Eau de Philae - Boisée Parfum for Him

The Amazing Blog HQ has been touched by La Dolce Vita this week after a wonderful few weeks spent exploring the glories of the Italian Riviera - great food, delicious wine, inspiring company, and all with the sumptuous backdrop of a beautiful country. In no small part, this has inspired our #amazingfinds.

One of our exciting discoveries, amidst all the romance and splendour of centuries of tradition, was to be found encapsulated in a most attractive glass bottle. In many ways, traditional in design, Eau de Philae's Boisée Parfum is a refreshing fragrance which packs quite a punch on the scent spectrum. Boisée Eau De Parfum should certainly be given the whiff test if you like your aftershaves to be fresh, but not too flowery. Brought out to stand alongside some equally evocative options, such as Eau De Parfum Bouquet For Her in the Eau de Philae Range, it is similarly organic and holds vegan-friendly accreditation, created by InLight Beauty’s partners C.E.M.O.N Homeopathics in Italy.

For Him, however, we are offered a mysterious woody scent, with zesty fresh accents to awaken the senses; although interestingly, the overall fragrance is quite formal, giving an almost reserved result. They say: “Due to the wheat-derived organic alcohol and high content of medicinal plant extracts, Boisée Eau de Parfum is a completely natural fragrance, in tune with the body’s natural vibrations and as such is a richly sensory experience enhancing both health and wellbeing.” Despite this glorious concoction being prepared in Naples, the original recipes hail from Ancient Egypt - the island of Philae to be exact … 4000 years is probably just about enough time to get it right! It has 82% organic ingredients, and you will be glad to hear that the price is not a Pharoah’s ransom, at around £42 for 50ml and available online from here.

Heathcote & Ivory - Vintage & Co: Braids & Blooms

It's 'Bon voyage' with Heathcote & Ivory’s new and bestselling Vintage & Co Braids & Blooms collection. This Inflight Essentials pack comes well-equipped with a travel sized hand cream, a sanitiser and calming gel, a set of designer playing cards and earplugs. You can find all of your travelling necessities inside this 'Braids & Booms' vintage-inspired package. The Amazing Blog has tried many of their charmingly designed products, see here for their drawer liners. We were therefore excited to try their new travel kit, a product now at the top of our packing list.

We are always itching to get away on our travels, but with that, we are faced with dreaded travel days. From a restless night’s sleep, hoping that we don’t snooze through our alarms, to praying that the weather will cooperate to avoid any delays - we are ready to depart both looking, and feeling exhausted! 

However, with this handy Inflight Essentials kit, you are offered a much needed and calming in-flight routine. First, sanitise your hands, a welcome ritual after fiddling around with luggage. Then, apply the calming gel, which is infused with lavender, to relieve anxieties and aid sleep. Slip in your earplugs, massage your hands with the shea butter and vitamin E enriched hand cream, and close your eyes. If you do have trouble sleeping, take out the playing cards to keep yourself occupied with a solo game of patience, or perhaps persuade your neighbour to a quick game of poker! You can purchase your travel pack here for £12.00.

April Aromatics – Rose L'Orange

It’s always exciting to search for that special fragrance, that you can claim as your very own. Here at The Amazing Blog one of us has found their ideal feminine summer fragrance, Rose L’Orange, the perfect combination for our balmy summer and from one of our favourite fragrance houses. We are excited to be reviewing once again, April Aromatics. April Aromatics is a fabulous organic perfume brand, which we discovered for a past Friday Favourites, see here. The creator, Tanja Bochnig’s mission is as follows: “To create perfumes that not only smell good but make you feel good, from the inside out.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves!

April Aromatics takes a holistic approach to their fragrances and instil the scents with essences, together with semiprecious stones, which help to give the wearer both harmony and vibrancy. This mind body and soul approach is what makes their scents particularly special and unique. We also like that wherever possible, the ingredients are pure and natural, no animal ingredients are used (except beeswax), and the Eau de Parfums contain essences based on a blend of grape spirit.

Out of the fifteen Eau de Parfums, we asked to try the soft sweet and flowery scent, Rose L’Orange. Once applied, the fragrance mixes with the warmth of the skin and exudes a delicious fresh floral and fruity sophistication. Beautifully blended, both the rose and citrus are in tandem, gently lingering in perfect harmony, not overpowering each other. The undernote of vanilla tames the sweet mixture of rose otto, centifolia, neroli, and mandarin, making it easy to wear from day to night. It is equally suited to wear during our crazily humid 30-degree British summer, as it is soothing, refreshing and grounding. Rose L’Orange contains 100% natural and source-able extracts, together with organic alcohol. The bottle is in a simple cylinder shape, dressed up by the silver lettering on the label. With a turn of the container, the semiprecious stones of clear crystal and Herkimer quartz (a powerful five hundred-million-year-old amplifier of spiritual energy) gently rattle against the glass, evoking not just the sense of smell, but the hearing as well. There is definitely something very moreish about this fragrance.You can purchase April Aromatics’ Rose L’Orange 30ml here for €169.00.

Ludlow Food Centre Blood Orange & Gin Marmalade

If the caffeine hit of an espresso doesn’t quite hit the spot, then perhaps a layer of Ludlow’s Blood Orange & Gin Marmalade spread over a chunky slice of granary toast may do the trick! This delicious pairing is sure to become a staple ingredient to The Amazing Blog’s breakfast table, giving us the juicy sweetness of blood oranges, alongside the tangy decadence of an innocent morning tot of gin! 

This Award winning Blood Orange & Gin Marmalade was created by Darren Marsh and Tess Slater, a pair who have been perfecting marmalades, pickles, jams and preserves together since 2008. The team at The Ludlow Food Centre are justly proud of their new product, which won the top slot in the Best Sweet Preserve/Sauce Category at The Great British Food Awards. These awards celebrate the very best in British Farm Produce and are judged by a panel of celebrity and culinary head honchos with a particular focus on the provenance of each individual ingredient. The Ludlow Food Centre squeeze the blood oranges and grapefruit by hand and produce the marmalade only when the fruit is in season. Chase GB Gin, sourced from a local supplier, is added, and the marmalade is produced in small batches of approximately 30 jars. The marmalade works well in sponge puddings, and also works well to form a syrup for cocktails – Marmalade Martini’s anyone?
 
At £3.99 a jar, this isn’t the least expensive pot on the market, but it is certainly one of the tastiest, and can be ordered from Ludlow Food Centre’s Online Shop. They offer a delivery service Monday through Thursday, or of course, you can collect from their store. All details can be found on their website here.

Underbelly Festival

Every city welcomes the unique, eccentric and unconventional. London is especially no stranger to this. The Amazing Blog appreciates the unusual and fun events that the city puts on, and this programme is no exception. Over the past decade, the Southbank has hosted the Underbelly Festival, and it’s back this summer for another wild experience. Until the end of September, you can purchase tickets to attend live circus, comedy, cabaret and family entertainment. 

Join the live entertainment this month, accompanied by international food and drink, right on the banks of the Thames. Prepare to have your mind blown, according to Time Out, with the showgirls of the House of Burlesque. The provocative performance will have you singing and dancing along with their soundtrack and sing-alongs. Come and celebrate their 7th year performing on the Southbank!  On until 27th September, you can purchase a ticket here for £21.00. The show lasts about 80 minutes.

After you’ve witnessed the revolutionary movement of the House of Burlesque, attend Europe’s most prestigious Burlesque competition, Burlesque Idol 2018. In its 9th year, the competition has produced starlets from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Paris and America. At the event, guests will be greeted by showgirls and given a ballot to vote on their favourite contestant. Help the judges pick the next Burlesque Idol by purchasing tickets here for £21.00.

Next up on the lineup, is cabaret with The Raspberry Cannoli Cabaret and Marcel Lucont’s Cabaret Fantastique. For one night only, on the 19th September, the talented group, Raspberry Cannoli Cabaret will be performing. Tickets can be purchased here from £21.00. Don’t miss out on headliners such as Ray Gelato and the Giants who have played for H.M. Queen, Sir Paul McCartney and Richard Branson. If you can’t make it on the 19th, don’t fret! Marcel Lucont’s Cabaret Fantastique will have shows this month. You can purchase tickets here from £17.00.

Most shows range from £21.00 or less! Find out about the other exciting events happening at the Underbelly Festival. There is something for everyone!