bags

Leather Love

So a couple of weeks ago I found myself wandering around the shops looking for a new pair of black ankle boots - I came across a fantastic sale on the most amazing black leather ankle boots: they fitted perfectly and were completely my style - so perfect. I was more than pleased when I got home and tried them on again, 'the best purchase ever' I thought to myself. However, I didn't really think about protecting them - until I wore them out in the pouring rain on my way to work on Monday morning. I arrived to the office and Edwina, our Executive Editor, told me off and gave me a rather glamorous jar of what looked like a face cream (!) " Go ahead, this is new and probably one the best shoe polish you'll ever use, Lara." So I tried Leather Love's Shoe Polishing Cream... And I must say that my boots (and recently my handbag)  really love it. It has a light creamy texture with a very pleasing smell (and yes, I have to say in haste that could easily be mistaken for an face cream!) Leather Love is inspired by the beauty counters - leather is skin that needs to be cleansed and moisturised just like ours does, so why not have a skincare routine for our leather products too? Leather Love uses a blend of the finest and natural ingredients to create their nourishing formulas and cleaning sprays without being harmful to your leather products or the environment. One of their ingredients is the rather unusual Carnauba Wax that comes from the leaves of the Carnauba Palm grown in Northern Brazil - it's widely used in all forms of polishes and cosmetics, AND even food. In this case it's mixed with Beeswax to treat and waterproof many leather products where it provides a high-gloss finish and it increases the leather's durability.

When it comes to their packaging, it really looks like you're dealing with skincare - the design of the jars is quite exquisite; black with elegant white details (something you wouldn't expect from a shoe polish!) As Michael Davies the co-founders of Leather Love said "We want take our leather care products from being hidden under the kitchen sink to being displayed on the pages of Vogue." The smell is very pure and fresh - it doesn't smell chemically at all, a fact that impressed us all  at The Amazing Blog.

Love Leather gently cleanses and moisturises your prized shoes and bags. Edwina's Temperley bag  after being 'moisturised' by Leather Love survived an express visit to a cold and wintery Glasgow, coming back to London safe and unmarked.  We at The Amazing Blog we can't recommend Leather Love enough to make your precious collection of shoes and bags last forever and ever...

 

 

Heidi Mottram

With the arrival of Spring comes the perfect opportunity to update our winter wardrobes with splashes of colour ready for some sunshine. And with the temperature warming and the evenings getting lighter, never has there been a better time for some new additions to our wardrobes. Here at The Amazing Blog we recently stumbled across Heidi Mottram, a London College of Fashion and Central St. Martin’s graduate with an impeccable background in fashion having worked alongside Vivienne Westwood and Matthew Williamson. Her new SS12 bag and purse collection is full of bright colours and quirky appeal and as well as being one of the first designers in the UK to work with Eel skin, she is also considered one of the best. With no two skins alike, each item is totally unique, and injects a whole lot of fun into any spring outfit.

Heidi has chosen a luck and fortune theme for her new collection, with the ‘Fortune Card Wallet’ and the ‘Talisman Ipad Case’ just a few of the style names.  Each piece has a unique autograph with new silver branded, name plate on the outside and with a wonderful palette of eye-catching colours, the lemon sorbet is our favourite!

The collection for this season is limited to 30 bags and 50 purses, each piece including a certificate of authentication stating the serial number. If you’re interested in distinctive and fabulous colours, textures and shapes, have a look at their list of the UK and web stockists here.  And adding in an extra token of good luck, Heidi Mottram will include a 4 leaf clover charm inside a pocket of every bag or purse!

Considering that, unlike traditional leather, Eel skin does not get damaged when wet, this is the perfect fail safe buy that will see you through spring, summer and beyond!

Next Post

We are all guilty of carting about way too much stuff in our handbags. Currently mine contains, alongside the usual paraphernalia; an ‘emergency’ chocolate stash (Kit Kat Chunky and a Boost in case you were interested), a broken padlock from my bike chain, 2 pairs of sunglasses (for some reason one is not enough) and a carton of Ribena. Consequently I am left feeling disorganised and short on space, a little help and incentive to get my act together would not go amiss.

I love a big bag, but they only serve to encourage me to fill them with yet more bits and pieces I can really live without. British luxury brand Penelope and Parker have come to the rescue with their uber-stylish range of bags, which have the added bonus of being laptop bags in disguise. The Lizi Caramel is my fave, designed to fit a 13.5” laptop in its removable faux fur (purrrr) lined laptop sleeve. It also has the handy additions of a removable makeup/cable bag and shoulder strap. Internal dividers and pockets allow you to go all organisation stations. Or you can remove the dividers, ditch the laptop and live in merry squalor – with a very stylish bag on your arm.

Lizi Caramel £295 is stocked at Selfridges.