Rouge Bunny Rouge - Aubades and Serenades

One of The Amazing Blog’s favourite pastimes is walking up-and-down the aisles of the cosmetics counters and seeing all the perfectly uniformed new products. While sifting through the rows of make-up, we seem to find ourselves looking at the collections of foundations. We're always searching for a lightweight formula that matches our skin tone during the peaks of summer and winter. This is where Rouge Bunny Rouge’s Aubades and Serenades Colour-Matching Concentrate come in, and their shade of ‘Sonnet’, we couldn’t resist. The Amazing Blog has previously written about many of this company’s products, including the Rose Bunny Rouge eyeshadow, Impalpable Finishing Powder and more.

Long gone are the days of a mismatched foundation. We know finding the perfect foundation for your skin tone can be quite difficult. Rouge Bunny Rouge’s Colour-Matching Concentration helps adjust your foundation with its much-pigmented solution.  The product is easily blended and used year round. As the Colour-Matching Concentrate customises your foundation, your skin will absorb the additional benefits of the product, too. The ingredients within the formula are free of oil, fragrance and parabens. Instead, Rouge Bunny Rouge uses panthenol and vitamin E as a soothing agent, witch hazel to tone and purify and Pansy Extract for moisturising.

Rouge Bunny Rouge advises its users to apply the product after the face has been cleansed and primed. Pump a small amount of this product and your foundation on the back of your hand and then mix the liquids together. To test the colour before applying to the entire face, lightly tap your finger into the liquid and swipe on the jawline. Then, begin blending upwards toward the cheekbones. Continue adding more Colour-Matching Concentrate if necessary, to achieve the right skin tone. What could be easier? You can purchase the product at their website for €44.00.

Belazu Olive Oils

Do you ever wonder where the professional chefs source their ingredients from - not so much the obvious ones which are just a question of researching the supermarket shelves, but more those definitive nuances which play with your taste buds and turn simple dishes into something utterly extraordinary? If so, like us, at The Amazing Blog you should certainly check out The Belazu Ingredient Co, they sound Italian, don’t they? In fact, this exciting company is the product of our own fair island, based in Middlesex, and supplying all manner of goodies to the catering trade throughout the Midlands and the South East; as well as us the consumer.

The team behind Belazu not only offer up their fabulous produce, but also an extensive range of fabulously delicious menu ideas to enable us to get the very best out of their products. The Verdemanda Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a case in point, which we were completely seduced by. We used it in one of their recipes for grilled nectarines and were blown away by the result.  However, brace yourselves for a seemingly simple idea of Tomato Toast, which is transported to gourmet heaven by their Fresh Parsley Extra Virgin Olive Oil, not forgetting to mention their delicious Fresh Basil or Fig Leaf Extra Virgin Olive Oils. These latter three are very special indeed, as they are made by compressing the leaves which are thrown amongst the olives as they are being stone ground. The two oils are cold extracted, already 'fused' together, at least in a culinary sense. In our view, this is what makes these so tasty and special as all the goodness from the leaves is captured together not compromising the flavours. 

Belazu clearly have an acute passion for what they do, and the products they bring sustainably to the marketplace. Their website also offers an insight into the Belazu Foundation, a charity they set up to bring education to the children of Morocco, through their schools and a women’s centre, allowing students to read, write and speak French, Arabic and Berber languages.

The components of The Belazu Ingredients Co reach far and wide, and in the process offer up something very special in their core products, which are available to us all through stockists and of course their website. Prices range from £12 for the 500ml for the moreish Fresh Basil Extra Virgin Oil, to £18.70 for the zesty Fig Leaf Extra Virgin Olive Oil. You will be entranced by the variety and will want to try their recipes, but the best part of this innovative company is that once tasted, you'll just keep coming back for more!

Friday Favourites: Lip Balms

Whenever packing our handbags for the day ahead, we at The Amazing Blog always make sure to have lip balm with us. It’s essential to protect lips and as an added bonus it keeps them looking glossy throughout the day.  Today we thought we'd share with you our current favourite lip balms that will keep us pouting all summer!

We’re back and ready for more on A.T Antao products! We particularly enjoyed using the Intelligent Sleep Mask and OMG Eyeliner. The luxury brand founded by Teniya Tao, made their UK debut at the CEW Beauty Awards Product Demonstration Evening earlier this year. After unveiling their newest products, we were excited to try the Colour Awakening Lip Balm. The lip balm is in a sleek black casing and is the perfect  shade for summer. The subtle blush pink gives the lips a natural pop of colour for a simple and feminine look. However, the best part of this product is that the colour will change according to body temperature. Purchase the lip balm here for £8.80 and tell us about your colour-changing story!

Something that we all should be conscious of are the chemicals put into certain beauty products, and thankfully, Nathalie Bonds is one step ahead of us. Bonds began her company during her pregnancy with her son. During this time, she learned not only of the harmful chemicals we consume but of the chemicals in skincare products that have adverse effects on reproduction and developmental issues. She believes that less is more, and in doing so, she has created a natural skincare line that is high-quality and effective. We started using the Revive Lip Balm in spearmint and Bloom Lip Balm in rose geranium. The organic cocoa butter formula moisturises, protects, and improves skin flexibility. Each balm also contains olive oil to help chapped lips and calendula oil to soothe and reduce excess oil. You can purchase the Revive Lip Balm here for £7.00 and the Bloom Lip Balm here for £6.00.

Lastly, with the full-on 30-degree summer here in the UK, we started using Eco Cosmetics’ Lip Care Stick that contains an essential SPF25 to protect our lips from burning. We were eager to try this out after previously using their hair mousse. The stick uses Titanium Dioxide and Karanja Oil to protect from harmful UV rays, and it hydrates the lips with sunflower and pomegranate oils. The balm is light, soft and keeps dryness at bay. Purchase it here for £6.20. Mwah! And enjoy.

Korres – Bergamot & Jasmine Body Milk and Shower Gel

The Amazing Blog is always on the hunt for great-smelling body products that encourage healthy skin. One of our favourite brands is Korres, and as regular readers will know, we have covered many of their products over the years, the most recent being their Yogurt Range. As a natural Greek skincare brand, they have their roots set firmly in Athens; in fact, they started as one of the first ever homoeopathic pharmacy in Greece. Korres’ goal is to mix both nature and science, taking advantage of their extensive scientific resources, for the advancement of clinically safe and effective products.

The latest products from the Korres range that we tried are their Bergamot & Jasmine Body Milk and Shower Gel. The exotic Bergamot & Jasmine are a scent combination to fall in love with! This fragrance isn’t overpowering, in fact, it has a delicate balance of spicy citrus from the bergamot oil, and calming floral bouquet from the Jasmine. Thus making these two products extremely mood enhancing and uplifting to use.

The Body Milk, made from 92% of natural content, is enriched with shea butter, almond oil, active aloe, and pro-vitamin B5, ideal for improving the suppleness of the skin. We mustn't forget to mention that almond oil is a fantastic anti-inflammatory and that aloe vera stimulates cell rejuvenation. The foaming Shower Gel is made from 87% of natural content and is enhanced with moisturising wheat proteins and althea extract, to help maintain natural moisture levels. It also contains active aloe to help reduce signs of ageing. What’s not to love? Purchase Korres’ Bergamot Jasmine Body Milk 200ml for £10.00 here and the Bergamot Jasmine Shower Gel 250ml for £8.00 here.

Map of the Heart – Clear Heart Vol. 1 Perfume

The summer has awoken our senses to fresher and lighter scents. The sun is out and it’s time to tweak our regular signature scent to match the change in temperature. The Amazing Blog has found just the perfume by Map of the Heart, an Australian company whose fragrances originate in France.

Map of the Heart has six unisex fragrances that are meant to 'conjure stories of place and character' and encourage people to challenge whatever life throws up. We tried their Clear Heart Vol. 1 perfume and were blown away by its subtle fragrance layers.

Clear Heart Vol. 1 perfume is inspired by the Australian summer, and we can see why. It has a light mix of soft green florals, combined with salty, and gentle ambery notes. All very reminiscent of balmy care-free days just lazing by the sea and listening to the echo of the lapping waves. When we spritzed and spritzed some more, it really lifted our mood and spirits. The top notes of the scent contain touches of citrus, green leaves, and blackcurrant. The heart of the fragrance has watery notes, Tunisian neroli, orris, and peony. Finally, the base of the perfume contains white cedar wood, Australian sandalwood, incense, and musks - it's truly moreish!

We also can’t get enough of the perfume’s bottle: the recreation of a living, breathing heart. This iconic shape was designed by the legendary Pierre Dinand (YSL ‘Opium’, Calvin Klein ‘Eternity’, Dior ‘Au Savage’). The design is cohesive with Map of the Heart’s desire to focus on the raw and honesty of human life. The question is, who'll be the lucky person taking this bottle of happiness home? I think we'll have to toss a coin for it!

So what happens if you order this and don't like it? There is an option. Map of the Heart fragrances let you try their products, with the option to return. Select LOVE IT, KEEP IT and your order will be shipped with a complimentary sample of your order choice. If you love it and want to keep it, then proceed to open the tissue seal and enjoy. However, if not, follow the instructions under the returns policy, and ensure the order is returned within 14 days of receiving.  Purchase your Clear Heart Vol. 1 perfume by Map of the Heart 90ml here for £150.00 also retailed in Harrods.