The Make-Up Manual By Lisa Potter-Dixon

Whether you’re a makeup novice or a regularly wearer looking to learn a trick or two or shake things up a bit, Lisa Potter-Dixon’s Make-Up Manual has some pearls of wisdom for you. Lisa is Head Makeup Artist and Brow Expert for Benefit Cosmetics, so she knows what she’s talking about. This book breaks down makeup to the basics, to show you step-by-step how-to’s. It presents the do’s and don’ts in a completely fool-proof way. Here at The Amazing Blog, we devoured the book within minutes and were amazed at how uncomplicated Lisa makes makeup.

Lisa covers a whole range of topics, such as how to apply blush for your face shape, what colours are best suited for your eyes, how to achieve the much-coveted Feather Brow and how to perfect the feline-flick. Each chapter focuses on a different facial feature, starting with taking care of your skin (combination, dry, normal and oily), to covering imperfections, to brows and the various forms they can take, to cheeks and bone structure (blush, highlighter, bronzer and contour), how to navigate different eye shapes and colours, and finally to the lips (covering nudes, to glosses, to mattes). Importantly, Lisa addresses those of all ages, skin tones and complexions.

What you take away from this book is that makeup doesn’t have to be complicated, even the looks that seem to be more complex. Anyone can achieve a plump pout or a colourful smoky eye.

Purchase The Make-Up Manual here for £10.49.

Friday Favourites - Latest Cookbooks

We love nothing more than making a home cooked meal at The Amazing Blog. We find the process of cooking to be an incredibly therapeutic one, as well as being one of the best ways to make small and easy changes in your life. We’ve always thought that mixing things up in the kitchen is an excellent, if not the best, way to lift yourself from a slump. In fact, many of the best evenings we’ve had, have been sitting around a table with friends sharing a bottle of wine and a delicious and carefully prepared home cooked meal. As such, we are always looking for new cookbooks with exciting, delicious and new recipes for us to try! So here is a review of five of our favourites to help you add a bit of extra spice to the kitchen; from five-star restaurant cuisine to Jewish home cooking,  game day favourites and kitchen hacks! We've even included a special book for all you chocoholics out there!

First on our list is The Mountain Café Cookbook: A Kiwi in the Cairngorms, which was written by the brilliant chef at the Mountain Café in Scotland, Kirsten Gilmour. One of the main reasons we love this book is its inclusivity! In the introduction, Gilmour talks about taking a trip with a coeliac friend and realising how hard it was for her friend to eat food and stay healthy. Despite being told food was safe for her it often wasn’t, and she would suffer the horrible effects later. As such, Gilmore vowed to make food that was reliable for everyone. Her book is filled with mouth-wateringly good recipes and using a key, she takes the care and time to let you know which recipes are gluten-free, vegan, egg free, wheat free and dairy free! It can be a daunting task finding a recipe that is safe or reliable when cooking for a friend with dietary restrictions,  and in our experience has led to less than desirable meals, but with this book in your kitchen those days will be a thing of the past. Having this key takes the pressure off, and you know that everyone will be happy and leave the table feeling safe and looked after.

The book is full of exciting flavours including your favourite classic dishes with restaurant quality twists; such as beef, chorizo and mushroom stew, lamb kofta kebabs and sweet potato, spinach and caramelised onion quiche. The salads in the book were definitely among our favourite recipes, and were so much more than your everyday garden variety salad; our two favourites were the seared lamb, halloumi, orange, roasted carrot and almond salad and the sweet potato, red pepper, pine nut and feta salad. These are delicious as light summer dinners as well as healthy lunches to take with you to work.

You can purchase these wonderful recipes and much more here from £20.00

Diana Falk’s cookbook, The Hungry Fan's Game Day Cookbook: 103 Recipes for Fangating, Eating, Drinking & Watching Sports, is the perfect book for those days when everyone comes over to watch a big game or race. The food is not only fun but delicious, and each recipe is guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser!

The book is a mixture of healthy and decadent ideas, that will all help with the festivity and excitement of your next sports event. From Bacon, Cheddar Spud Nachos to panko and coconut crusted prawns to lentil salad – there is a delicious recipe in here for every sports lover you know. What we think is fabulous about these recipes is that, whether your guests know everything there is to know about sports, or are completely uninterested, both will have a fun time – even if your team loses!

You can purchase this cookbook here for £18.22 and be the MVP of the day!

We cannot think of a more appropriate title for a cookbook, as in Yiddish the word Fress means “to eat copiously and without restraint.” This is exactly what you’ll want to do as you peruse the recipes in this book. Emma Spritz was a finalist on BBC1 Masterchef, and her cookbook brings together a melting pot of Middle-Eastern and Eastern European tastes to create big flavours that are happy and sociable dishes to feed to friends and family. 

We love how unfussy Emma’s style is, her food is all about extracting maximum flavour from the simplest ingredients in the easiest way.  Embracing recipes from Poland, Russia, Israel, North Africa and Algeria, there is bound to be a delicious recipe for you in here. Whether the recipe brings back a homely familiarity or an exotic new flavour you cannot go wrong with these meals and are sure to wow your friends. 

you can purchase Fress: Bold, Fresh Flavours from a Jewish Kitchen here for £17.00 to start cooking these delicious Jewish flavours at home

Next, on our list is Mastering Chocolate: Recipes, Tips and Techniques from a Master Chocolatier - we would be monsters if we didn’t give you at least one indulgent dessert-centric cookbook! If you want to wow your chocoholic friends and be revered as the master of all chocolate, then this book is for you. With twenty recipes from simple truffles to awe-inspiring tiered cakes, this book explains the essential equipment and provides complete step-by-step photos of each stage of every recipe to help you make the most perfect desserts possible.

The book was written by award-winning pastry chef and chocolatier Mark Tilling.  In case you don’t know who he is, he is the twice UK chocolate master and winner of the first series of BBC2’s Bake-off: Crème de la Crème. These recipes have been tried, and tested and are easy enough to tempt beginners while having the perfect range and creativity for professional chefs! We are still on the lookout for another excuse to make the utterly divine chocolate berry tart!

If you fancy becoming a master chocolatier, then you can purchase Tilling’s cookbook here for £20.00.

Now, while this final book is not technically a cookbook, we simply had to share it with you as Kitchen Hacks: Uncommon Solution to Common Problems is a definite must have! The book teaches you brilliant and easy ‘kitchen hacks’ such as how to professionally hull of a strawberry using only a straw, how to easily peel a hard boiled egg, and how to preserve herbs by freezing them in oil for easy and quick use the next time you need them. What we loved about this book is how it has completely revolutionised the way we move around in our kitchen and how we prepare the food we make. It’s taught us new, better and more time efficient techniques. So now when we have a dinner party, it’s an effortless occasion, and we get to spend time with our guests! We cannot imagine our lives without this handy book being within reach.

You can purchase your very own kitchen helper here for £7.99

So what are you waiting for? Anyone of these books will spice up your everyday cooking or impress at your next dinner party or family lunch. So whether you are trying to get out of a slump or looking to dazzle someone, you'll be able to do it with these in your kitchen. 

Grow Your Salon FAST- Kat Smith

There’s not many people that would call themselves a “Queen Bitch” (although all very tongue in cheek) but then again there aren't many people who have had salon success like Kat Smith, author of Grow Your Salon FAST released in September this year. Here is an opportunity for an insight into how the dynamic Kat gained this level of success in the hair salon business, after being the co-owner of our client Hair Organics. So as you can imagine, we at The Amazing Blog knew that we just had to have a quick read…

With a warning that the content inside is “not for the faint hearted or easily offended” in the blurb, from the offset this book is a straight-to-the-point, a commanding read, really making you sit back and reflect on your business model. A short foreword from Jon McCulloch (The Evil Bald Genius) brings the book to the first chapter; a summary of how Kat has come to be the successful businesswoman, that she is today. Topics covered for salon owners include marketing strategies, ideal clients, pricing, online and offline advertising and much more. If you feel like you’re stuck in a rut with your salon business or need something to kick start a change for your salon then this is book for it. We’re sure that you can’t read this direct, demanding book without feeling confused or surprised that you haven’t thought of these ideas and suggestions before. However, we’re even more sure that you will jump out of your seat to implement them.

Jon McColloch suggests only 5% of the readers will follow Kat’s advice, will you be one of those? You can order Grow Your Salon FAST by Kat Smith here for £24.97.

Cookbook Feature - Friday Favourites

At The Amazing Blog we enjoy a variety off delicious food all year round! It can become a routine in the kitchen to cook similar dishes each week when you have a hectic lifestyle that’s why we decided to do a cookbook guide for you. So when you’re at home you can mix it up in the kitchen and refer back to innovative recipes. Here are several essential cookbooks we recommend: Nina Capri, Miso Tasty, Dinner Tonight, Fish and Vegetable Perfection.

Nina Parker dazzled us with her first book exploring St.Tropez after wich; she had her sights sets on the beautiful location of Capri in Italy. Her new cookbook explores the magical part of Italy; through this book you experience the intimate journey Nina went on, exploring the old and the new parts of the city. This book is a representation of Nina’s love and passion for Italian cuisine presenting to us with over 100 original recipes. This is Italian food at its finest this book offers a lighter, healthier approach to cooking also they are gluten free and dairy-free options to choose from in this book including dishes such as breakfast, lunch, appetizers, starters, mains and desserts. Unlike some other cookbooks, this is shot on location of the stunning Amalfi Coast of Carpi alongside the deep blue sea which make the book full of beauty and colour. 

Explore the finest Italian dishes from Nina Parker's book here for £25.00.

The second cookbook we recommend trying is Miso Tasty, for adventurous cooks who would like to explore and expand their repertoire of Japanese dishes. With over 60 recipes to explore there are flavorsome dishes to try from other than just soup. This book shows of versatility of miso, including dips, dressing, marinades and exceptional desserts to discover. This book is an introduction into the history of eating miso regularly and how you take this lifestyle and recipes into your own life, it introduces the heritage and health benefits of Japanese food and focuses on wholesome and nutritious ingredients. The miso expert Bonnie Chung shares his tips and tricks and his expertise's into this book.

If you want to explore the best of Japanese traditional dishes, grab yourself this book here for £14.99.

Dinner can always be a struggle when you’re not sure what you want to eat or bored of eating the same thing. Why not try the book Dinner Tonight by the British food author Lindsey Bareham, this book is a collection of mouth-watering recipes, easy and accessible quick dishes that you can make after a look day at work or a busy day out with the family. This book will become your go to for delicious foods. It is packed with exciting recipes including main dishes and desserts such as polenta with lemon mushrooms, pulled chicken, or a strawberry almond crumble. The book offers a good combination of tasty and imaginative recipes that will be great dishes for your family or your friends to enjoy.

Grab Dinner Tonight for delicious dinners, available here for £20.00.

The last two books have been written by the same author Mat Follas and are exceptional. Mat Follas, winner of UK Masterched show in 2009 wrote Fish which has over 80 inspired dishes sharing his love for fresh fish and seafood. This book is ideal for people who want to explore their cooking skills and learn uncomplicated dishes but taste delicious. Mat touches upon his wealth of experience in cooking down to the basics of preparation whilst enjoying fresh healthy food.

Vegetable Perfection, has over 100 inspired vegetable dishes; Mat shows his passion for vegetarian and vegan recipes. Mat approaches new cooking techniques that modern chefs are embracing adding ingredients to boost texture and flavor, usingvegetables options like kale, cauliflower, humble carrots to cook up a storm.

If you look for sea food and fish made dishes then the book Fish is the one for you, available to purchase here for £16.58. You can also get the Vegetable Perfection here for £14.88.

Father's Day Guide

Here at The Amazing Blog, we think dads are pretty special, so we love to treat them to something they’ll love on Fathers’ Day to say ‘thank you’. For this reason, we have decided to feature four of our favourite gifts for dads! With just one week to go, now is your chance to find the perfect gift for your dad, whether you are on a budget or looking to spoil him!  

For the suave Dad who likes to sport a perfectly coiffed hair-do, the Dapper Dan Cigar Box is the perfect pick. Presented in a sophisticated wooden gift box, your Dad can whip his hair into whatever style he likes, with the choice of three Dapper Dan hair products! You can even throw in a personalised card to tell your Dad just how much he means to you.

Satisfy his stylish side with Dapper Dan here for £60.

For the creative and fun-loving Dad, look no further than Stylophone – the original pocket synthesizer. Take him back to his youth by giving him a gift that lets him make his own music!  This electronic keyboard will get making his own retro sounds: the perfect way to make sure he chills out on the weekend after a long working week.

Treat your musical man to the Stylophone here for £19.99.

For the dad who has a nose for a good scent, why not spoil him with the new fragrance from M.Micallef?  We love the Osaïto scent so much that we’ve even considered gifting it to ourselves, but have decided to save this amazing find for the dads this time. Encased in a luxurious marble-look bottle, this men’s fragrance exhibits notes of citrus, sandalwood, samphire and amber, and is the epitome of sophistication.

A special scent for a special dad, you can find Osaïto here for £195.

For the dad with a beard or a mo, give him the gift of knowledge with A Gentleman’s Guide to Beard and Moustache Management. With this book, your dad will be more fashionable than ever by learning grooming tips inspired by famous facial hair aficionados.

The perfect present for fashion-forward fathers, available here for £6.95.