Book

The Perfume Bible

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Working in an office full of women, I often hear about the importance of fragrance. Perfume is said to add a personal signature and a final touch to an elegant outfit. In short, it's a powerful way to make a statement. 

When you’re walking through the crowded London streets, it's hard not to stop and take a whiff of the variety of fragrances around you. However, have you ever stopped to think about the art of perfume? If The Amazing Blog has sparked your curiosity, then go pick up The Perfume Bible by Josephine Fairley and Lorna McKay and learn a thing or two about that scent you put on your body everyday.

The Perfume Bible is your ultimate guide to the world of fragrance. It captures the romance and beauty of perfumery in an informative way that will deepen your appreciation and enjoyment of your favourite perfume bottle.

Josephine Farley, a best-selling author, teamed up with Lorna McKay, the leading fragrance and former Harrods/Liberty fragrance buyer, to create this beautifully-illustrated and comprehensive guide to scent. Packed with insider information from the world’s leading experts and interviews with some of the greatest international perfumes, this book brings together everything you need to know about perfume, including guidance on which ‘scent family’ you’re attracted to, the art of shopping for fragrance, and a run-down of the 100 Perfumes to Try Before You Die.

If you’re a perfume addict or simply a curious person, then get online  and purchase the book for £20 or walk to the nearest bookstore and buy it for £25.

101 Naked Confessions of a Gay Hairdresser

Here at The Amazing Blog, we have a plethora of wonderful friends from all walks of the beauty industry. One hairdresser who is particularly close to our heart is Hair Organics own Terry Wilson, one of the very few talented top stylists and hair colourists that I trust to tame my tresses to perfection. Of course, when we got wind of his new book, we were absolutely thrilled for him, and couldn’t wait to lift the lid on all the juicy gossip that only someone like Terry can give.

101 Naked Confessions of a Gay Hairdresser is a compendium of hilarious anecdotes, entertaining stories and, of course, a hair tip or two. With an impressive 30 years of industry experience under his belt, Terry has worked with everyone, from suburban housewives, celebrities and models, to Her Majesty The Queen, and as a result, he’s managed to compile a tome full of scandals, gossip and invaluable advice that’s sure to keep you intrigued. Although we were enthralled and read from cover to cover, we love that the book is packed with mini chapters, so you don’t have to read it front to back; you can just flick through for a bit of what you fancy. It’s the recipe for a perfect book in our humble opinion.

We love his selection of hot tips about things that you wouldn’t normally think about such as using an all-natural bristle brush which will give you much more shine, or the fact that we are programmed to ‘scrub’ our scalps, whereas we actually need to treat it with the utmost respect and be extremely gentle and ‘condition’ it! My favourite tip is to dissolve some vitamin C in a jug of water rinsing over the hair in order to neutralise and get that post-swim chorine smell out. As a hairdresser, Terry is particularly empathetic with his customers and is a wise and worldly guru on all things hair. As a person, it is safe to say that he can truly brighten the moment and make you smile no matter how your day has been. Bravo for producing this book and we love you Terry! 101 Naked Confessions of A Gay Hairdresser is available for purchase for £9.97 online here.

 

Nail Art by Helena Biggs

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As you’ve probably guessed, we girls at The Amazing Blog are HUGE fans of anything to do with nails or nail art and we are also avid readers of Scratch, the UK’s No.1 nail magazine, which focuses on the latest beauty industry news and nail trends. So when we heard that Scratch’s Deputy Editor Helena Biggs was bringing out her book, Nail Art, we couldn’t wait to get our claws (get it?) into a copy.

Nail Art is a fantastic book, not just for professional nail technicians, but for hobbyists too. The book is really thorough and begins with the basics such as the tools needed to create beautiful nail patterns and how to prepare your nails before you begin. Each chapter has a different theme and focuses on certain types of nail art. The themes range from ‘Fashion-forward fingertips’ to Nail art from the underground’, and every single chapter is packed full of images of beautiful and often intricate nail designs from top nail art professionals. We think it has enough nail art inspiration to last you a lifetime.

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Not only does this book show off some amazing nail artwork, but there are also plenty of nail art tutorials throughout the book to help you to recreate some of the classic and also fashionable nail looks. These tutorials include plenty of photos and a step-by-step guide to help you perfect your desired look, which is great for beginners but also helpful to improve techniques of those already involved in nail art. We were very happy to see some of our favourite Nail Techs featured with breathtaking work from the likes of Megumi Mizuno, Zoe Pocock, Marian Newman and Sam Biddle.

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Our favourite chapters have to be the last two, ‘Intricate Nail Designs’ and ‘Fantasy Fingernails’. These chapters feature a range of stunning photographs of the most intricately detailed nails we have ever seen. Whilst they are perhaps not the most practical of designs they are beautiful pieces of artwork that we could admire for hours. If sculptured nails aren’t your cup of tea, you can find plenty of information and images about a whole range of techniques from dotting tools to nail wraps, to nail caviar. There really is something for everyone in this wonderful book and you are sure to pick up plenty of tips and tricks of the trade to include in your own nail art work.

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If you are a nail art enthusiast too, we highly recommend that you get yourself a copy of this wonderfully informative book, we promise it will become your nail art bible. This fabulous book is so popular that it is currently completely sold out! However the book is being reprinted, so watch this space for more copies that will be available on Amazon and from Waterstones.

The Beauty Detox Solution

The Beauty Detox Solution Book blog image [New] Here at The Amazing Blog we firmly disagree with faddy celeb style diets. We know that eating one type of food for two weeks while standing on one leg is never going to give us a healthy body. If anything, it has been proven that these crash diets lead to you gaining more weight in the long run despite losing a few pounds initially.

We know that a healthy lifestyle, including eating the right foods and regular exercise, is the only way to beat your body blues. So we were very pleased when we came across Kimberly Snyder’s book The Beauty Detox Solution, a diet that is not a fad, but a way of rewriting your lifestyle habits and getting you eating food that is good for you.

We really liked that the first part of this book explained how our bodies really work, and why silly diets do not do any favours for our health. Did you know that just like primates we are designed to live off a diet consisting of mainly plant based foods? Kimberly then explains that we should be eating lots of Alkaline Rich Foods, in order to maintain optimum health.

The next section is our favourite part. It explains what types of things we should eat to keep us looking beautiful. There is a great list of all the types of food that have wonderful beauty boosting properties, and I have to say we have stocked up our cupboards!

The final section is dedicated to the healthy living plan consisting of three distinct phases Blossoming Beauty, Radiant Beauty, and Pure Beauty, the first of which is designed to cleanse your body of the bad things you have eaten, and to introduce healthier alternatives that have health and beauty boosting ingredients.

The book contains a whole host of delicious recipes specifically designed for each phase of the programme so Kimberly really makes these diet changes easy for you. These changes are not a calorie restricted diet, but instead are based on the principle that if you eat the right foods, at the right times, in the right order you help out your body’s digestion and in turn you can lose weight. This is the perfect solution for anyone looking to get healthier and look after their bodies, and this plan is even being followed by celebrities such as Drew Barrymore!

If you are interested in revamping your diet and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, then this book should really be on your bookshelf. Kimbery Snyder’s book, The Beauty Detox Solution is available on Amazon for £7.00, and you can find out more information and articles about her beauty detox on her website.

Sew Over It by Lisa Comfort

sewoveritblogimage Ever wanted to know how to take a piece of clothing you have and make it fit perfectly? Maybe it is a bit too wide in the hips, or a pair of pants that need the hem let out. Possibly you just want to know the finer points of sewing on buttons and appliqués? Well, we here at The Amazing Blog have found the book for you. Sew Over It by Lisa Comfort (Ebury Press, £15) is a book for anyone who is interested in the art (and craft) of sewing. From a beginner to an expert level, this book is full of tips and tricks to benefit from. Lisa Comfort was interested in sewing from a very young age, received a sewing machine, and has since grown her love for the craft into a successful career.

Sew Over It goes from basic steps like needle threading and hand stitches to more advanced sewing techniques and projects.  An entire section is devoted to going through your closet, something many women (like myself) want and need to do. Lisa Comfort teaches you how to sort through what you already have and decide whether it is worth the time to change and repair. You then enter the chapters containing tutorials on customising, altering, and changing your clothing. There are not tutorials devoted to making clothing from scratch, but rather altering to make something fit and look better or applying an appliqué to enhance a garment. Lisa does include full on instructions for making accessories like a vintage scarf belt, a fifties style hair-band and a flower corsage. All of these are sure to make your wardrobe all the more exciting!

All in all, the projects Lisa includes in the book are very achievable and won’t take obscene amounts of time. Perfect fun for weekends and summer!  Sew Over It by Lisa Comfort (Ebury Press, £15) is a book that will enhance any shelf and is perfect for anyone who has ever had a desire to get crafty! If you are interested in taking sewing classes from Lisa Comfort and her team, she offers them at the Sew Over It Café in London as well as stocking plenty of fabrics, notions, and kits at the same location. You can purchase the book and see a list of classes offered on her website and on Amazon.