Apple Green Tea, Rooibos Choc Cinnamon - Piacha

Here at The Amazing Blog offices we love our tea time, and lately we've been enjoying some great blends from the artisan tea bar and shop Piacha. They sent us some samples in the form of a lovely envelop (as you can see on the picture) and our favourites were the Apple Green Tea and the Rooibos Choc Cinnamon.

The Apple Green Tea blends Chinese green tea, known for its high level of antioxidants, with sweet apple pieces and cinnamon. What we liked the most about it was its refreshing taste mixed with the slight spiciness of the cinnamon. We used 2 to 3 teaspoons per mug and waited a little bit before pouring boiling water directly onto the leaves, as Piacha suggests, since this can make the green tea go bitter.

Our next favourite, the Rooibos Choc Cinnamon, blends the caffeine-free rooibos with cocoa shells, cinnamon and cardamom. We love to have this one with milk as we feel it works perfectly with its 'chai' flavour and the sweet aftertaste of cocoa and vanilla.

For the perfect 'tea experience' go check what Piacha has to offer. You can purchase their Apple Green Tea here or their Rooibos Choc Cinnamon here for £6.90 each.

Eye Feature - Friday Favourites

Now we don't know if eyes really are windows to the soul, but at The Amazing Blog, we do know that eyes can be very telling! Puffy eyes reveal a lack of sleep, bright eyes allude to healthiness, and panda eyes say that maybe you had a little too much fun last night! As such, we have decided to dedicate this Friday to some of our favourite products and all of them are items that we believe really help our eyes tell the story we want!

The first miracle product is Skinshop's Dry Eye Concealer. If you have any pesky little imperfections you want to hide then this is the concealer for you. While it easily conceals any dry, red and flaky areas around the eye, it also helps to treat them!

The concealer is able to treat these issues because of two key ingredients; Cardiospermum and Biolin. Cardiospermum is a natural ingredient that helps calm dry and irritated skin. Whereas Biolin, which is a skin prebiotic, helps repair damaged skin by feeding it healthy skin flora, so it injects and traps a much-needed boost of moisture to your under-eyes.

This concealer comes in a natural skin tint that will brighten the under eyes. To use this product, apply dots under the eye using either a finger or the silky brush applicator and blend to achieve the best results.

Concealer is a great trick to keep the area around your eyes looking youthful. You can purchase the Dry Eye Concealer here for £11.95.

Eye serums can give fantastic results if you incorporate them into your daily skincare routine, and we think that NCN is producing one of the best we've ever seen. Their Eye Fix is a fantastic product for producing more youthful looking skin in the surrounding areas, which helps to make your eyes seem brighter and clearer. The roller-ball serum is a combination multiple peptides and actives, full of antioxidants that help protect and repair the delicate surrounding skin. Eye-Fix contains a lot of ingredients that work to moisturise and smooth the skin without making it too heavy. The stars in this product are Regu-Age and Eyeliss, ingredients that contain an abundance of Vitamin E and antioxidants that help protect and rejuvenate the collagen in the skin and increases the oxygen levels in the eyes delicate tissues.

This product is so easy to use and will quickly become a part of your routine.To apply, simply sweep the roller-ball around the eye and lightly pat into the skin with your finger. For best results and to start feeling the benefits straight away, we suggest using this twice a day. NCN’s Eye-Fix is suitable for all skin types and ages, and we think the earlier you start looking after your skin the better the results will be as you age. So if you are looking to delay the effects of ageing, then this is the product for you. It truly is brilliant for long-lasting hydration.

You can buy NCN’s Eye-Fix here for £17.99.

Last on our list is the Prickly Pear Eye and Face Elixir from URB Apothecary. The elixir is comprised of three oils; pomegranate seed oil, rosehip oil, and cold-pressed organic prickly pear seed oil. The prickly pear seed oil is a super ingredient as it contains 150% more vitamin E than argan oil. We loved that the oil absorbs quickly, and the fatty acids and antioxidants penetrate deep into the skin.

This product is excellent at brightening dark spots, fading hyperpigmentation, and reducing the appearance of wrinkles. It can be used by people of ages, as well as to address a multitude of issues. It's excellent for problem skin especially as the rose, clary sage, geranium and helichrysum essential oils help balance the skin's natural oils while encouraging new cell growth. You only need a few drops to cover the face so the elixir lasts a long time, which is always a plus in our books! To apply simply tap the oil gently onto the skin under the eyes and use your ring finger to blend in upward strokes.

You can get the Prickly Pear Eye and Face Elixir by URB Apothecary here for £69.03.

Rose Plumping Cleansing Oil - Dr Renaud

As the cold weather is firmly here to stay, with no end in sight, cleansing oils are becoming a firm favourite with us here at The Amazing Blog. We have been trying out the fabulous Rose Plumping Cleansing Oil, from the always brilliant French brand Dr Renaud It is a gentle cleanser that removes all makeup (yes, even waterproof!) while leaving your skin cleaner, softer.

Dr Renaud is a brand renowned for its innovative and scientific approach to skincare. This approach has resulted in a high performing line of products that target any and all concerns you may have; from acne to redness and hyperpigmentation Dr Renaud will have the fix. This particular cleansing oil is suited to all skin types, and may particularly be appreciated by older skins, due to the cleansers non-drying formula.

Our favourite thing about this oil is that it’s full of wonderful, natural, skin-loving ingredients. It contains the active ingredients Rose Centifolia, Vitamin E, Sweet Almond Oil, Jojoba Oil, and Macadamia Oil. Whilst the rose and Vitamin E work to erase pigmentation and produce a clear complexion, the three nut oils condition and leave our skins plump and soft. The texture of the cleanser is lovely and light, turning into a milky emulsion on contact with water. You simply need to put a small amount in your hands to gently warm the oil and then apply to a dry face. After massaging the face, add water and rinse away the emulsified oil with fingers or a flannel. Your skin will be left feeling calmed and refreshed! The Rose Plumping Cleansing Oil is brilliant for fighting dryness and dehydration, so your skin will feel nourished and protected against the harshest and cruellest elements!

You can buy 200ml of Dr. Renaud’s Rose Plumping Cleansing Oil here for £25.

Moonglow Bronzer, Flirt Lip Balm & Magic Mitt - Jane Iredale

Make-up is a definite essential here at the Amazing Blog so we were very excited to try the new products by Jane Iredale. We were lucky enough to try theMoonglow Bronzer, Flirt lip balm and a Magic Mitt from their make up collection.

Contouring and highlighting has become a bit of an internet sensation over the past year, so if you've been as fascinated as we have then you should definitely try the Moonglow bronzer. It comes in a stunning rose gold palette, with four gorgeous shades for you to experiment with. Given the time of year, being able to get that golden bronzed holiday look without having to spend all your money on an actual holiday is all we want. This is definitely an achievable aim with the palette, whose shades include a bronzer that helps define your contour lines, as well as a blusher and a shimmer shade to highlight and accentuate your cheekbones.

Another benefit of this bronzer is how easily it blends and the fact it's highly pigmented means it is wonderfully long-lasting. You don't have to worry about reapplying constantly as it makes it through the day and the night with you. We also love the fact that it has a refillable palette!

The next product we tried was the lip balm 'Flirt', which is part of Jane Iredale's lip drink collection which has a variety of shades to choose from. Flirt came in a lovely, sweet, pink shade that compliments the lips natural colours so much so that it could easily be worn alone in place of a lipstick. We were very impressed with their packaging overall as the balm came in a sleek tube. It's a product you could wear every day and know that not only do your lips look great, but that they are being moisturised, and protected (Flirt is SPF 15). With a refreshing scent, being vegan, and cruelty free, this product is going to make you feel good in more than one way!

Last but by no means least, we bring you the Magic Mitt.  Made with new technology, this product removes all make up quickly and with only warm water. It cleaned our skin completely, removing all excess makeup - including our mascara! Made with knitted micro fibres the Mitt doesn't affect the skin's natural acid mantle and won't harm or affect the softness of your skin. It will also help aid the skin in protecting itself from bacteria. We would reccomend using the mitt daily to remove makeup, as well as clean the face, in order to see lasting effects.

You can purchase the all-in-one bronzer here for £29.95, you can purchase the lip balm here for £14.00 and the mitt is available here for £17.00.

Hand Cream & Moisturising Lip Balm - Swedish Handmade

At The Amazing Blog we had already tried some of the handmade products from Swedish Handmade, so this time we were excited to test their Hand Cream and Lip Balm.

The Swedish's hand cream is available in two scents: blue lavender and vanilla. Similar to the hand soap we reviewed here, the packaging is an elegant design that works well as the main focus is on the product itself. We recommend getting the hand soap along with the hand cream to incorporate into your daily hand care regime.

Both the hand soap and the hand cream are made with all natural ingredients such as coconut oil, sunflower oil and olive oil.  The hand cream is formulated with almond oil, water, bee’s wax and vitamin E oil to nourish and condition the skin. Using this product daily you will see an improvement in the softness of your hands as it will smoothen and strengthen your nails.

The last product we received was a moisturising lip balm that leaves your lips feeling soft and succulent. Recommend for daily use, the formula is soft an easily glides on to the lips. It is the perfect lip care enriched with coco butter, almond oil, grape-seed oil, bees wax, and olive and peppermint oils.

This Valentine's Day, be your own valentine and treat yourself to a lux indulge. You can purchase the Swedish Handmade Hand cream here for £9.00, and the Lip Balm here for £4.00.