Friday Favourites: Eye Products

We’ve almost finished our first working week of the year, and that means only one thing: it’s time for our Friday Favourites! At The Amazing Blog, we have to admit that we’re pretty lax when it comes to eye care. While we all agree that having a sparkle in our eyes is important, the constant strains of staring at a screen, working late nights, or even applying eye makeup, can take their toll. Today we present our recent finds that have helped us to look a little more awake - and ready to take on a New Year!.

Let’s start with Mitomo, a brand that provide high-quality beauty and health care products, all of which contain ingredients sourced in Japan. Their Eye Masks serve you with natural moisture, giving a unique treatment to the under eye region. We tried both the Snail + EGF Gold Mask and the Gold + Bee Venom Mask (both of which sounded very intriguing), and we were more than pleasantly surprised with the results.

The Eye & Nasolabial Mask with Snail Extract and EGF helps to regenerate damaged cells, both under the eyes, and around the nose, with natural components that improve your overall skin condition. The use of Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) helps to regenerate new cells, encouraging your under eye area to look brighter and smoother. On the other hand, the Anti-wrinkle Eye Mask with Gold and Bee Venom does exactly what it suggests, helping to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. By promoting the production of collagen and elastin, this mask helps to create a radiant glow, deeply moisturising the area and promoting skin elasticity. Both masks are best applied for 20-30 minutes, and to make the most of the ingredients, the excess should be gently patted into the skin. You can buy each pack seperately for £3.29, the Snail and EGF mask here or the Gold and Bee Venom here. Alternatively each mask is available in a pack of 10 for £29.61.

Our second step for perfect eye care is Elizabeth Grant’s Supreme Cell Vitality Victory Eye Serum . We’ve reviewed Elizabeth Grant’s products before, namely her Suprême Cell Vitality Neck Creme. We were therefore keen to try an eyecare product, hoping it would prove equally moisturising and luxury. We were not disappointed!

The Supreme Cell Vitality Victory Eye Cream is a lifting and energising serum for the delicate eye area, perfectly suitable for all skin types. Inducing anti-ageing effects, it contains natural actives to reduce the appearance of under-eye puffiness, creating tighter feeling skin, while making the eye-area look more youthful. Leaving your skin plumped and nourished thanks to Elizabeth Grant’s own innovation Torricelumn, vitality is produced in a bottle, and dark shadows are reduced. To apply, pat a small amount around your eye area both morning and at night. Containing CoQ10, this product also promotes collagen renewal, revitalising your under eye area. To purchase your own 30ml bottle for $70, click here.

Now our under eyes are suitably moisturised, it’s time to turn to our eyelashes. We discovered Apraise, a brand providing an exclusive collection of professional eyelash and eyebrow products. They particularly specialise in water resistant and smudge proof tints, but have equally turned their hand to lashcare. This is the area that interested us most, with the use of Optiplex growth technology. We tried their Power Serum, a product promising thicker and stronger eyelashes in just 15 days. We were keen to put this to the test!

This serum contains active ingredients that stimulate hair follicles, leading to fuller and stronger lashes and brows. All too often, similar products do nothing but moisturise your eyelashes, and although this is no bad thing, we were pleased to find that this Power Serum has real (and visible) results. By reducing the loss of eyelashes, your lashes look healthy and full, and as it is packaged like conventional mascara, it is simple to apply. Apply a thin coat over your lashes and brows twice a day (mornings and evenings) and you won’t have to wait long for baffling results! To try this product for yourself, visit the Amazon website here, where you will find the Power Serum available for £9.99.

Last but not least, nothing completes an eye look quite like a good coating of mascara. On our quest to find a new favourite, we discovered the brand Lavera, and were keen to try their Powerful Lashes product. Lavera provide certified natural cosmetics, with the use of high quality ingredients, packaging and production processes, so we were keen to see whether their mascara would live up to the high performance ethos.

The Powerful Lashes mascara is organic and vegan, leaving your lashes looking fuller and longer. Unlike many mascaras, this formula is multi-purpose, giving your eyelashes the benefit of a volumised, defined and lengthened look. Additionally, thanks to the rubber brush, our natural curl is held, catching each lash seperately, giving optimum volume without clumping. Being ophthalmologically tested, this product is also suitable for contact lense wearers, and thanks to the dermatological testing, you can be safe in the knowledge that your eyes will not react to the ingredients. There’s nothing worse than streaming panda eyes! To purchase Powerful Lashes, visit the Lavera website here where you will find it available for £14.90.

There you have it - our newfound products for a New Year eyecare routine. Give them a try, and be sure to let us know how you get on!

Fitty London's Paleo Box

Stereotypical it may be, but we're making a conscious health effort this January. After an extended period of overindulging at The Amazing Blog, we're actively trying to get ourselves back on track to a healthier lifestyle. Through these trepidations, we discovered Fitty London, a brand bringing performance-enhancing products to our doorsteps, with boxes full of nutritional and affordable goodies. This is something we can certainly get behind!

Fitty London's premise is simple, to bring proper nutrition, with specific foods, drinks and workout products. We're not always hot on this, and when we do endeavour to make a better effort, we admit that it is often difficult to find products that are truly good for us. So many promise the world, but instead do the opposite, with a variety of hidden sugars and ingredients that are best avoided. We were therefore pleased to discover that Fitty London's products are all sourced by specialised nutritionists, allowing us to be secure in the knowledge that we're not being sold another hyped and overpromised subscription box.

We tried the newly launched Paleo Box, as we were keen to learn more about the paleo diet and lifestyle. Despite being trusted by millions of people, we were admittedly unaware of the vast amount of health benefits this lifestyle can promote. Although we may not be full paleo converts, we were pleased to try Fitty London's selection of products, our first steps in a healthier direction. This box contains eight specially selected brands and is worth around £60, making it an economical way of trying a multitude of paleo products. We enjoyed the Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee as a morning pick me up, providing a fruity drink that packs a superfood punch! For a mid-morning snack, we have been reaching for the Blue Dinosaur Paleo Bar. The Banana Bread flavour has a cinnamon kick, reminiscent of the past festivities, without the calorific indulgences! For those with a more savoury tooth, the Raw World Company Biltong has proven to be popular. We were intrigued by the crackling black pepper flavour, adding a bit of kick to the 100% grass-fed and dried beef.

Aside from snacking, this Paleo Box also contains the Bare Biology Lionheart Omega 3s supplement and the Symprove probiotic. The Lionheart capsules have helped to boost the appearance of our congested complexions, and the Symprove probiotic has helped to up our gut health, after let's face it, a month of rich foods. Finally, the box also contains a few products to help with your day to day cooking, the Happy Butter Ghee has become a firm cooking oil favourite, and the Cocofina Coconut Aminos has replaced the usual salty soy sauce in our stir-frys. For our New Year salads, we've also been loving the Willy's Apple Cider Vinegar - it's great as a dressing.

So there you have it, we're feeling much healthier and happier, and although we can't completely put it down to Fitty London's Paleo Box, it certainly makes a change to swap our sweet snacks with nutritional ones! To purchase a Paleo Box for £32, visit the Fitty London website here.

MOA's The Green Balm

Happy New Year! We’re back in the office at The Amazing Blog, and are ready to make 2019 the best year yet. We’re kicking off the week with an overhaul of our beauty products, in an attempt to rectify the previous year of hoarding. The general office consensus is that multi-purpose products are the way forward, so we were excited to try the relaunch of MOA's The Green Balm. We were very pleasantly surprised, and wanted to share our findings with you…

MOA (Magic Organic Apothecary), began in 2010, when founder Charlie Fowler found a distinct lack of natural eczema products. Given that her daughter suffered from this condition, Charlie made it her mission to fomulate a natural and organic product, that would soothe, cleanse, tone and moisturise the skin. And so The Green Balm was born. Encased in a lightweight glass jar, this product is the ultimate multi-purpose beauty balm. As well as working as a cleanser and moisturiser, it is particularly effective at soothing skin post-shaving, waxing and threading. Additionally, it acts as an eyelash moisturiser and works to help fade stretchmarks. For those of you who have dry hands, knees, elbows and cracked heels then this balm also nourishes and moisturises these significantly. Finally, if that's not enough, then it acts as an effective eye makeup remover, taking it off quickly without any need to rub forcefully. What more could you ask for?

With ingredients like organic yarrow, known for its nourishing and healing properties, and tea tree oil know as a naturally powerful antiseptic; these all natural ingredients help to nourish and soothe all dry and itchy skin. Other ingredients such as coconut, sweet almond, beeswax and soy bean oil work as the carrier and also help to make this balm smell delicious. If you’re looking for a multi-purpose product that works wonders on your skin, then take our word for it, MOA's The Green Balm is our new go-to product for 2019. It has a great price point making it affordable at £6 for 15ml or £15 for 50ml. Click here to purchase your very own pot of magic.

Christmas Spirits

It’s just four days until the big day - our trees are up, the food is ordered, and both children and adults are suitably excited. However, if you’re like us at The Amazing Blog, then you may still be on the hunt for some last minute presents, or a few Christmas tipples to add to your festive drinks cabinet. For our final blog post of 2018, we bring you our top Christmas spirits, helping you to become a stellar host, whether that be for Christmas Day itself, or perhaps even for the New Year.

Firstly, we came across Pedrino, the brand bringing Mediterranean flavours to the aperitif market. Taking inspiration from Spain, Portugal and Italy, Pedrino’s three tonics are the ideal gift for an aperitivo lover or a great addition to your dinner party drink’s cabinet. We tried all three - Sherry & Tonic, Ruby & Tonic and Vermouth & Tonic, and were pleasantly surprised by their light and refreshing nature. Thanks to their low alcohol content, at 5.5%abv, these drinks are perfect as a pre-dinner tipple; only strengthened by the use of all-natural and carefully proportioned ingredients.

While they are delicious when consumed on a hot summer’s afternoon, we found these tonics particularly apt for the Christmas period too. Given that sherry and port are often consumed in the colder and darker months, we were pleased to find a lighter alternative. All three are handmade with citrus botanicals, giving freshness and depth. Equally, only the best and award-winning fortified wines are used, alongside good quality tonic to ensure that your guests (and yourself) will not merely be given a watered down spirit. Our favourite? As port lovers, we loved the Ruby & Tonic, especially when drunk over ice and served with a garnish of lime. That said, it was hard to choose, and the other two closely follow. The bonus though, is that they need only to be served over ice (with a garnish if you’re feeling fancy). If this sounds just the tipple, then you can purchase these aperitifs from Waitrose at just £1.95 per bottle. Click here to see for yourself.

If you’re more of a rum lover, then let us introduce The Duppy Share. Founded by George Frost, the brand brings the essence of the Caribbean back to London, with a focus not just on the Jerk seasoned food and reggae music, but on the nation’s love for rum. Made from a unique blend of fiery Jamaican rum and smooth Barbadian rum, this spirit is both bold and tropical. For those less inclined to go for rum, rest assured that this was a hit across the office, so much so that we were flipping coins for who could take the remainder of the bottle home! We’re also not the only lovers of this brand, as The Duppy Share was the official sponsor of the infamous Notting Hill Carnival in the summer, testament to the brand’s ethos and high-quality product.

The use of a traditional copper pot still gives the Jamaican rum its poignancy, aged in old white oak bourbon barrels and utilising the perfect weather conditions to increase the rate of ageing. On the other hand, the Barbadian method of continuous and pot still distillation gives notes of caramel - which when combined, gives this dark rum a deep, yet refreshing flavour. We like to drink this 3-year-old rum with the classic lime and soda, allowing the rich flavours to take over. However, for a more fiery approach, we also enjoyed it with a high-quality ginger beer and wedge of fresh lime. To bring the Caribbean to your Christmas, then visit The Duppy Share website here where you will find a 70cl bottle for £27.50. Alternatively, you will find this product in many good supermarkets, well worth the crowded rush!

For many of us, the festive season means it's time for bubbles, so we were thrilled to discover Sparkle Drops. This brand brings a vast range of fruity flavourings to your alcoholic beverages - particularly effective when added to something bubbly. Adding a lovely shimmer to your drinks, these drops are equally effective when mixed with gin and vodka, also giving cocktails a little extra pizzaz.

We were fortunate to try two of their sets, the Unicorn Collection and the Gin Collection. The Unicorn Collection contains three 10ml bottles, with Golden Passionfruit, Blue Raspberry and Pink Cherry flavourings. Our favourite was the Golden Passionfruit, which is pleasantly fruity, and thanks to the gorgeous shimmer, will not look out of place on your festive dining table. That said, the other flavours were close contenders, the Blue Raspberry is particularly striking, and the Pink Cherry adds a pop of sweetness to drier proseccos.

Equally, as gin lovers, we were thrilled to try the Gin Collection. This consists of a further three flavours: Silver Elderflower, Green Lime and Rose Gold Rhubarb. It's difficult to choose a favourite here, but as the Rose Gold Rhubarb transported us back to our rhubarb and custard days at the local sweet shop, this perhaps edges above the others. That said, the Silver Elderflower adds a classic flavour to our standard G&T and the Green Lime brings a much needed citrusy zing to combat rich Christmas foods. To use either collection, add a couple of pipette-fulls to your glass, and top with something bubbly. Each bottle will make 6-8 125ml glasses sparkle, and they need not only be mixed with alcohol, as we found the Silver Elderflower worked particularly well with sparkling water. To add a bit of shimmer to your festivities, then visit the Sparkle Drops website here, where each collection is available for £10.

Finally, we discovered the perfect after-dinner tipple from La Mere Wine Estate. Based in Jersey, and established in 1972, La Mere provides heritage products with the use of local ingredients. The company is also established as a Green Tourism Gold standard attraction, in line with adhering to 20 specific actions, designed to promote sustainable tourism. These include controlling energy consumption and water usage, so we were intrigued to try their Jersey Apple Brandy Cream Liqueur.

Blended with the use of Jersey dairy cream from local island herds, the Jersey Apple Brandy Cream Liqueur also consists of locally distilled Jersey Apple Brandy - creating a deliciously creamy and rich combination. Thanks to the use of aged brandy, the flavour is warm and uplifting, ideal for the festive period. Equally, with the use of dairy cream, the texture is smooth and velvety, adding depth and thickness to this tipple. We found this is best enjoyed over ice, however, we’ve become quite partial to this liqueur when drizzled over a vanilla ice cream - perhaps it may even work well with Christmas pudding! To try the 17% ABV Jersey Apple Brandy Cream Liqueur for yourself, then click here, where you’ll find this tipple for £17.50.

So there you have it, four new brands to try this Christmas or New Year. Whether you’re looking for a pre-dinner aperitif, a warming rum, or an after dinner night cap, we’re sure you’ll find something to encourage a little extra festive spirit. As our last blog post of 2018, there is nothing left to do but put our out of office on, wish you all a Merry Christmas and grab a glass (or two) of something nice!

Christmas Food

We love the festive period at The Amazing Blog - the time for twinkling lights, mulled wine and time spent with loved ones. As if that’s not enough, Christmas is also the time for gourmet food choices, from the classic roast, to the after dinner cheese board. Tis’ the season for overindulging and treating ourselves, and with the New Year diet looming, it seems only right to make the most of the festive treats on offer. There are also few things we love more than to receive a selection of foodie treats on Christmas morning, so we thought, why not compile some of our favourites, so you too can give the gift of food!

Firstly, we came across Cottage Delight, a brand based in the Staffordshire moorlands, bringing hand-crafted and innovative flavours to the condiments market. Established in 1974, the vast amount of experience helps the brand to lead the way in providing delicious additions to our meal (which more often that not, are even more delicious than the foods they are paired with). We were therefore excited to try their Gin & Fizz Set, compromising of two jams, a curd and marmalade - perfect to spice up any scone, crumpet or piece of toast.

Firstly, we tried the Raspberry & Prosecco Jam - a delectable treat to jazz up any morning. Made with 43g of fruit per 100g, this jam is characteristically tangy, but with a depth of flavour thanks to the addition of prosecco. Similarly the Lemon Curd with Gin has a zesty kick, yet an almost buttery texture that is not only indulgent, but also delicious. The addition of gin cuts through the tartness - ideal for any gin lovers in your life. For those who gear towards orange, the Marmalade with Gin has a fruity and juicy flavour - we love it spread across freshly made bread. Finally, for those who like a traditional strawberry jam, the Strawberry Jam with Marc de Champagne is a great option. Made with whole strawberries, this reminded us of our Grandma’s homemade jam. The champagne adds a luxurious aftertaste, solidifying this set as the ideal Christmas present. If that’s not enough, then the box itself is ready made for present giving, so there’s less hassle with wrapping, and more time to indulge in a glass of mulled wine (or two). Purchase a Gin & Fizz Gift Set here for £9.95.

Secondly, for any chocolate lovers, we recommend Elements for Life. We tried their Yummy Scrummy Brownies not so long ago (see here), and more recently, their Raw Chocolate Making Starter Kit. Founded by Dan and Paula Knowlson, experts in raw chocolate, this brand continues to ensure products are suitable for vegans, diabetics and coeliacs, as well as those with lactose intolerances. This is something particularly difficult to find at Christmas, so we’re sure this set would be popular with anyone who suffers from a dietary requirement. That said, we all equally enjoyed this set, whether intolerant to common allergens or not.

The Raw Chocolate Starter Kit contains 100g raw cacao powder, 100g raw cacao butter, 100ml Sweet Freedom syrup and a reusable silicone chocolate mould. You can also choose your mould design, picking from the spiral swirls (which we went for), or the Valentine’s hearts. Using Peruvian Criollo raw cacao powder and butter, the ingredients are the best of the best, providing a rich and smooth chocolate that has a low GI. This makes it suitable for diabetics, furthermore displaying the inclusive nature of this brand. In terms of making the chocolate itself, we found the process incredibly easily. Simply melt the cacao butter, add the cacao powder and Sweet Freedom syrup and you’re done - pour into the moulds, pop them in the fridge and return to professional looking chocolates. To purchase a Raw Chocolate Making Starter Kit for £17.99, click here.

Although we’re big sweet lovers at The Amazing Blog, we’re equally enticed by flavoursome and spicy dishes. For the spice lovers in your life, we present Steenbergs’ Mediterranean Mini 8 Spice Box, a set packed with numerous spice blends, heavily influenced by the Arabic side of the Mediterranean. Having tried their Botanicals for Cocktails in October (see here), we were keen to try this set for ourselves - and can confirm that it will indeed be well received by any foodies in your family.

Founded by Axel and Sophie Steenberg in 2003, Steenbergs is passionate about providing top quality and organic spices, with over fifteen years of experience to draw from. You can therefore be safe in the knowledge that by gifting their Mediterranean spices set, you’ll be helping your foodie recipient to create delicious meals, with ingredients they can trust. This set compromises of organic tagine, ras al hanut, za’atar, organic harissa with rose, organic Italian herbs, organic Lebanese 7 spice blend, organic paella spice blend and organic chermoula spice blend - a vast array of flavours to create a multitude of dishes. Our personal favourites are the organic paella spice blend, which helps us to create an authentic taste of Spain, and the chermoula spice blend, which we were admittedly less familiar with - but now cannot be without. To purchase your own Mediterranean Mini 8 Spice Box for £15.99, click here.

Finally, for something a little more luxury, we came across Haupt Lakrits, a Swedish liquorice brand aiming to bring gourmet products to the market. Having tried a variety of their products, we can confirm that these are far from the packet of slightly squashed liquorice wheels in your cupboard, but instead, provide a new take on a traditional classic. Even those less enthusiastic about liquorice were found sneaking these on our lunchbreak - testament to their scrumptious flavours.

Firstly, for those of us with a penchant for liquorice, SÖT (€9.00) proved to be popular. Thanks to being cooked for 8 hours and stored for 10 weeks, this liquorice is soft and sweet, and has a pleasantly chewy texture. Secondly we tried the Hallon (€9.00) flavour, liquorice dipped in 60% Belgian milk and dark chocolate and coated with raspberry and vanilla. These proved very popular amongst those will less of a liking for traditional liquorice, and we found they work well with rose wine. Thirdly, we tried the limited edition God Juhl: Merry Christmas (€11.00) jar. Coated in Belgian white chocolate and flavoured with a Swedish Christmas spice mix, this liquorice is undoubtedly festive, even covered in a glittery outer layer. Finally, we tried the slightly lighter God Helg: Happy Holidays (€11.00) liquorice. Dipped in Belgian white chocolate, the additions of lingonberry and saffron add sweetness, yet the fruity nature helps to cut the sickliness often associated with white chocolate. Like God Juhl, this Christmas edition liquorice is best paired with a glass of mulled wine. Visit the Haupt Lakrits website here to purchase your own liquorice delights - some flavours are also available as gift sets, smaller jars and refill packs.

So there we have it - four foodie treats guaranteed to put a smile on your receiver’s face. And if you’re thinking ‘I’ve already finished my Christmas shopping’, then why not treat yourself instead? After all, we think the festive period is the perfect excuse to indulge!