and Karanja Oil to protect from harmful UV rays, and it hydrates the lips with sunflower and pomegranate oils. The balm is light, soft and keeps dryness at bay. Purchase it here for £6.20. Mwah! And enjoy.

Korres – Bergamot & Jasmine Body Milk and Shower Gel

The Amazing Blog is always on the hunt for great-smelling body products that encourage healthy skin. One of our favourite brands is Korres, and as regular readers will know, we have covered many of their products over the years, the most recent being their Yogurt Range. As a natural Greek skincare brand, they have their roots set firmly in Athens; in fact, they started as one of the first ever homoeopathic pharmacy in Greece. Korres’ goal is to mix both nature and science, taking advantage of their extensive scientific resources, for the advancement of clinically safe and effective products.

The latest products from the Korres range that we tried are their Bergamot & Jasmine Body Milk and Shower Gel. The exotic Bergamot & Jasmine are a scent combination to fall in love with! This fragrance isn’t overpowering, in fact, it has a delicate balance of spicy citrus from the bergamot oil, and calming floral bouquet from the Jasmine. Thus making these two products extremely mood enhancing and uplifting to use.

The Body Milk, made from 92% of natural content, is enriched with shea butter, almond oil, active aloe, and pro-vitamin B5, ideal for improving the suppleness of the skin. We mustn't forget to mention that almond oil is a fantastic anti-inflammatory and that aloe vera stimulates cell rejuvenation. The foaming Shower Gel is made from 87% of natural content and is enhanced with moisturising wheat proteins and althea extract, to help maintain natural moisture levels. It also contains active aloe to help reduce signs of ageing. What’s not to love? Purchase Korres’ Bergamot Jasmine Body Milk 200ml for £10.00 here and the Bergamot Jasmine Shower Gel 250ml for £8.00 here.

Map of the Heart – Clear Heart Vol. 1 Perfume

The summer has awoken our senses to fresher and lighter scents. The sun is out and it’s time to tweak our regular signature scent to match the change in temperature. The Amazing Blog has found just the perfume by Map of the Heart, an Australian company whose fragrances originate in France.

Map of the Heart has six unisex fragrances that are meant to 'conjure stories of place and character' and encourage people to challenge whatever life throws up. We tried their Clear Heart Vol. 1 perfume and were blown away by its subtle fragrance layers.

Clear Heart Vol. 1 perfume is inspired by the Australian summer, and we can see why. It has a light mix of soft green florals, combined with salty, and gentle ambery notes. All very reminiscent of balmy care-free days just lazing by the sea and listening to the echo of the lapping waves. When we spritzed and spritzed some more, it really lifted our mood and spirits. The top notes of the scent contain touches of citrus, green leaves, and blackcurrant. The heart of the fragrance has watery notes, Tunisian neroli, orris, and peony. Finally, the base of the perfume contains white cedar wood, Australian sandalwood, incense, and musks - it's truly moreish!

We also can’t get enough of the perfume’s bottle: the recreation of a living, breathing heart. This iconic shape was designed by the legendary Pierre Dinand (YSL ‘Opium’, Calvin Klein ‘Eternity’, Dior ‘Au Savage’). The design is cohesive with Map of the Heart’s desire to focus on the raw and honesty of human life. The question is, who'll be the lucky person taking this bottle of happiness home? I think we'll have to toss a coin for it!

So what happens if you order this and don't like it? There is an option. Map of the Heart fragrances let you try their products, with the option to return. Select LOVE IT, KEEP IT and your order will be shipped with a complimentary sample of your order choice. If you love it and want to keep it, then proceed to open the tissue seal and enjoy. However, if not, follow the instructions under the returns policy, and ensure the order is returned within 14 days of receiving.  Purchase your Clear Heart Vol. 1 perfume by Map of the Heart 90ml here for £150.00 also retailed in Harrods.

O.Moi – All-In-One Multi-Purpose Balm (Fragrance Free)

Why use several products when you could use one? O.Moi is back with their All-In-One Multi-Purpose Balm Fragrance Free. The Amazing Blog are big fans of o.Moi Skincare; in fact, we like the brand so much, that we’ve recently written about o.Moi Skincare’s Botanical Cream Deodorant here and have a few more products to come...

The All-In-One Multi-Purpose Balm Fragrance Free was launched in 2017, as a derived version of the original All-In-One Multi-Purpose Balm. It was formulated without any essential oils, and has a higher content of vitamin E, in comparison with the original balm. It is thus fragrance-free and allergy certified. As winners for two years running in the international 2017 & 2018 Beauty Shortlist Awards, this balm is perfect to heal dry, itchy and irritated skin on the face and body. What sets this natural balm apart from the others on the market, is its ability to heal psoriasis, burns and wounds and we think that this balm's qualities are second to none. It can also be used on the hair to repair, nourish, reduce, and prevent split ends. The balm doesn’t leave the hair greasy, but hydrated and soft. When o.Moi says 'multi-purpose' they truly mean it!

The All-In-One Multi-Purpose Balm Fragrance Free contains only four simple ingredients: Certified organic shea butter, coconut oil, peach kernel oil and vitamin E. NB: In the heat of the summer, we recommend keeping this balm in the fridge so that it doesn't liquefy. For us, this is our number one SOS go-to balm, and we cannot recommend it highly enough. You too can purchase O.Moi’s All-In-One Multi-Purpose Balm - Fragrance-Free 50ml for £48.00 here.

SO Drinks - Mixed Liqueurs

It’s always fun to discover new drinks, especially ones that are perfect for a summer happy hour. The Amazing Blog is excited to announce a new find, the UK drinks company, So Drinks. What we love is that this company only uses fresh and natural ingredients in their spirit distilling process, making sure that everything is concentrate-free. As a family owned and farm-based company, the founding pair Annie & Phillip adore the countryside and their mission is to conserve nature and natural resources wherever possible. The secret to their delicious So Drinks and is that they don’t rush the distilling process. As they put it, they allow the spirits 'to tell us when the product is ready'. What we like is that they use handpicked berries and blooms from the farm to give the spirits that extra bit of oomph. They have many delicious liqueurs all of which we were curious to try: Sloe Gin, Heather Honey infused Sloe Gin, Elderflower Gin, Rhubarb Gin, Christmas Pudding Gin, Cranberry Vodka, and their award-winning Sloe Sherry and Chilli Sherry.

So Drinks were kind enough to send us a selection of five of their different full-bodied spirits to try. Their Sloe Gin is made from handpicked sloes from their farm, which are then soaked in London Dry Gin. Next, we tried the Elderflower Gin Liqueur which has a light, sweet taste, thanks to the fresh elderflower blossom all from So Drinks’ farm hedgerows. This is a great cocktail staple. Their 2017 Great Taste Award winner Sloe Sherry is a sweet mix of handpicked sloe berries, added to premium dry sherry. This combination when chilled, made for the most perfect light-tasting summer aperitif. The Cranberry Vodka Liqueur has more of a full flavour due to the freshness of the cranberries that have been bathed in vodka, excellent over ice or in a cocktail. Finally, we tickled our taste buds with our favourite of the five, their Rhubarb Gin Liqueur all made from home-grown rhubarb; we found this spirit to have a gentle, sweet yet tangy taste. All you need to do is to add the champagne! We think So Drinks is one of our best recent #amazingfinds for spirits. Not only do they make a special gift for those that have everything, but are also a great staple to zhuzh up any drinks cabinet. All of So Drinks’ spirits are available in three sizes: 5cl for £4.95, 20cl for £12.95, and 50cl £24.95. Or you could try their Mixed Gift Box of all five 5cl gins here for £24.95. We hope you have as much fun drinking these as us - 'bottoms up'!