Intense Ultra Restore Facial Oil and Rose Quartz Body Oil - ISUN

With the ever-hectic world consuming us, it is sometimes imperative to sit back and indulge in a moment of mindfulness. Whether you're reading a book, going for a walk or taking the time to enjoy your skincare routine, it is important that we treat ourselves. If like us at The Amazing Blog your me-time is your skincare routine, ISUN, and their organic skincare range is perfect for these moments as it is founded on the concept of mindfulness to give you youthful, balanced and radiant skin.

ISUN's core ethos is to produce a positive healing effect on the body, mind and spirit, leading to a sense of total well-being. Bunnie Gullick, the creator of ISUN, maintains that the only way our skin can emit and hold onto the vitality and radiance of youth, is when it absorbs the nutrition and energy from alive ingredients. As such, ISUN's products only contain alive ingredients, giving you the greatest results. It has been proven that plants contain potent regenerating energies absorbed from the sun, and this energy can then be transferred to the skin. ISUN believe that not only does this process make us more balanced physically, mentally and emotionally, but that it also helps us become more open and loving toward others.

We can most certainly vouch for the natural feel and smell of the Intense Ultra Restore Facial Oil. With 100% active ingredients, consisting of stabilised Vitamin C, CoQ10, antioxidants and rejuvenating fatty acids, your skin will be left intensely moisturised and firmer. The CoQ10 boosts collagen in the skin, making this oil a prime anti-ageing contender. You mustn’t neglect your body in your skincare routine, and with the Rose Quartz Oil your body will receive the beneficial properties of the herb-infused essential oils. The oil will soothe and nourish your skin, promoting cell renewal. Each bottle of body oil contains a small rose quartz crystal which, as ISUN puts it best, is included to ‘subtly vibrate the healing energies of the crystal into the oil’.

You can purchase the face oil here for £110 and the body oil here for £48.

Friday Favourites - Latest Cookbooks

We love nothing more than making a home cooked meal at The Amazing Blog. We find the process of cooking to be an incredibly therapeutic one, as well as being one of the best ways to make small and easy changes in your life. We’ve always thought that mixing things up in the kitchen is an excellent, if not the best, way to lift yourself from a slump. In fact, many of the best evenings we’ve had, have been sitting around a table with friends sharing a bottle of wine and a delicious and carefully prepared home cooked meal. As such, we are always looking for new cookbooks with exciting, delicious and new recipes for us to try! So here is a review of five of our favourites to help you add a bit of extra spice to the kitchen; from five-star restaurant cuisine to Jewish home cooking,  game day favourites and kitchen hacks! We've even included a special book for all you chocoholics out there!

First on our list is The Mountain Café Cookbook: A Kiwi in the Cairngorms, which was written by the brilliant chef at the Mountain Café in Scotland, Kirsten Gilmour. One of the main reasons we love this book is its inclusivity! In the introduction, Gilmour talks about taking a trip with a coeliac friend and realising how hard it was for her friend to eat food and stay healthy. Despite being told food was safe for her it often wasn’t, and she would suffer the horrible effects later. As such, Gilmore vowed to make food that was reliable for everyone. Her book is filled with mouth-wateringly good recipes and using a key, she takes the care and time to let you know which recipes are gluten-free, vegan, egg free, wheat free and dairy free! It can be a daunting task finding a recipe that is safe or reliable when cooking for a friend with dietary restrictions,  and in our experience has led to less than desirable meals, but with this book in your kitchen those days will be a thing of the past. Having this key takes the pressure off, and you know that everyone will be happy and leave the table feeling safe and looked after.

The book is full of exciting flavours including your favourite classic dishes with restaurant quality twists; such as beef, chorizo and mushroom stew, lamb kofta kebabs and sweet potato, spinach and caramelised onion quiche. The salads in the book were definitely among our favourite recipes, and were so much more than your everyday garden variety salad; our two favourites were the seared lamb, halloumi, orange, roasted carrot and almond salad and the sweet potato, red pepper, pine nut and feta salad. These are delicious as light summer dinners as well as healthy lunches to take with you to work.

You can purchase these wonderful recipes and much more here from £20.00

Diana Falk’s cookbook, The Hungry Fan's Game Day Cookbook: 103 Recipes for Fangating, Eating, Drinking & Watching Sports, is the perfect book for those days when everyone comes over to watch a big game or race. The food is not only fun but delicious, and each recipe is guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser!

The book is a mixture of healthy and decadent ideas, that will all help with the festivity and excitement of your next sports event. From Bacon, Cheddar Spud Nachos to panko and coconut crusted prawns to lentil salad – there is a delicious recipe in here for every sports lover you know. What we think is fabulous about these recipes is that, whether your guests know everything there is to know about sports, or are completely uninterested, both will have a fun time – even if your team loses!

You can purchase this cookbook here for £18.22 and be the MVP of the day!

We cannot think of a more appropriate title for a cookbook, as in Yiddish the word Fress means “to eat copiously and without restraint.” This is exactly what you’ll want to do as you peruse the recipes in this book. Emma Spritz was a finalist on BBC1 Masterchef, and her cookbook brings together a melting pot of Middle-Eastern and Eastern European tastes to create big flavours that are happy and sociable dishes to feed to friends and family. 

We love how unfussy Emma’s style is, her food is all about extracting maximum flavour from the simplest ingredients in the easiest way.  Embracing recipes from Poland, Russia, Israel, North Africa and Algeria, there is bound to be a delicious recipe for you in here. Whether the recipe brings back a homely familiarity or an exotic new flavour you cannot go wrong with these meals and are sure to wow your friends. 

you can purchase Fress: Bold, Fresh Flavours from a Jewish Kitchen here for £17.00 to start cooking these delicious Jewish flavours at home

Next, on our list is Mastering Chocolate: Recipes, Tips and Techniques from a Master Chocolatier - we would be monsters if we didn’t give you at least one indulgent dessert-centric cookbook! If you want to wow your chocoholic friends and be revered as the master of all chocolate, then this book is for you. With twenty recipes from simple truffles to awe-inspiring tiered cakes, this book explains the essential equipment and provides complete step-by-step photos of each stage of every recipe to help you make the most perfect desserts possible.

The book was written by award-winning pastry chef and chocolatier Mark Tilling.  In case you don’t know who he is, he is the twice UK chocolate master and winner of the first series of BBC2’s Bake-off: Crème de la Crème. These recipes have been tried, and tested and are easy enough to tempt beginners while having the perfect range and creativity for professional chefs! We are still on the lookout for another excuse to make the utterly divine chocolate berry tart!

If you fancy becoming a master chocolatier, then you can purchase Tilling’s cookbook here for £20.00.

Now, while this final book is not technically a cookbook, we simply had to share it with you as Kitchen Hacks: Uncommon Solution to Common Problems is a definite must have! The book teaches you brilliant and easy ‘kitchen hacks’ such as how to professionally hull of a strawberry using only a straw, how to easily peel a hard boiled egg, and how to preserve herbs by freezing them in oil for easy and quick use the next time you need them. What we loved about this book is how it has completely revolutionised the way we move around in our kitchen and how we prepare the food we make. It’s taught us new, better and more time efficient techniques. So now when we have a dinner party, it’s an effortless occasion, and we get to spend time with our guests! We cannot imagine our lives without this handy book being within reach.

You can purchase your very own kitchen helper here for £7.99

So what are you waiting for? Anyone of these books will spice up your everyday cooking or impress at your next dinner party or family lunch. So whether you are trying to get out of a slump or looking to dazzle someone, you'll be able to do it with these in your kitchen. 

Earl Grey and Green Tea - Hope and Glory Tea

Fancy a cup of tea? Here at The Amazing Blog, the answer to that question is always yes. Today we are drinking Hope & Glory tea and savouring every sip. From the robust flavours in the Maharaja signature range to the softer more delicate herbal tisanes in the Rani range, Hope and Glory tea will lift your spirits. Certified, organic and completely free trade, this tea is hand-picked from countries all over the world and is curated with the British palate in mind.  

Their teas are split into four collections, each with a name as royal as the tea itself. There is the robust and strong Maharajah collection, the nurturing and natural Maharani collection, the unique Rajah collection and of course the delicate Rani range. Hope & Glory offers their products as either loose leaf sachets or as pyramid tea bags with differing quantity options for each. 

We were fortunate enough to sample Hope and Glory’s Earl Grey Tea and Green Tea which are both from the Rani collection. The Earl Grey has a light and aromatic flavour. Infused with natural Bergamot oil this tea has a hint of sweet lime and delectable and refreshing citrus notes. Take it with milk or without, this Earl Grey is delicious and is the perfect way to start your morning or as an afternoon pick-me-up. The Green Tea is mellow and bright and, we think, the ideal way to unwind after a long day at the office and a stressful commute home – after all, as Hope and Glory say, “where there is tea there is hope.” 

You can purchase these moreish teas here, and prices range from £11.00 - £25.00 depeding on the style of tea and the quantity you desire. 
 

Rosehip Oil, Rosehip Oil with Vitamin C and cellular radiance serum - [A'kin]

The idea of 'pure' ingredients may not seem like something you’ve thought about, or if you have, it might sound like a fanciful dream, but we here at The Amazing Blog have found the reality. [A’kin] is a brand which defines itself by its dedication to “the power of purity.” Their products undertake a unique process to ensure that their ingredients are: properly researched for their health and beauty benefits, extracted in their purest and most beneficial form, and selected and tested for synergy and skin compatibility. As such we had high hopes and expectations for the two oils and one serum we tried.

Both of the [A’kin] Oils we tried used Rosehip as the basis of the products, but both achieved different results. Rosehip is rich in antioxidants and essential fatty acids which help to give skin a youthful and healthy glow. Rosehip is also full of Omega 3, 6, and 9 which help to restore moisture as well as nurturing and rejuvenating the appearance of skin. The first Rosehip based oil we tried was the Brightening Rosehip Oil with Vitamin C, and we can honestly say it did everything it said and more! Our skin felt brighter and clearer, as the Vitamin C in the oil acts as a powerful reviving antioxidant helping to neutralise free radicals, clear up the skin, all the while keeping it hydrated and fed! While the Brightening Rosehip Oil with vitamin C is suitable for all skin, the Pure Radiance Rosehip Oil is better suited for dry and or sensitive skin types. This oil left our skin feeling smooth and deeply hydrated. The oil is enriched with pure active botanicals and contains only two ingredients: rosa canina seed (rosehip) extract and rosemary leaf extract. [A'kin] Pure Radiance Rosehip Oil has a concentration of Omega essential fatty acids that is no less than 80%!! This award winning Rosehip oil helps to restore moisture and helps reduce the visible signs of aging. The result is vibrant, glowing and healthy radiant looking skin.

The [A’kin] Revitalising Cellular Radiance Serum was a fantastic anti-aging serum that completely rejuvenated our skin, restoring youthfulness. The powerful serum combines 6 organic and certified extracts: pomegranate amaranth, seabuckthorn, rosehip, calendula, and chamomile. All of which help to moisturise skin, while firming it up. It’s no wonder, therefore, that in a recent study on 32 women aged 50 and over, the serum was shown to improve skin texture by 84%, skin radiance by 69% and reduce wrinkles by 22% over a three month period. What more could you want from an all natural anti-aging serum!

You can purchase [A'kin]'s revitalising cellular radiance serum here for £26.00 their brightening rosehip oil with vitamin C here for £24.00 and their pure radiance rosehip oil here for £18.00

nügg Intense Lip Boosting Mask

With summer firmly in sight, there are no more excuses for weather-induced chapped lips.  Here at The Amazing Blog, we've got the solution for those of you that suffer all year round from dry or flaky lips. Say hello to nügg with their stylish little pot of Intensive Lip Boosting Mask.

The Intensive Lip Boosting Mask is contained in an elegant golden spherical orb and accompanied with a reusable white linen beauty cloth. What we particularly like about this product, is that the lip mask is vegan, 100% natural and made with Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, and Licorice Root Complex. The product worked well as an intensive lip mask, helping to hydrate, soften and condition our lips, it also has a fresh minty flavour. We think this makes the perfect revitalising beauty product to take on holiday.  Our Exec Editor took this lip mask on a long haul trip and has hailed it as her new travel must-have.  After her long flight, she applied it for twenty minutes, before gently removing with the reusable linen beauty cloth. She was delighted with how quickly the mask took effect, rejuvenating and restoring the moisture waving goodbye to her dehydrated lips. The effect is long-lasting and this lip mask is surprisingly economical as a little goes a long way.  You can purchase this stylish 7g pot of nügg's Intensive Lip Boosting Mask here for £10.00.