Underbelly Festival

Every city welcomes the unique, eccentric and unconventional. London is especially no stranger to this. The Amazing Blog appreciates the unusual and fun events that the city puts on, and this programme is no exception. Over the past decade, the Southbank has hosted the Underbelly Festival, and it’s back this summer for another wild experience. Until the end of September, you can purchase tickets to attend live circus, comedy, cabaret and family entertainment. 

Join the live entertainment this month, accompanied by international food and drink, right on the banks of the Thames. Prepare to have your mind blown, according to Time Out, with the showgirls of the House of Burlesque. The provocative performance will have you singing and dancing along with their soundtrack and sing-alongs. Come and celebrate their 7th year performing on the Southbank!  On until 27th September, you can purchase a ticket here for £21.00. The show lasts about 80 minutes.

After you’ve witnessed the revolutionary movement of the House of Burlesque, attend Europe’s most prestigious Burlesque competition, Burlesque Idol 2018. In its 9th year, the competition has produced starlets from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Paris and America. At the event, guests will be greeted by showgirls and given a ballot to vote on their favourite contestant. Help the judges pick the next Burlesque Idol by purchasing tickets here for £21.00.

Next up on the lineup, is cabaret with The Raspberry Cannoli Cabaret and Marcel Lucont’s Cabaret Fantastique. For one night only, on the 19th September, the talented group, Raspberry Cannoli Cabaret will be performing. Tickets can be purchased here from £21.00. Don’t miss out on headliners such as Ray Gelato and the Giants who have played for H.M. Queen, Sir Paul McCartney and Richard Branson. If you can’t make it on the 19th, don’t fret! Marcel Lucont’s Cabaret Fantastique will have shows this month. You can purchase tickets here from £17.00.

Most shows range from £21.00 or less! Find out about the other exciting events happening at the Underbelly Festival. There is something for everyone!

The Chicken Shed Chocolate

We all deserve to indulge from time to time and let's be honest, the only way to really treat ourselves is with some delectable choccies; however, we don’t mean ANY old chocolate!  At  The Amazing Blog, we're always on the lookout for something a little bit more luxurious and lucky us The Chicken Shed were kind enough to send us some of their unique handcrafted raw chocolates just in time to satisfy our sweet tooth (NB: Made with organic honey, not refined sugar!) This family company launched in October 2013 and has continuously developed new flavours that we couldn't wait to sink our teeth into. We also mentioned them in our Christmas Wish List a few years back and have been craving to try their latest offerings ever since.

This time they sent us their No. 6 Orange Chocolate and their No. 9 Ginger Chocolate bars. The No. 9 gave a warmth of the ginger blended perfectly with the creaminess of the Criollo chocolate which simply melted in our mouths. The ginger subtly tingles your taste buds in a way that is quite addictive.

Of course, we all know chocolate and orange make the perfect pair, but No. 6 takes on this dynamic duo leaving you craving more. It has double the dose of orange to pack a punch, but the scattering of orange peel across the top made it look like we were biting into a piece of art and a delicious one at that. 

Each chocolate comes sweetly wrapped up in a rustic white, minimalist package. It gives it that lovingly artisan feel that perfectly matches what's on the inside. We would like to quickly mention that just because we like to indulge, doesn’t mean we don’t care what goes into our treats. Sweetened with organic wild forest honey from Zambia, each handcrafted bar only uses the purest organic ingredients without refined sugars, dairy or gluten, so these raw bars will satisfy your cravings without any of the guilt. So go ahead, get yourself have a bar or (like us) two!
The Chicken Shed Chocolate bars are available in 9 mouth-watering flavours, our favourite being ginger of course. You can find them here for £4.50 each. There is a special 10% off until the 30th of April 2018 if you shop on their website using the discount code: AMAZINGPR.

Kansha Alchemy - Good Hair Nutrient Complex

Here at The Amazing Blog, we are always looking for products that can really help make every day, a good hair day. So we were super excited to receive the Kansha Alchemy Good Hair Nutrient Complex. We were sent a 1 month supply of this special vitamin complex that helps to encourage the growth of thick, healthy hair. Kansha Alchemy was founded by Carol Harrison and Ann-Louise Holland. Ann-Louise noticed that her hair was thinning and Carol lost her hair due to treatment for breast cancer. These women spent a significant amount of time researching and working with trichologists and hair growth experts in order to create a product that promotes healthy hair, while also working to prevent thinning and shedding. We're inspired by their stories and are excited to see what comes next from Kansha Alchemy. 

The Good Hair Pills contain a unique blend of over 20 carefully selected essential vitamins, minerals and herbs such as selenium, silica, zinc and keratin building amino acids. These ingredients help to keep hair in the anagen phase of the hair growth cycle, meaning that there is far less hair shedding. The pills also contain DHT blockers that work to decrease your sensitivity to DHT (a key cause of balding). As we took the pills, they were easy on the stomach and didn't leave us feeling sickly like some hair supplements can.

With the 1 month supply at £32.99 we took 2 pills every day. However, we would recommend taking a 3 month supply at £88.99, so that you can really see the full benefits. Due to their popularity, the product is currently (10.04.2018) out of stock. However, Kansha Alchemy is working to bring it back in stock as soon as possible. For now, you can add your email to the wait list to get more information about when the product is back in stock. 

AQ Skin Solutions

Here at The Amazing Blog, we know how over time our skin can suffer, so we are always looking for new products that help bring back that youthful glow. So when we received the  Eye Serum and Active Serum from the award-winning Californian skincare brand AQ Skin Solutions, we couldn’t wait to try them out. AQ Skin Solutions was created by Dr Ahmed Al-Qahtani who formulated this range by using cutting-edge technology (detailed here). He was inspired to start AQ Skin Solutions from conducting extensive work in medical applications of Growth Factors (GF) for healing wounded tissue and creating artificial skin grafts.

We first tried out the Eye Serum, the benefits of this product include smoothing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, brighten the appearance of dark circles and reduce signs of puffiness around the eye area. What we particularly like about this moisturising formula, is that it feels gentle on the skin, they say that it also won't irritate even the most sensitive eyes. The concentrated GF technology blend stimulates collagen production for increased firmness, while several smoothing peptides help tighten and lift the skin. Through activation of the skin’s own damage repair processes, fine lines and wrinkles are smoothed. It increases micro-circulation and lightens the under-eye area and helps to clear up eye bags and dark circles. The product is non-greasy, which means it won't clog the pores. We also like the handy 15ml bottle and the sleek packaging.

We were also lucky enough to receive the Active Serum. The serum also contains stem-cell derived growth factors to renew and accelerate skin cell regeneration. This helps erase the signs of ageing and environmental damage for a firmer, smoother complexion. Daily use of the serum helps minimise the look of fine lines and wrinkles. We used it not only on our face but also on the neck and decolletage areas too. The GF technology contained in both of these products is also being used successfully for encouraging healthy hair growth, reducing the appearance of scars and shortening the healing time of burn wounds. They say about using this serum: "Optimal improvement to your skin is generally not reached until six weeks of daily use." We only managed three weeks, but were pleased with the results.

We're happy to say, that by using both these products our skin felt softer, eyes looked brighter and it helped to give us back a more glowing complexion. All AQ Skin Solutions products are paraben, sulfate and phthalate free as well as cruelty free. You can purchase the Eye Serum here for £99 and the Active Serum here for £157.

Vbites Vegan Food and Cookbook

Vegan food has had a bit of a bad reputation in the past. When people think of vegan food, they only think of salads and tasteless fake meats, but bland vegan food is a thing of the past. Due to the bountiful health and environmental benefits of veganism, we here at The Amazing Blog have put a lot of thought into the idea of starting a vegan diet. When we learned the story behind Vbites founder, Heather Mills, we were inspired to try out veganism for ourselves. After enduring a devastating motorcycle accident, Heather discovered that the best way to heal her body was from the inside out. Which meant using a holistic approach rooted in a vegan diet. This story helps to explain why she was determined to create delicious foods that satisfy every craving, while nourishing the body. After learning her story, we were even more thrilled to receive a sampling of the Meat-Free products from this pioneering and award-winning plant-based brand at Vbites.  

Eating less meat or cutting it out completely can be daunting for many individuals, which is why Vbites products are perfect for anyone who needs a little help getting their foot in the door when it comes to becoming a vegan. Vbites offers a wide array of vegan products including meat-free, dairy-free, and fish-free products. To help with meal preparations, we would suggest using The LoveBites recipe book. This cookbook from Vbites comes with each of their Plant-Based Kits, which offers 60 new easy-to-follow recipes to try out and fall in love with. You can whip up delicious alternatives to some of your favourite meals like shepherd’s pie or asparagus quiche that are all completely vegan. From starters to soups, salads and main dishes, these recipes have definitely inspired us to cook more hearty meals that make us feel good from the inside out.

Our personal favourite of the Vbites selection that we tried was the Meat-Free Duck Hoisin (£2.99 for 150g). We added it to a veggie stir-fry and were licking our plates clean. We had some friends over to it try out and they were amazed to learn what they thought was a duck hoisin stir fry was in fact 100% vegan! Coming in a close second was the Meat-Free Lincolnshire Style Sausages (£2.69 for 295g) which we plated up as Bangers 'n Mash for a quick Sunday night supper (with a dollop of baked beans). They truly did taste like savoury sausages and certainly satisfied one very hungry male guest! 

So whether you are already practising a vegan lifestyle or you are considering starting, these Vbites will help you to incorporate some seriously tasty and healthy meals into your diet. You can check out the wide array of Vbites vegan products on their website here.