Holiday Drinks - Friday Favourites

With the Christmas Party season in full swing, and here at The Amazing Blog we like to celebrate in style. So whether you’re a Champagne, Prosecco, Rum or Beer drinker, here’s our round up of the classiest drinks to make sure your parties to celebrate the holidays are a success. 

Finest Fizz seem to have created the impossible, a Brut Rosé Champagne which is not only lower in calories at 270 calories, but low in sugar content too.  Comparing this to a regular Brut Champagne which can come in at approximately 570 calories, that's a big difference!

The hand-crafted fizz has Strawberry, Raspberry and Red Cherry flavours and is Premier Cru Champagne. This skinny Champagne is a version of Champagne Tribaut’s popular Rosé de Reserve, just with no added sugar. Which, if you’ve had indulgent Christmas celebrations will be a good alternative. We found that you didn’t notice the Rosé was low-sugar one, and considering it is Extra Brut it’s deliciously dry. The bottle is very feminine with a pink label and the Champagne is, of course a light pink shade. Skinny Rosé would make a perfect addition to a ladies night!

You can purchase Skinny Rosé here for £39.

When you’re told a product is a multiple award-winning one you may set very high expectations, and Premier Estate’s Prosecco did not disappoint.  This extra dry DOC is produced with grapes from a single harvest which highlights the luxurious aspects of it. It is lightly creamy with a zesty freshness and flute of this is required for anyone looking for a sophisticated accessory for when the clock strikes 12. The fizz is refreshing and can work great with or without food. The price is surprising low for the quality of the Champagne and the awards, including a bronze in the International wine challenge reflect that the experts agree.

You can purchase Prosecco here for £9.99

Ron Santa Teresa is one of the first Caribbean rum producers and is now sold in over 30 countries, the brand specialises on high quality and premium rum. We received their Santa Teresa 1796, it is a clear, reddish amber colour and its character means it’s suitable to drink on the rocks or with mineral water, if you would prefer. The strong, well rounded taste boasts smoke through tobacco and leather notes. These are created through the Solera method, a traditional method that uses Oak barrels to age the alcohol, from which it is produced entirely. The taste remains delicate, elegant and velvety whilst the bottle looks classic and classy, sure to wow any guests.

You can purchase a bottle of Santa Teresa 1796 here for £40.

If you’re the designated driver or not an alcohol drinker, St. Peter’s Brewery has made sure you don’t miss out! St. Peters is based in Suffolk and they create traditional beers as well as unusual beers. Launched in September, they have created a ‘Without’ range of beers that are alcohol free yet tastes just as good as the alcoholic version. The beer is brewed to the exact same standards as your usual craft ale, but without the alcohol. It is malty, full-bodied and bursting with flavour and is also fewer calories than standard beer. Unlike other alcohol free alternatives, this looks like beer as well as feels and tastes like beer. For an alcohol free alternative, try St. Peters Without here, 8 x 500ml £13.

The long-established English philosophy at Wimbledon Brewery uses the best Ingredients and traditions to ensure the highest of quality beers. We tried the Quatermaine bottled beer named after William Quatermaine, an original owner of Wimbledon Brewery. This beer is an I.P.A and has spicy orange notes which goes on to a crisp hops bitterness. We also tried the Bravo American Pale Ale which comes in a 330ml can; it is refreshing, with a fruity and crisp taste and pronounced Blackberry. They both have the sophisticated Wimbledon Brewery look, with silver labels and the large logo of the Wimbledon tower, Phoenix, barley and hops which encases the important aspects of the brand. You can buy the Quatermaine bottled beer here for £2.70 and the Bravo American pale ale here for £2.50.

Christmas Special - Alternative gifts for Her

At the Amazing Blog, the atmosphere in the office over Christmas is amazing we are all counting down for the Christmas celebrations and looking forward to spending it with our loved ones, plus we are excited to see what everyone got given for Christmas presents. Leading up to Christmas we have been doing a Christmas gift guide leading up to the big day, and this is guide is for all the last minute people who need to get alternative presents. 

Winter nights at home lounging on the sofa in your comfy pyjamas are the perfect setting when you have candles lit around the living room; a delightful candle that smells gorgeous when lit is the Violet & Sweetpea by the brand Etta French. Etta French is known for being a luxury that are full of surprises that hides a special item of jewellery in each candle which is exclusively created by their UK designers, we thought this is a lovely idea as each jewel has a special touch of beauty and style that we think would make a lovely gift to someone for Christmas. Plus it is the element of surprise as they will unwrap and find two presents in one product.  The candle it’s self has an gorgeous scent to it, that makes you want to have it lit straight away also each candle is hand poured in the UK and uses 100% natural plant wax.

The candle is available to grab here for £38.50.

The brand Fressko kindly sent us two of their flasks, which is appropriate considering it is winter these are the perfect gifts to give someone to keep them hydrated and warm over this season especially if they live in the UK, and we all know how unpredictable and cold our weather is. The first flask we received was the Tour flask this is suitable for tea and fruit water, perfect if you know someone who is an adventurous day-tripper, we really liked the packaging of this design it has a wooden top but the actual flask is clear so you can see all the goodness from the fruit within the flask. The second flask which we all really loved in the office was part of their colour collection; the Colour Flask is the colour blush it is a beautiful tone of pink it’s very appealing, feminine and would make the perfect gift for a female. The colour flask is slightly smaller has its 360ml compared to the tour mask which is 400ml, however the colour collection has 6 hour insulation and is suitable for hot and cold beverages, and it is colour coated with a variety of colours you can choose from and it is a stainless steel flask.

You grab the tour flask here for £36.85, and the blush flask is available here also for £36.85. 

The third product we recommend is a beautifully scented diffuser by Heathcote & Ivory, called Atlas Silks  it smells gorgeous and will fill your room with an inviting scent of atlas silks, mountain rose, ylang ylang, sandalwood plus it is blended with essential oils such as coriander.

We chose this particular brand to feature in our gift guide because the artistic packaging is really pretty and would make a perfect alternative present for a loved one or family friend, especially if they love bringing colour, scent and sophistication to their home interior this product would be make a really nice gift.

This product is available to purchase here for £22.00.

Another alternative we recently got sent to our office and as a team we loved how convenient and useful the product is by Tweexy. We have find a new product that will help make your life easier, any girls who regularly paint their nails at home know how painful it can be when your knock a nail polish over. Tweexy is a comfortable polish holder that fits for all, and will make painting your nails become less of an annoying task. What we love about Tweexy is it comes in a variety of different colours, it is very comfortable and light on the finger and it doesn’t get in the way of painting and makes your life less complicated. This product is perfect for a female who loves try new things, it is small and perfect to travel with and also small enough to make a good stocking present or a secret Santa gift. 

Whether this product is for you or to help a best friend out, this will make life easier. You can grab this product here for £9.95. 

Christmas Special - Alternative Gifts for Him

Christmas shopping is fun when you go out for the day and pick everyone’s present, but it can be a struggle when you have a family relative or a close friend who is slightly picky or you just have no clue what they would like. At the Amazing Blog we can definitely relate to this so we've decided to put together an 'Alternative Guide'.

During Christmas day to keep the entertainment going, it’s nice to play games with your relatives and friends. The first product which would make a good small gift is the Rubik Sparks. It’s a new Rubik's cube that has six new games with 25 unique levels, and each level will challenge your mind, speed, memory and logic. We saw this and thought it would make a good family activity for the kids and parents to get involved with and see who the best gadget player is. This Rubik's cube is also upgraded with a new revolutionary way to control the game: there is no buttons or touch screens, and you control the spark by tilting and turning. You can play this game either in a single or multiplayer game play.

You can purchase this cube here for £24.95. 

The second alternative we find is this luxurious brand that specialise in the finest tableware called The Posh Trading Company. Each product is beautifully made and we were really impressed with their Luminescent Coasters. Mixed with the old and modern interior design, they come in a variety of colours you can choose from. They are presented in a clear acrylic box or a silver leaf lacquered box to show off the beautiful design of each coaster. We loved the modern twist to the coaster display that will definitely enhance your dining room décor and will look lovely if you or someone were hosting a dinner party or a corporate event. 

Our team’s favourite is the gold coaster box that you can purchase here for £135.00.

Celebrations and enjoying yourself with your family is the best time on Christmas day surrounded with your loved ones. We have found a company that specialise in 'special' gifts that you would give to someone over Christmas to add that bit of humour.  The company is called Barbuzzo.  We loved their motto of  'life is too short to be serious' and here at The Amazing Blog we definitely agree on that. A silly joke or a gift you may see that reminds you of a relative will always work over Christmas, but if you are finding it specially difficult to purchase a present for a male we definitely recommend going to their website. Our favourite product was the Beer Hammer, a real hammer that actually works but that you can also use as a bottle opener. It is the perfect 'two for one' funny gift if you know anyone in your family who loves DIY's and a good beer

You can purchase the beer hammer here for £7.38.

The final alternative product that we think would make a really good and useful present is by the brand Udoq. They have come up with a Docking station that is suitable worldwide for any brand of mobile phones. We were also really impressed with Udoq's vision of helping to protect the environment, stopping tons of electrical goods going to waste by just using one device. You can customise each docking station which we find even more intriguing and impressive.  The team here really liked the idea, specially as it is sometimes common to have two phones or a phone at home for back up. This will make your life easier as you can even use other kind of devices such as iPads and it will also help  protect the environment, what's not to like?

Grab this, either for yourself or as Christmas present here for £ 89.84. 

Christmas Special: Great Beauty Gifts for Her

Here at The Amazing Blog we know how time consuming or difficult it can be buying last minute presents, from the tricky family member or even a friend who seems to have everything. Don’t worry we have got the present ideas sorted! Today we’ve got the first instalment of our Christmas present list for her; with Thursday post focusing on fashion and accessories, today is all about beauty.

Firstly, from Accessorize we have a simple gift set, perfect for younger girls, comprised of 4 items: hand cream, lip balm, nail buffer block and tin. The travel-sized products are from Citrus Twist, a bold Aztec patterned and sweetly scented range. The hand cream comes in a 30ml size and the lip balm comes in 20g size, both perfect to carry around in a handbag. The nail buffer features 4 sides each with their own use; a file, a smoother, a buffer and polish to shape nails pre-painting. The tin is also great to be reused for storing items like nails varnishes or makeup. 

Overall these handbag essentials are a great little treat for a younger family member for only £10 available here.

For something more sophisticated try Orla Kiely’s mini fragrance gift set. Fig Tree, Earl Grey and Geranium are the scents within, a mix of strong scents great to mix up the everyday perfume. The miniature 5 ml bottles can easily fit into the smallest of bags for a midday or midnight touch up. Our office favourite is the fig tree scent, fresher and lighter than the other two scents but still a sharp scent. The perfumes come in an orange sliding box which can be re-used by simply taking the label off.

This trio of perfumes makes a perfect gift for any female adult and can be purchased here for £ 12.

For the woman who doesn’t seem to stop, whether it be working, looking after children, cleaning or going to events, the bathing flowers from Heathcote & Ivory’s Atlas Silk collection is a great idea. The pretty packaging is colourful yet polished showcasing the cute flowers inside. Formed of roses of all different sizes and colours, the hexagonal box looks pretty even before you put them in the water. All you need to do is place them in warm running water where they float on top before dissolving to form a creamy sweet smelling bath, perfect after a long day or you can even leave them on the counter top looking pretty.

You can purchase the box here for £10.

Using only the finest, 100% natural ingredients, The Balm Boutique have got the gift set suitable for everyone covered. The Berry Bliss Body Spa gift set consists of Berry Body Polish, Berry Butter Bar and Strawberry lip tint; and all three products have the distinctive berry scent. The Berry body polish is a thick brown liquid, with exfoliating properties from Strawberry, Raspberry and Vanilla seeds. The Berry Butter bar looks and smells good enough to eat. It melts when massaged into the skin, with moisturising properties from Cocoa butter, Shea butter and Coconut oil. Lastly, the Strawberry Lip Tint only uses natural tinting properties donated from the Beetroot and Alkanet Root to colour the lips.

You can purchase this sensationally sweet and deliciously silky gift set here for £28.

Christmas Special: Great Grooming Gifts for Him

Here at The Amazing Blog we’re big believers in taking care of yourself, from daily routine essentials like cleansing to the finishing touches like the aftershave you choose. So it was almost mandatory for us to do a Christmas grooming gift guide to ensure you knew what presents to purchase to make sure your friends and family look preened to perfection this festive season. Keep watching this space for our beauty for her Christmas special too.

Firstly for the man with a beard- Fit For Vikings have you covered with their great gift boxes, these can be personalised by choosing which of the four products you want to include. The box we received is actually named after the highest peak in Iceland; Hvannadalshnjúkur and though maybe not the catchiest name for us brits, the contents inside are as high quality as the name suggests. The beard oil, moustache wax and beard balm all have the same delicious sweet scent which comes from the Sweet Orange and Lemongrass within the formula. The handy beard balm and moustache wax tins are a good size and the droplet tip for the beard oil makes for easy application. These beard care kits come in 9 different scents to choose from and we received a sample of the beard oil of each. The variety of scents are great; mainly based around woody, natural smells but with hints of recognisable influences from liquorice to lemon, so we’re sure there’s a perfect one for your receiver.

You can purchase these here for £40.41. 

Our next gift is the great all-rounder, for men who want simple but effective skincare products; Skinauthority has the answer. Their Signature Clean Skin Care box offers four products which every man needs in his grooming routine; Daily wash, Shave serum, Hydrating Sunscreen and Reviving eye brightener. The gel formula of the daily wash works to remove dirt and oil from the skin to leave soft, smooth skin. Only a thin layer of the Anti-aging shave serum is needed for a close shave, this formula is good for sensitive skin as it doesn’t irritate skin, but leaves is moisturised. The hydrating sunscreen can be used liberally all over the body and is a strong SPF30 to protect skin from any burns and the eye cream can be used daily to erase crows feet whilst reducing puffiness. The bottle designs reflect Skin authority's philosophy of simple but effective, with simple monochrome packaging. 

This little high-performance collection is £ 114.50 here.

For a natural skincare brand we have Nuxe Paris. This brand focuses on harnessing power from trees and uses plant-derived bases for its products. The collection we received included their Shower gel, Shaving Gel, After shave balm and the luxury product Anti-aging Fluid. The range is for all skin types including sensitive skin and all of the products have a very subtle woody scent. The shaving gel is dense and creamy to improve the precision of the shaving, the multi-purpose after shave balm should be used directly after shaving to increase the softness of the skin. The shower gel creates a lather and is great for use on the face, body and hair. Lastly, the Nuxellence cream boosts the energy in the skin and when used daily can make the skin appear more youthful and firmer. The brown bottle packaging looks modern and are simple to use.

You can find the Luxury Collection Gift set here for £ 20.

This year Ted Baker have released Ted’s essentials, a 4 piece box of their most classic fragrances. The mix of M, Skinwear, XO and X2O makes an exceptional present. We love how varied the smells are and in classic Ted Baker style the packaging is sleek and simple, the 4 bottles are held in a black box embossed with copper letters. The fragrances are cased in matt black bottles with copper lids and the small size mean they are ideal for travelling or on-the-go men. The top notes of all the scents are different, with M having a woody base, Skinwear is a fresh aromatic scent, XO is fresh, green and woody and X2O is spicy and intense.

These elegant miniatures are available here for £ 22.