Celtic Herbal - Balms and Candles

We at The Amazing Blog tend to opt for peaceful scents that lift our mood, and Celtic Herbal certainly does just the trick. Celtic Herbal is a Welsh artisan company, who incorporate both their love for natural ingredients, and the surrounding Welsh landscape, the one in which they source some of their key ingredients. What makes each product all the more special, is the fact that they are handmade, and not tested on animals.

We tried four products from their range: two balms and two candles. The handy-sized balms offer a simple solution for dry and cracked skin and fit perfectly into our handbags to use on the go. Celtic Herbal’s Peppermint Lip Balm is made from 100% natural beeswax and has a cooling effect. It’s made up of lovely ingredients, like peppermint oil, sweet almond oil, castor seed oil, sunflower seed oil, and calendula officinalis flower extract. We loved the piquant of the mint which gave a teeny bit of a tingle, and we found that this balm kept our lips moist and supple throughout the day.

With the Celtic Herbal Sleep Balm with Mandarin & Ylang Ylang, we found that when applied to the pulse points it helped to relax our mind. This Sleep Balm is made with warming mandarin oil to ease pressure and Ylang Ylang for calmness. It’s 100% natural and contains mandarin orange peel oil, beeswax, sweet almond oil, castor seed oil, and cananga odorata flower oil. Good to apply at the end of a busy day to bring peace and harmony.

Aromatherapy harnesses the power of botanicals and essential oils, and there are so many different ways to utilise it. Celtic Herbal has created candles from ethically sourced soy wax which are made in small batches to ensure the highest quality. Their Natural Rose Geranium & Grapefruit Travel Soy Candle comes from the Refresh range, emitting a sweet and floral scent that is connected to the balance of the nervous system. It’s said to help lift depression and relieve anxiety - we found it very mood enhancing.

The final product that we tried was their Natural Mandarin, Lime & Basil Travel Soy Candle. This comes from the Purify range. Its warm and uplifting scent intends to bring clarity and fresh perspectives. Perfect to help you unwind after a long journey. The 30g travel candles have a clean burning time of four hours, and the 105g candles can last up to twenty-five hours. Time to breathe in and relax! Purchase the Celtic Herbal Peppermint Lip Balm 15g here for £4.00; Sleep Balm with Mandarin & Ylang Ylang 25g here for £5.50; Natural Rose Geranium & Grapefruit Travel Soy Candle 30g here for £5.50; Natural Mandarin, Lime & Basil Travel Soy Candle 30g here for £5.50.

Edwina's Christmas Wish List

With a week to go until Christmas Day, it’s time to put some pep in your step and get that Christmas shopping done! If you're still looking for good ideas, here are a few products that have made my wish list this Christmas.

As anyone here in The Amazing Blog office will tell you, I’m always on the lookout for tan enhancing products. So it’s no surprise that first on my wish list this year is Prtty Peaushun’s Skin Tight Body Lotion. Not your conventional tanning product, the potion gives a beautiful golden sheen, and is far better than a lot of other products I’ve tried. The brand offers a few shades, dark being great for those who already indulge in a little fake tanning, and medium being a wonderful way to give a fabulous sheen to a paler complexion. It would be the perfect addition to any tan lover’s Christmas list. Prtty Peaushun is available to buy here for £30.

I love Christmas food, but there are some dishes that are a little too much. A serving of Christmas Pudding at the end of the meal, although delicious, is a little too rich for my liking. If you want something a little lighter, and slightly unconventional, then I’d definitely recommend looking at Patisserie Maison by Richard Bertinet. The recipe book is filled with the most delicate cakes and snacks, great for entertaining all year round. With a particularly delicious looking Lemon Trifle recipe that’s sure to impress this Christmas, it’s the ideal gift for any culinary fans, and has made its way on to my wish list. You can buy the book here for £13.60.

Whilst on the topic of food, one of the things I associate with Christmas is the beautiful citrusy scent of oranges. So when I got a sniff of the Nourish Protect Duo, I knew it would make a fabulous gift for Christmas time. Organic and cruelty free, the gift set contains an Uplifting Shower Gel, as well as a Nutri-Rich Body Butter. As dry skin is a common problem during the festive season, the inclusion of omega rich Shea Butter, Hyaluronic Acid and collagen enriched Vitamin C make this lovely gift set a godsend to see nestled under the tree. The set is available to buy here for £25.

After all of the excitement of a hectic day, I always struggle to doze off come Christmas Eve, so Kiss The Moon's Love After Dark Gift Set is a welcome addition to my wish list. A combination of Rose, Frankincense and Ylang Ylang, the soothing ingredients help you to drift off into a peaceful night’s sleep. The beautifully packaged products also promote cell renewal, so I can wake up on Christmas Day looking young, fresh and ready to greet the festivities. ‘Sleep Beautifully’ and buy the gift set here for £82.

Of course, despite a restful night’s sleep, Christmas Day is no excuse to not look bronzed and glowing, so Crazy Angel is also making an appearance on my Christmas list this year. The brand’s Bronze Desire Instant Airbrush Self-Tan is perfect for giving a quick and easy glow, which develops as the day goes on, so by the time Christmas Dinner is served, you’ll be looking as angelic as Christmas expects. The 360 spray can prove a little messy, so I tend to spray it onto a mitt to apply, giving me moisturising and even coverage for the holiday season. Get the Self-Tan here for £14.99.

We hope this has inspired a few gift ideas that might have been lacking. Merry Christmas and good luck with all of your last minute shopping.

Badger Balm - Organic Body & Skincare

Here at The Amazing Blog, as our readers know, we're all for organic products containing home grown ingredients. But the first thing that really appealed to us when we received samples from Badger Balm was the crazy cute badger who resides on the packaging!

This is a fab brand from the USA that has created a range of organic balms and skincare products that are free from petroleum and artificial colours. We just cant get enough of the variety of products. We tried the Hardworking Hands Balm, Peppermint & Tea-tree Foot Balm, Lavender & Bergamot Sleep Balm  and the set of Classic Lip Balms which all come in little pocket sized tins and handy packaging, perfect for make up and weekend bags everywhere. We highly recommend trying the Cheerful Mind Balm, designed to lift spirits when you’re feeling a little run down - we've certainly passed that around the office when one of us is feeling a little blue. However, our favourite product is the Lavender & Bergamot Sleep Balm because it is just so relaxing, unusual and, different from what we normally try out at The Amazing Blog. If you suffer from restless nights, this product is perfect. The scents infuse to create a soothing fragrant lullaby to send you off swiftly to sleep after a hectic day at the office. After all we all need some help getting those precious Zzz's now and then. Thanks to Badger Balm we can come into the office refreshed and ready to face the day.

 All Badger Balm products are available on their home website here  or  internationally here. Prices range from £3 to £30.

loveursoul Good Night Spray

I've never ever had sleeping issues, I'm one of those lucky people that once is in bed, is able to sleep until the next morning without waking up in the middle of the night. One of my best friends however, has insomnia - for her, sleeping even 2 hours in a row it's an achievement. She says she can't "switch her brain off" - she won't stop thinking about possible money issues, things to do, work... When loveursoul's Goodnight Spray arrived to the office I offered her the tube to test straightaway. loveursoul claims that this Good Night Spray is a quick and effective way to help you sleep soundly, without the risk of becoming reliant on sleeping pills or ingesting unpleasant additives found in pills. The spray contains melatonin - a hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain which helps regulate other hormones and mantains the body's circadian rhythm. Some people don't produce enough melatonin naturally, so a dose of Good Night Spray, when you wake up or when you're trying to sleep, provides the perfect amount on melatonin - which is easily absorbed through the mouth tissues and straight into the blood stream.

Each spray of Good Night provides accuracy and consistency of dosage and each tube provides at least a months supply. In case you don't notice an improvement within a few days while using the spray, loveursoul suggests that you should visit your doctor to determine whether you may have an underlying health problem that is keeping you awake.

loveursoul... Thank you. You've made my friend sleep better, even though she was sceptical in the begining. The Amazing Blog looks forward to trying more products by loveursoul as we're impressed so far!

Wave Your Worries Away

Does your body ever seem to just not cooperate when you need it to? Maybe wrinkles are coming too soon? Pain getting in the way of your life? Or maybe just your energy isn’t giving you the chance to live your life to the fullest? Well now instead of trying different products from creams, drinks, or shots; you can do something that will work with your body to create an awesome new you. LifeWave combines old age acupuncture with new age technology to create an innovative set of self adhesive patches that aid in those things that never seem to be improved by other products. Their products have helped countless people with a variety of problems including anti aging, having a good night sleep, getting enough energy for a full day, pain relief, and my favourite... weight loss.

The innovative patches are 100% safe and require no drugs, stimulants or needles. Nothing even enters your body. Personally, I am confused by how this fabulous product works, but it just does! And if you don’t believe my personal account, maybe you should just go ask some of LifeWaves’ users such as Gymnastics Champion Ashley Kupets, NY Yankees player Phil Coke, or Pro Volleyball player Gayle Stammer. Even Karen Kan and James Gann, triple gold medallists ice skaters said, “There is no question in my mind that LifeWave is a HUGE part of our success.”

There is a patch for everything. So instead of complaining about your body not being up to the standards you need, do something by ordering the patches that can help you be a better self! To order LifeWave patches, you can call their UK representative David Vernem on 07985 297 678  or email livewavetogether@gmail.com.