Wow Beauty + Saskia's Flower Essences: CFF: Clarify, Focus and Flow Flower Essence & Powerful Woman Flower Essence

We believe in flower power. What about you? Today meet these ‘flower essences’ created by capturing the unique vibrational energy of a plant and holding it as a memory in water. In simple terms, when the flower essence is swallowed, an individual’s energy is reminded how to be, taking the body back to its original balance. At The Amazing Blog, we love how these flower essences help to boost confidence and give us back our balance. A while back, we wrote about Saskia’s Flower Essences here, and today, we’re featuring more from the brand who have partnered with Wow Beauty to launch the CFF: Clarify, Focus and Flow Flower Essence  and the Powerful Woman Flower Essence. We will explain why we think that these are true ‘nature’s little helpers’.  

The background to these begins in 2021, when Wow Beauty partnered with Saskia’s Flower Essences to launch these two unique botanical blends. Their alliance came via a chance meeting on social media, which has since led to a joining of minds and the creation of a new range of flower essences. Saskia’s Flower Essences was founded in 2003 by formulator and practitioner Saskia Marjoram, who has worked with plants and botanicals her whole life. Her background is as a professional gardener and as a florist to H.R.H. Prince of Wales. The brand’s essences are primarily made from native wildflowers and trees. Each tincture is designed to help people shift and change their emotional and behavioural issues. Saskia said, “I was delighted when Denise asked me to develop a blend with the title ‘Clarity Focus Flow’ from my range of single essences. After quite some deliberation and lots of intuition, the final essences we chose are designed to help people feel clear and sure as they move forward in their lives with a sense of purpose.” Saskia went on to say, “I am continually fascinated by how plants and humans interact and the wisdom they have to share with us. My deep love, friendship and knowledge of the flowers has continued to grow as I discover just how powerfully their energy affects and interacts with us.” Denise Rabor is best known for Wow Beauty ,a natural beauty and wellbeing portal that launched in 2016. More recently, she has launched The D.O.R Beauty Edit, an online store with products from female-led holistic and wellbeing brands. Denise has always been intrigued by vibrational medicine and flowers for helping solve emotional states, and this is how the concept for creating ‘CFF’ was born. Denise told us, “CFF is something that came to me early last year when I was creating some personal affirmations. Why? I needed to clarify and refine my purpose but required extra support. I wanted to create a product that could help things happen whilst also maintaining a state of flow. And I know that many women that I've spoken with feel the same need for some extra support.”  People have used flowers to heal emotions for thousands of years, extending back to Ancient Egypt and indigenous Australians who also used them as part of healing ceremonies to resolve emotional imbalances. In fact, we learnt from Endeavour College of Health that the earliest European recorded use of flower essences was by abbess Hildegard von Bingen in the twelfth century. It was where muslin sheets were placed over flowers at night to absorb the dew, then be collected in the morning, rung out, and used to treat people with emotional imbalances. However, it wasn’t until 1930 that Dr Edward Bach discovered the vibrational power of flowers and how to apply flower essence, thus creating 38 Bach Flower Remedies. This is where extraordinarily talented alchemists like Saskia Marjoram carry on this legacy. 

At this precise moment in time, the need for flower essences could not be more poignant. As the world gradually finds its feet after the global pandemic, this is when we all need to ask for help and guidance from these essences as ‘nature’s little helpers’. The CFF: Clarity, Focus, Flow Flower Essence was created to support individuals for when some clarity in life is needed. It helps to maintain focus, and achieve and maintain a flow. To use, take seven drops of essence two to three times a day, and say a personal affirmation. Take these drops for as long as you need, whether it’s a couple of days or weeks. The bottle contains 30ml, and the ingredients include springwater (60%), organic vodka (40%), and energy imprint of rio clarillo, crab apple, blackberry, peppermint, and willow (16% ABV). Springwater is free of contaminants and contains important minerals, organic vodka is free of pesticides and GMOs.  Rio clarillo helps you go with the flow, crab apple enables you to release guilt and shame, blackberry enables you to feel that it’s safe to grow, peppermint enables you to be clear and focused, and willow helps you be flexible. 

The Powerful Woman Flower Essence is for a confidence boost and was made with a view to helping women step into their power, have a strong sense of self and succeed at anything they put their mind to do. It is designed to enhance creativity and increase intuition.  Again, like the CCF, take seven drops of the essence under the tongue. The ingredients include springwater (60%), organic vodka (40%), and energy imprint of dandelion, twayblade, blackberry, bluebell, nettle, pennyroyal, and evening primrose (16% ABV). Springwater and organic vodka (described above). The dandelion allows you to release, twayblade helps you take a leap of faith, blackberry enables you to feel safe to grow, bluebell helps you be heard, nettle is for when you are really mad, pennyroyal helps you feel complete, and evening primrose enables you to see the light in the dark. 

Since childhood, my mother actively encouraged both anxious humans and pets to take a few drops of Bach Flower Essences under the tongue, and this has stayed with me, as a regular practice. I still use many of the Bach Flower remedies and I’m also a big fan of Saskia Flower Essences, primarily of the Focus Energise Create, which interesting has one or two of same ingredients as CFF. So, for me, the CFF would be my current ‘go to’ rather than the Powerful Woman. That said, Powerful Woman has a place and on days when one feels indecisive or full of self-doubt. And before you ask, all these flower essences are completely safe to use in conjunction with other medicines, homoeopathic treatments or during pregnancy and breastfeeding. We highly recommend try these, especially if you are a novice to the world of flower essences, and think these are a great first step. All flower essences are 30ml and you can find the CFF: Clarity, Focus, Flow Flower Essence here for £15.00 and the Powerful Woman Flower Essence here for £15.00.

Toucan Eco: eSpray

Because of the pandemic, cleaning has become more important than ever. That’s why at The Amazing Blog  we were excited to discover the Toucan Eco eSpray which cleans effectively and is also very eco-friendly! What we love the most about this product is that it kills coronavirus; and no, it isn’t just a single-use plastic bottle. Keep reading on….

Toucan Eco, a British company under the Robert Scott brand, who create eco-friendly cleaning products. The company’s products use one of the safest and most effective disinfectant and cleaning solutions — with JUST water, salt, and electricity. Toucan Eco’s technology was inspired by our body’s immune system, which can produce hypochlorous acid, a potent and naturally occurring disinfectant. Following the same idea, the technology in this product recombines the naturally occurring elements of hydrogen, oxygen, and chlorine into hypochlorous acid, which makes an effective disinfectant, a sodium hypochlorite, and a mild pH level cleaning agent. Hypochlorous acid is used to disinfect ambulance cabins, clean health care workers’ clothing after testing people for COVID-19, and is used as a cleaning product in other businesses. The idea of using water, salt, and electricity has been around since 1834, and Toucan Eco is now bringing it to the home or workplace. The company’s products include the Toucan Eco eSpray, the Toucan Eco Worktop, the Toucan Eco Active, the Toucan Eco Active Plus, and the Toucan Eco Flow. Toucan Eco is the first hypochlorous disinfectant to receive double certification against viruses, including the EN 14476 and EN 16777 certifications. EN 14476 tests the solution’s efficacy, and EN 16777 tests if this efficacy can be applied to the real world of cleaning. Since Toucan Eco is the first hypochlorous disinfectant to have both these certifications, it is the most effective hypochlorous solution on the market. The EN 14476 and EN 16777 certification tests target viruses, including coronavirus, and many chemical disinfectants do not have these certifications. In addition to these certifications, the solution is EN 1276 and EN 13697 certified (which test for bacterial efficacy) and registered as an EU Biocide. The company won  the British Toilet Association 2011 Innovation Award for the Best New Product and the Innovation Award for Best Eco/Green Product at The Cleaning Show. Steve Courtney, the Business Development Manager at Toucan Eco, recently said in a conference, “This year has been a different year, and so it’s worth emphasising that this solution when it’s made is a very, very powerful sanitiser and disinfectant but totally harmless, non-hazardous, can’t harm anybody.”

The Toucan Eco eSpray lets you create a disinfectant, cleaner, and deodoriser from ONLY water, salt, and electricity. Although it may not sound like much, it kills more than 99.99% of germs, including coronavirus. The product is used to clean and disinfect any surface (kitchens, bathrooms, fabrics, glass, etc.) it’ll deodorise and kill the germs that create odours, sanitise hands, sterilise children’s toys and clothes. You can even spray fresh fruit and vegetables to remove dirt and pesticides. They also suggest using it to remove trainer odour by soaking overnight, and even spray pets’ paws and coats!. The list is endless….Making this eSpray much more versatile than any other standard chemical cleaning product. We think that this makes this eSpray the easier, greener, safer, proven and money-saving option. The product is easy, because you only have to add two ingredients, greener because it doesn’t contain chemicals, and isn’t a single-use plastic bottle. Plus it’s safe because it is hypoallergenic, 100% natural and proven because it has been tested by EU accredited independent laboratories and university research departments. It’s money-saving because it costs less than the average household spends on home cleaning products each year. This eSpray makes 350ml of disinfectant cleaner, and all you have to do is add 3g of table salt, fill with tap water, and then activate, which will take five minutes and last seven days before the solution is just salty water again. When activated the eSpray goes through a colourful array of red, blue and green light settings, and when completed the solution is ready to be sprayed onto any surface and left to dry or wiped away — you can also apply it as a mist to disinfect larger areas.  As mentioned earlier, with this eSpray, you kill 99% of bacteria and viruses and it’s not only safe but hypoallergenic and practically free to make! This is one of our most exciting #amazingfinds for 2021, and something that we wish we’d discovered sooner! We highly recommend this eSpray it comes with a one-year guarantee, and if like us, you’re interested in what this Toucan Eco eSpray has to offer, you can find it here for £59.99. 

The Flat Lay Co: Leopard Print Full Size Flat Lay Makeup Bag

Finding a perfect present for one person can be challenging, but when it comes to Christmas with lots of friends and family, now we’re having a complete meltdown! Here at The Amazing Blog when we ask our makeup-loving friends what they want, they just say: “Oh we’ll leave it up to you…” But then there’s always the question of: “Is it the right brand and colour?” However, the problem‘s solved this year with our latest #amazingfinds and The Flat Lay Co with their Flat Lay Makeup Bags.

After spending time getting her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, the founder Izzy Howe realised that it wasn’t the right career for her and promptly switched to business for her postgraduate education. After working in multiple tech companies, she decided to change her focus and 2017 The Flat Lay Co was born. Based in Shoreditch, Howe’s goal has been to create a product which offers a time-saving solution for an everyday problem. She noticed a gap in the market for a drawstring flat lay make up bag. This is a cosmetics bag that opens flat, offering the user to view all their makeup at once, with no more scrabbling around to find that all-important lip gloss at the bottom!  This ingenious drawstring flat lay makeup bag is the brand’s signature product and comes in a variety of colours and designs. Apart from the drawstring open flat makeup bags, they also have Brush Cases, Box Bags, Oversized Eye Masks and Scrunchies, so something to suit every budget.

The Leopard Print Flat Lay Makeup Bag has been a joy to use, as it’s both practical and stylish and comes in two sizes 50cm at £19.99 (that we have) or in a ‘Mini’ in 33cm at £17.99. Best of all, there is a range of fourteen different colourways to choose from, as well as three pale coloured soft velvet bags that coordinate with the Box Cases and Brush Bags. This leopard print was the one that caught our eye, and in a matter of seconds, we could open the flat lay makeup bag and find exactly the product we wanted, rather than rummaging around for ages.  The outer shell is made of a thick material which protects products from breakage, where there’s also a raised edge to stop anything from rolling away. Let’s not forget to mention the inside and outside pockets too, which hold loose products that might get lost, plus four elastic holders designed for brushes. What more do you need? We love these and think the ‘Mini’ is ideal for everyday use in our handbag, whereas the ‘Full size’ also makes an excellent travel companion. More importantly, we think this is an absolute must-have present for every makeup lover.  You can purchase any of The Flat Lay Co Makeup Bags here and by using our exclusive code THEAMAZINGBLOG15, you can receive 15% off your purchase.

The Health & Beauty Botanical Handbook by Pip Waller

Now that we’re all working from home, at The Amazing Blog regular walks in the countryside and gardening have become even more precious, as we get back to nature and using our kitchens as never before.  Herbal lore and remedies have been used by humans over the centuries.  In London there are a number of wonderful apothecary’s gardens growing medicinal plants, The Chelsea Physic Garden is only a ten-minute walk for us and has over 5,000 different varieties of edible and medicinal plants.  We have found ourselves inspired by this Health and Beauty Botanical Handbook which is full of information and recipes.

The Health and Beauty Botanical Handbook is written by Pip Waller who is an experienced medical herbalist and plant spirit practitioner. She has taught at the Academy of Natural Health in London and was a clinical supervisor for the UK-based National Institute of Medical Herbalists Training Clinic.  Pip is also the author of Holistic Anatomy - An Integrative Guide to the Human Body (North Atlantic Books, 2011) and The Domestic Alchemist. She has successfully taught anatomy, physiology and pathology to students of natural medicine since 1991. Her teaching style, which is informal yet extremely informative, comes across well in this book.  Pip Waller shares her invaluable herbal know-how for natural wellbeing.

The book helps to turn the kitchen into a pharmacy providing plant-powered health and beauty recipes. From making tinctures and tonics to syrups and creams, this world-renowned herbalist shares over 350 recipes for pure well-being and holistic health.   An introduction to the power of plants is followed by growing tips and profiles; guidelines on how to set up your kitchen to make the recipes, and techniques for making everything from tinctures to tonics.  It starts with some information about herbs and making herbal recipes, then the recipes themselves and a herb dictionary. Although this book doesn't have any photographs, it's illustrated beautifully. Each recipe has a little blurb and there are extra notes and cautions throughout the book too. The ingredient dictionary at the end is helpful for anyone inexperienced in making herbal remedies. One of the best things about this book is that each recipe lists tell us how long it keeps for, and instructions on how to store, which is great for peace of mind so you know you're only consuming/using fresh and safe products. 

This book has inspired us to try out some of the recipes and read up about herbs and their healing properties.  This is the perfect time of year for the Soothing Sloe C Syrup as sloes are now in the hedgerows (the fruit of the blackthorn) this can help with bronchial conditions, colds, catarrh and inflammation of the throat.  The Weight Loss Spice Tea is also good to try with ginger, cardamom, turmeric and cayenne pepper to help burn fat. The Rosemary Vinegar Hair Rinse can be used in multiple ways, as a rinse to increase shine and restore the hair’s protective acid pH or as a drink to improve circulation.  Totally fitting into our way of life now. You too can buy the book a here from Quarto Books, the price is good value at £12.99. We think that this book is a great introduction to gaining a better understanding of plants and herbs and their uses.  Now we have it, we’ll be dipping into it as we go foraging! 

THE PASTRY CHEF’S GUIDE by Ravneet Gill

Here at The Amazing Blog we not only enjoy eating delicious food but also finding new ways to simplify and cook it ourselves.  We’ve been making sure that we have got a supply of flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda so we can enjoy the current baking craze whilst staying at home.  Talking of which, today we’re featuring  The Pastry Chef’s Guide which will help ‘to up your game’ and get you onto another level in the world of baking. It also helped satisfy a sweet tooth! 

The Pastry Chef’s Guide is written by the inspirational Ravneet Gill for both chefs and home bakers, it’s a reference book that should be on everyone’s cookbook shelf.  Don’t be ‘afraid’ of baking is the message!  Gill writes about her love of baking and pastry which shines through, it’s easy and fun to read. It shows how to go back to basics and explains the use of each ingredient in detail like butter, gluten, gelatine; so you know how to get it right every time. Having started her love of sweets with chocolate covered raisins and Cadbury’s Fruit & Nut;  Gill studied at Le Cordon Bleu before taking over the pastry sections at St John, Llewelyn’s and Wild by Tart. Now a freelance chef, during 2018  she set up an industry networking forum called Countertalk, it’s a job service and community that advises on healthy work environments in the food industry. She has since successfully hosted events that encourage chefs to expand their knowledge outside of their stations by learning directly from other chefs.

The book is a joy to read as well as being straightforward in telling you how to line your tins, boiling points and what equipment you really need.  This book is all about the ingredients and taste-making sure it is seasonal whilst producing impressive puddings and pastries, Gill says she learned a lot of that from Fergus Henderson who writes the introduction to the book.  The Cherry and Custard Pie that she created here, is still on the menu at St John’s Restaurant.  The recipes are seriously good having been organised into sections of Sugar, Custards, Chocolate, Pastry, Biscuits, Cakes and Puddings.  There are step-by-step recipes to help you master custard, nail crème patisserie, or bake the ultimate gluten-free chocolate cake.  So whether you want to make a fluffy birthday cake, smooth and rich ice creams macarons, or meringues, Gill gives great advice to make it all seem easy, a good pastry chef is all about balance.  There are also great tips to help avoid the pitfalls, i.e. for meringues use a clean dry glass, ceramic, or metal bowl to avoid the egg absorbing any smell, colour, grease from a plastic bowl. French, Italian even Swiss meringues are all clearly explained; as are all the uses for custard from ice cream to doughnut filling, delicious. You can buy the book here at the price of £18.99, we think it’s a must for any cook!  

For those who want an online course, you can join Ravneet Gill at the Puff Bakery School for pastry online, where there are some great reviews on their courses.