Friday Favourites - Hyper Japan

At the top of nearly everyone at The Amazing Blog’s bucket list is to travel to Japan, soak in the culture, food, sights and music. However, Japan isn't just down the road and prices for trips easily enter the thousands, so we have an exciting way for you to get your J-culture fix closer to home; Hyper Japan. Since 2010 this 3-day festival has been giving Londoners a much-needed jolt of Japanese culture. This year it is running from 14th to 16th July.

With over 100 exhibitors at Hyper Japan, expect a sensory overload. You can revel in both Japanese nostalgia and edgy futurism while watching self-produced chiptune TORIENA, who programs her music using two game boys. TOROIENA will even be teaching a class, so you’ll be able to create some unique sounds using your favourite retro devices.  Or if this isn’t your cup of saki why not enjoy KAIEN’s musical performance that incorporates dance, video and 3D holograms for an experience like nothing else you’ve ever seen. Marvel at the Kawaii fashion show, and discover and then shop the cute anime-inspired looks, or explore the Game & Anime Park with an area dedicated to the much loved Nintendo. Japan is famous for its advanced technology, and you can catch a glimpse of it here with the Handroid (hand robot!) demonstration. If you want something a little more traditional, you can try your hand doing some calligraphy, learning origami and making authentic kokeshi dolls. 

If Japanese cuisine gets your taste buds tingling, you'll be thrilled to hear that Hyper Japan has a whole designated EAT-JAPAN section. The food court offers much to choose from, from katsu curry, to maki, to poke bowls, to Sticky Bundits (those rice burgers you may have seen circling Instagram), you really will be spoilt for choice. You can even learn the art of cooking Japanese food here, with a wasabi pizza workshop and a curry workshop, or if you're a dab hand at Japanese cuisine, there is a sushi roll competition.

For your fill of Japanese fun and food click here and purchase your tickets. General entry tickets for Friday and Saturday are £15.00. Tickets for entry after 2.30pm and all Sunday are £17.00. A 3-day pass for the full weekend will cost £43.00. We look forward to seeing you there. 

'Heaven Scents' Discovery Box - The Perfume Society

At The Amazing Blog, we know how easy it is to both love perfume and fragrances but hate shopping for them. It can be daunting, which is why we often stick to one fragrance for years until it’s recognisably our scent. While it can be lovely to have a signature scent, sometimes you want to diversify, but the idea of wading through the scented halls of department stores can be as mentally overwhelming as it is overwhelming for the senses. This is why we are such big fans of The Perfume Society and their Discovery Boxes. We were lucky enough to receive The Heaven Scents Discovery Box, but there are over forty to choose from.

Each discovery box is filled with various perfume samples, allowing you to dabble in different fragrances until you find one, or a few, that you like. We received eight (!) samples in our box, ranging from floral, to fresh, to fruity, to gourmand scents, featuring fragrances from brands such as Prada, Jimmy Choo and Miller Harris. If you're interested in the complexity of perfumes, such as the top notes, heart notes and base notes, then the information cards that come alongside each perfume will be a standout addition for you. We loved this touch as it helped teach us what it was about each perfume that we liked, helping us to discern what we want in a fragrance. The box also contained a gift of a full sized bottle of Judith Williams Body Butter, which smelt so divine we understood why our box was called Heaven Scents!

To purchase your discovery box from only £17.50, or to just learn more about the fantastic world of The Perfume Society, click here.

Ginko & Sabal Fortifying Shampoo by Reseed

All of us here at The Amazing Blog know how powerful and beautiful you can feel when you have a good hair day. Having healthy, full and bouncy hair can transform your confidence. A mere good hair day can help you get your voice heard in an important meeting, make you feel irresistible for a first date, or make wearing that new summer dress, the one that’s been sitting in your cupboard for weeks, a little less scary. For us, Reseed’s miraculous Ginkgo and Sabal Fortifying Shampoo is the product that gives us a spring in our hair and our step.

There is a reason that over 91% of Reseed users would use the products again, and it’s because of the specifically designed 3 step system Reseed has developed. Their products aim to prevent hair loss, restore and promote natural hair growth and strengthen the health of hair. All of which means their products lead to fuller, shinier and healthier hair. The use of biotechnology has led Reseed to develop products using natural ingredients and excluding additives like Minox Idil.  With essential pro-vitamins, this shampoo contains a unique synergy of active ingredients to cleanse away substances that can clog hair follicles (such as pollution, smoke and dirt). In addition, it increases the hair's structural fibres, strengthening the roots of the hair leaving softer, stronger and shinier locks. The Vitamin F Forte in the shampoo contains polyunsaturated essential free fatty acids which revitalise the hair's condition and prevent hair breakage – even after hair straighteners have frazzled the hair! The Vitamin E Acetate is an active antioxidant that is particularly good at protecting hair from the sun. 

This product is founded in nature and science and can do nothing but good in our eyes.  You can purchase Reseed’s Fortifying Shampoo here for £25.00.
 

Zinfandel Candle - Rewined Candles

Here at The Amazing Blog, it is no secret that we are huge fans of scented candles. We love how atmospheric they can be, how a few candles dotted around a room can lift your spirit after a hard day or add intimacy to a dinner with friends; really there is little a candle can't improve. So when we were given a delicate and sultry wine scented candle set in the bottom of a recycled wine bottle, we are in complete awe. Beginning with nothing more than a dream and a discarded wine bottle, Rewined have created some of the most beautifully scented, high-quality soy candles we have ever seen and smelt.

Their candles are 100% Soy wax and burn for up to 80 hours. Available in a variety of delicious and warming wine-inspired scents you won't be able to get enough of these handmade candles.  All of Rewined's candles mimic the flavours and aromas of your favourite wines, from Cabernet and Merlot to Rose and Viognier. We were lucky enough to try the Zinfandel candle which has a robust aroma with the familiar fragrance of tart pomegranate and raspberry, with soothing hints of warm vanilla, amber and cedar wood. This was the perfect candle to light when we needed a little pampering and relaxation time. 

The collection is available here with each candle costing £28.00. Use our specially created discount code to get 10% off of your order by typing Amazing10 at the checkout! 

Assorted Fudge By Buttermilk

Who doesn’t love Cornwall? It’s a beachy county full of ice cream, scones and fudge, and it is the county’s remarkably delicious fudge that The Amazing Blog turns its attention to today.  Buttermilk is a brilliant family run Cornish company that has been creating remarkable artisanal confectionary since 1964. Their award winning treats are lovingly handmade using traditional methods, including copper pans over open flames. As such, they make a host of delicious and mouth-watering confectionary that you should share with the whole family, but won’t want to.

We were spoiled for choice when buttermilk sent over four exciting products, all traditional treats with a tantalising Buttermilk twist. We tried their Caramel Sea Salt Fudge, Cookies and Cream Fudge, Chocolate Almond Brittle and Chocolate Honeycomb. The Cornish honeycomb was marvellous, light and airy it had a bitter sweet juxtaposition in its flavour, as the dark toffee of the honeycomb clashes with the sweet and creamy milk chocolate it’s covered with. The nutty and sweet taste of the chocolate covered and hand broken almond brittle is infused with sea salt that adds a burst of sophistication to a loveable childhood favourite.  Similarly the buttery caramel sea salt fudge crumbles and melts as the opposing flavours of sweet and salty melt together - it’s no surprise this fudge has won awards, its moreish-ness is nearly unparalleled, that is until you try Buttermilk’s new cookie and cream fudge of course. This fudge contains delectable pieces of real chocolate cookies in the perfect, smooth and creamy fudge. For a 150g box of fudge  it starts from £3.75 and the honeycomb and brittles from £3.99. Or if you have a sweet tooth, why not spoil yourself with a 'Taste Them All' mixed pack of 10 varieties for just £38.