IVAR - Ho Wood Handwash

Due to how frequent we wash our hands, it is essential to use a handwash that is both gentle and moisturising. However, a good handwash must also work hard to cleanse our hands of germs. The Amazing Blog team has been lucky enough to find such a handwash:  IVAR's Ho Wood Handwash. IVAR London, "Home of Modern Man," is a furniture, home-ware, and design brand. They have launched a line of hand soaps, creams, and body wash that are sleekly designed, to provide caring skin treatment while stylising your bathroom.

IVAR is primarily a furniture, homeware, and design brand created by Patrick Dougherty. They specialise in uniquely beautiful interior design looks and furniture. When we learned about their line of soaps and creams, we had to give them a try. Each bottle of IVAR handwash comes in a long, sleek black & white bottle, and the label is comprised of strong, simple lines.

Made in the UK, IVAR's Ho Wood Handwash contains ho wood oil, citrus lemon peel oil, clary sage oil,  and citric acid. The essential oils refresh your hands and leave them with a zingy lemon scent with a dampening of sage, loved by the men and women in our team. This handwash also contains plant-derived glycerine, which naturally provides hands with moisture, wonderful for those of you with sensitive skin.

You can purchase your own Ho Wood Handwash 300ml by IVAR here for £17.00. Plus, there's free shipping within the UK.

Friday Favourites: Eye Feature

The full-on lash craze is still with us, from mascara to falsies or even eyelash extensions; and we here at The Amazing Blog don’t see it slowing down any time soon. Today, we thought we would share some of our favourite and effective lash products with all of you. The eyes are our favourite feature to play up. There are a mountain of products on the market, it can be both time consuming and costly to find those holy grail items, so here we thought we’d do the work for you. From mascara and eyeliner to removing it all after a long day, we have got your eyes covered!

This dynamic duo from CODE Beautiful is first on our list. The combination of their CODE FFL Forget Fake Lashes with the CODE VLM Volumising Lengthening Mascara is simply a gift from heaven. CODE FFL is a pre-mascara lash plumper that will take your lashes to the next level, giving you that false lash look without the hassle. It’s a fibre based, light brown mascara that latches onto every individual lash for ultimate volume and length with conditioning agents so you can avoid flaky mascara throughout the day. Once you’ve got your first coat on, next up is the CODE VLM. This intensely black mascara adds serious shine to your lashes, but is also buildable so that you can go from day to night—natural to full glam without clumping or flaking. Added bonus? It’s tear-proof for any rough patches in the day.

Both of these mascaras from CODE are fortified with vitamins and waxes to nourish your lashes with each wear and are paraben free and never tested on animals. It’s everything we love all rolled into a tube.

Purchase the CODE FFL here for and the CODE VLM here for £19.95.

The next mascara on our list is a little something for the bold and adventurous souls who love to add an unexpected pop of colour to their look. From the incredible Rouge Bunny Rouge, we have the WITCHERY Modelling Mascara in Red Nightfall. This deep wine shade (yes, really it's a red!)  is sure to catch eyes in the best way possible. We loved using it for a night out to switch up our looks, but we have to say that it's just about subtle enough to wear throughout the day. If red still isn’t quite your colour, the WITCHERY line offers the mascara in both black and brown. The rubber brush perfectly separates the lashes, leaving clumps behind and long, defined lashes centre stage. And our favourite part is that you can skip the eyelash curler because this mascara perfectly curls and holds your lashes all day long.

If you’re feeling adventurous, you can purchase the WITCHERY Modelling Mascara in Red Nightfall here for £29.00.

Once you've found the perfect mascara for luscious lashes, the best way to tie it all together is with a sleek sweep of highly pigmented eyeliner. Keep reading, as today we’ve found two eyeliners to offer you different looks. The first is the luxurious Oh My Glide Eyeliner from A.T Antao. The golden design of the pen really does just 'glide' it looks and feels lavish, the intensely pigmented black colour will not smudge or fade for over 12 hours of wear and is waterproof to keep you prepared for whatever comes your way. The second is the OMG Precise Eyeliner which is perfect for achieving that fine sharp wing, it has an easy reach from the root of lashes and corner of eyes as the incredibly soft and thin tip is made of PBT hair (in fact, both eyeliners have this), which is a synthetic animal hair substitute.  The PBT absorbs little liquid allowing both the applicators to hold its stiffness for even application every single time. For beginners, we recommend the OMG Smooth Eyeliner because the soft and thicker tip allows for easy application to create sweeping lines in an instant.

Purchase both the Oh My Glide Eyeliners for £9.90 each here for a perfect line every time.

Our last stop on the list is for eye makeup removers. After a long day, the last thing we want to do is take off our makeup, but the number one rule in our books is to never sleep in our makeup!  The Gentle Eye Make-Up Remover from Nouveau Lashes makes it so quick, easy and leaves our eye area so hydrated, that we actually look forward to it now before heading off to bed. This “gentle, vitamin and anti-oxidant enriched” formula is perfect for those sporting lash extensions, as it doesn’t strip the adhesive bond, ensuring you get the longest wear out of them. The blend of watercress, pomegranate and mango really work to nourish the lashes and skin, with the calming properties of chamomile to soothe as your makeup melts away. We apply the formula onto a cotton pad and then gently wipe away all of our make up; no rinsing required. Added bonus? It’s vegan-friendly.Purchase the Gentle Eye Make-Up Remover here for £14.99.

We hope we’ve helped you narrow down your search or introduced you to some hidden gems. Here’s to flirty, full lashes and keeping our eyes centre stage.

Babor – Multi Vitamin & Oxygen Plus Ampoule Concentrates FP

Here at The Amazing Blog, we understand how important it is to maintain the correct balance of nourishment for our skin. A lack of vitamins can cause our skin to suffer and appear tired and stressed. What we particularly like about Babor's Multi Vitamin and Oxygen Plus is that they offer two different ampoule concentrates that can help to rejuvenate your skin. In the past, we wrote about Babor's Enzyme Cleanser; so of course, we had high expectations in trying out these ampoule concentrates... And we're happy to report that they didn't disappoint! 

Since 1956, Babor has been working to use scientific research in Germany to create products with the highest active ingredient performance rates. Babor is a family company that is committed to protecting the environment. They only use natural energy, ship their products in a carbon neutral manner and they only print on FSC-certified paper. 

One of our team used Babor's Multi Vitamin, this ampoule of fluid contains vitamin A, pro vitamin B5, vitamin E encapsulated in liposomes, and biotin. These different vitamins perk up the skin for the day ahead. It offers a wide array of benefits that are sure to bring a fresh and healthy look to dry or stressed skin, we think it's ideal for city living. This product can be used in the morning and/or at night depending on your own preferences and skincare needs. 

We also tried the Oxygen Plus in our regime. This ampoule is designed to wake up and refresh tired looking skin. The fluid contains encapsulated oxygen that provides skin cells with high energy levels leaving the skin feeling fresh.The product also contains vitamin E that protects the skin from free radicals and premature signs of ageing on the skin. An added bonus to some of you is that it is vegan! 

The two products are both very simple to use. After washing your face, you pour one 2 ml container of liquid into the palm of your hand and then apply it evenly to your face and neck. After using you can apply your regular moisturiser/night cream or if in the morning your favourite SPF cream ready to take on the day!. These two Babor products are available to purchase online in sets of 7 x 2ml glass ampoules. You can purchase your own Babor Multi Vitamin here for £20.00; or you can purchase your own Oxygen Plus here for £35.00.

CODE Lip Intense Plumper and CODE SSL Soft Smooth Lip Liner

Full lips are one of those make-up trends that never really go out of fashion. So when we at The Amazing Blog received the Lip Intense Plumper and the Soft Smooth Lip Liner from CODE Beautiful, we loved the idea of trying these products to help make our lips look fuller and feel smoother. This boutique brand is all about creating go-to handbag essentials, so it's no surprise that both of these lip essentials were also awarded Editor's Choice for The 2018 Beauty Shortlist Awards. 

The first step to a perfect pout is to apply the Lip Intense Plumper. We must admit this treatment slowly becomes addictive each time we apply it. We’ve all tried our fair share of plumping products that actually end up leaving your lips with an irritating burning sensation. However, this treatment gives you a gentle tingly, cooling sensation and of course, fuller and more nourished lips. The blend of coconut, almond and castor oil moisturises your lips, while the magical combination of Hyaluronic acid, Tripeptide-1, Dimethicone and the star ingredient, Hilurlip, to redefine and sculpt your lips. 

Once your lips are feeling plumper, the next step is to define them helping to create a long-lasting, youthful pout with the Soft Smooth Lip Liner. We think that this liner will soon become your essential product for an instantly defined lip. Brilliant to use for preventing our favourite lipsticks from feathering and also applied it on its own for a great natural look. It comes in the perfect Nude Blush shade that will give you an all-round even colour. The added bonus of this lip liner is the self-sharpening tool that automatically leaves the liner sharp for a precise application every time, all with just a quick twist of the cap. Both of these products are paraben-free and not tested on animals. You can purchase the CODE SSL Soft Smooth Lip Liner here for £18 and the Lip Intense Plumper here for £20.

WAHL Foaming Shave Gel

We at The Amazing Blog have noticed that barber’s shops are multiplying like rabbits along every high street - all very ‘man chic’ with the kind of interiors to help us relax and chill out whilst someone pampers us to perfection … However, if you like your grooming a little more on the private side, then Wahl has come up with the most amazing bottle of skin nurturing goodies to help to keep our whiskers in top trim. Since 1919, Wahl has been an integral part of the Barber Trade and recently launched their Professional 5 Star Traditional Shaving Range.
 
We think whole range is worth trying out; however, the Foaming Shave Gel has been our personal favourite when it comes to soothing and aiding hydration. This enriched moisturising formula contains coconut to deliver a professional close shave that feeds and soothes the skin for reduced irritation. This ozonic fragrance is infused with crisp and citrus notes of lemon. The masculine fragrance leaves the face feeling refreshed and invigorated.

The fragrance is masculine and not too heavy, but the real feeling of protection comes as it hits the skin, giving a gentle buffer between blade and follicle. We tried it both with and without a brush to lather up, and either way worked superbly. So, if you can't make it to the barber shop, this shave gel offers the full experience at home. Purchase your Wahl Foaming Shaving Gel here at £16.99