Ashley Juhl - Anti-Ageing Range

We’re always on the lookout for the latest and greatest in woman’s skincare, especially when it comes to anti-ageing techniques. The Amazing Blog came across Ashley Juhl Skincare, a luxury American skincare range formulated by medical aesthetician, Ashley Juhl. Ashley opened her first skincare clinic at 24 years old and has devoted her career to helping people attain beautiful skin. Her dermatologist-formulated and tested skincare range is designed to have clinical results. Each product includes medical and botanical ingredients and is intended to correct, restore, and protect the skin. We we fortunate to have the opportunity to try four of their products.

Firstly, we gave the Ultra Benefits Firming and Brightening Moisturiser a go. This is an antioxidant-full moisturiser that helps to prevent and reduce visible ageing changes. As well as its hydrating and evening skin tone abilities, this moisturiser contains Chromabright, which decreases the appearance of age spots and uneven pigment. It also contains peptides that help to strengthen the skin’s collagen and reduce the appearance of fine lines. The added bonus? It has a lovely floral-scent.

Next, we tried the Advanced Retinol Wrinkle and Skin Tone Corrector. This serum is packed full of retinol, phospholipids, and glycolipids, ingredients which help to firm skin and reduce the look of wrinkles and pores. What makes this serum unique is the use of lipids, which do wonders to decrease dryness and repair the skin’s moisture barrier, preventing dry and irritated skin. This serum also contains advanced retinol, a combination of retinol, bioidentical phospholipids and glycolipids. Hello, younger-looking skin!

Ashley Juhl’s Vita Soothe Protective Replenishing Serum effectively smoothed our skin, giving it the extra plumping that it sometimes needed. This serum contains vitamins E and F which provide the skin with a beautiful glow. It can be used on all skin types, including acne-prone skin. One of its most important ingredients is the lipochroman antioxidant which protects the skin from ageing caused by UV rays, toxins, and pollutants. We loved the silky feel of this serum on our skin.

Lastly, we tried the C-Stem Concentrated Anti-Ageing Serum. The lilac stem cells help to lessen inflammation and give the serum a light floral scent. The vitamin C and marine extracts help to brighten the skin, as well as diminishing deep lines and pores by decreasing the skin’s ageing protein. If you’re looking for an all-in-one solution to slow down ageing, then this is the serum. What caught our attention, is the ability for this product to reactive genes, once again helping with the production of collagen, hyaluronic acid, and elastin.

If these products sound like they could help you, then they can be purchased here. You can also use the code AmazingB15 for 15% off when you purchase a skin system, or 3 or more products. Happy shopping!

Williams Handmade - Leatherwork Clutch Bag/iPad Case Course

We like to shake it up a bit on our activity weekends. After all, we can’t let those precious free days go to waste. This is when The Amazing Blog discovered Williams Handmade, a company who specialises in craft leather goods.  They offer several leather-working workshops, like the Half Day Clutch Bag/iPad Case Course.

Designer Sarah Williams founded Williams Handmade in 2010. As award winners of the Accessories Collection of the Year Award at ITS#NINE, The Accessory Award from Absolut Vodka, and taking part of the “Power of Craft” exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Williams Handmade truly deserves the description of high-quality craftsmanship. The company has also been shortlisted for the Ketel One Modern Craftsman Award and was nominated by Selfridges as one of their Bright Young Things.

From glasses cases to bags, Sarah Williams creates each of these items herself in the Williams Handmade Workshop in Bircher, Leominster which is located on the Hereford/Shropshire borders. If you love to support local artisans as we do, you should also know that the products are made from English Bridle leather coming from Northamptonshire.

We’re particularly excited about their Half Day Clutch Bag/iPad Case Course. By the end of the day, you’ll have your own clutch bag or iPad case to bring home and put to use.  Our team members have never worked with leather before, but luckily there’s no need for prior experience to take this course. The day entails learning the basics of leatherwork (i.e. how to cut and prepare leather), the traditional saddle stitch, and learning how to finish the edges. You also get to choose your preferred colour and pattern combination, so your lovely bag or case is just to your liking!

The Williams Handmade Half Day Clutch Bag/iPad Case Course runs from 9am-1pm on the 20th of October for £65. Tea, coffee, and cake are included. If you’d like to spice up your Saturday with this fabulous course, click here. If you’re interested in finding out about their other classes, click here.

Fierce Botanics - Apothecary Tonic No. 1

How wonderful is it to find new ways to turn classic drinks into something unique? The Amazing Blog found just the tonic to give our favourite drinks, gin & tonic and rum & soda, a new kick. Fierce Botanics being the flavoursome brainchild of A.S Apothecary.

Amanda Saurin is the founder of A.S. Apothecary, a traditional apothecary with over thirty years of experience in the UK and the Levant. She leads a team of ten women and a couple of chaps, who produce a small-batch natural skincare brand that uses ingredients local to the UK. Together, they decided to branch out from the world of botanical skincare, to tonic, with the launch of Fierce Botanics. Their goal is to be transparent, honest, respectful, and environmentally-conscious. They also thrive on collaborations with other green brands, traditional crafters and drinks makers, who share their passion. All of which is highly commendable!

We had the chance to taste Fierce Botanics’ Apothecary Tonic No. 1. This botanical hit immediately had us hooked, with its best quality organic ingredients (like their skincare) used in small batches and ‘done by hand’. Sipping this tonic was a delight! It was a surprise to enjoy such an unusual tonic, with complex flowers and herbs, combined with a subtle citrus tang of bright and bitter notes. Cleverly it allows for a light balance, as none of the ingredients overpower, and it’s easily quaffable with the lightly aerated bubbles. It is a luxurious tonic made from fir and spruce trees, citrus peel, juniper, East Sussex roses, organic cane sugar, and cinchona bark from Ecuador.  What we particularly like is that instead of using a nasty preservative, Fierce Botanics have opted for just a touch of citric acid. It took Fierce Botanics two years of experimenting to perfect this tonic, and we can see why!

Fierce Botanics recommends that their Apothecary Tonic No. 1 be enjoyed as a mixer with spirits such as rum, gin or vodka. Although actually, we have to confess we liked it best by itself, so we could savour the flavours of this sophisticated alcohol-free bevvy. You can purchase the Apothecary Tonic No. 1 250ml here for £3.50 per bottle.

The Sweet Beet - Gift Set

When we get home from work, we not always in the mood to put a lot of effort into our meal prep. That can result in bland, boring dishes. The Amazing Blog lucked out with the discovery of The Sweet Beet. This company’s gourmet jams, jellies, and sauces are made in the UK. All of their five flavours are sure to give a kick to your meal. With her knowledge of the culinary industry, the founder, Lizzy Hodcroft, saw the need for a simple solution to liven up everyday meals. After she was awarded North East Young Entrepreneur of the Year for 2017, Lizzie sought to inspire and assist other creative start-ups.

We tried their Gift Set, which comes with four different jars. We found that the Strawberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce (£4.50) combines the sweetness from strawberries with a spicy undertone from the chipotle. According to The Sweet Beets, this sauce is brilliant with salmon and grilled sausages. It can also be used with dessert, like berries, ice-cream, and yoghurt. Their Maple Bacon Jam (£4.95) contains smoked bacon, onions, brown sugar, maple syrup, cider vinegar, garlic, and chilli flakes. This jam is an interesting mixture of salty, sweet, and smokey. As bacon lovers, we gobbled this up! This Great Taste Award 2017 winner is recommended to be enjoyed with pork, burgers, sandwiches, or used as a marinade.

If you have more of a sweet tooth, then we suggest trying the Oak Smoked Apple Butter (£4.95). Its creamy texture makes the apple sweetness and deep smokey flavours that much more decadent. Don’t worry, the Oak Smoked Apple Butter doesn’t contain real butter. Use it over seared scallops or with soft cheeses. Finally, if you consider yourself a beer connoisseur, you’ll love the Texas Beer Jelly (£4.95). This jelly has the savoury hops of an India Pale Ale. Partner it with smoked cheeses or meats.

You can purchase The Sweet Beet Gift Set (four 175g jars) here for £16.95 or individual jars can be purchased here.

UXB - Shower Creams

After a tiring day, nothing feels more refreshing than stepping into a steamy, hot and aromatic shower. The Amazing Blog has reviewed a variety of shower products and certainly weren’t aware that hard water showers could actually strip away natural oils until UXB warned us. This company has given this matter a lot of thought and strives to combat this issue with its handmade line of nourishing Shower Creams. The steam from the shower activates the ingredients formulated in these Shower Creams, allowing the skin to become porous and absorb the rich oils and ingredients. This British brand was founded by Simon who found his inspiration on holiday in Turkey: “Cleansing is the cornerstone of skincare. Without clean skin any other actives you apply will not soak in. Also, when the skin is wet in the shower or bath it is more porous and receptive to actives...  It took a year of formulating and a lot of mistakes to come up with our first shower cream range. We’ve purposefully made a liquid cleanser for ease of use.”

Inside the creams are vitamin-rich oils, specific for each skin type that heal and trap moisture. Whether you suffer from dry, oily, mature or polluted skin, UXB has designed a shower cream targeted for you. Simon very kindly sent us all four of his shower creams to try. The first one we tried was the Frankincense & Argan Shower Cream fights dry and ashy skin. The formula uses argan, avocado and tamanu oils to soften rough areas. Combined with frankincense and black peppers, the essential oils continue to restore skin, producing a healthy glow; and also consists of glycerin that keeps moisture. This formula proved to be great hit with the boys in the office as it has quite a robust fragrance. We also like that when you breathe in the essences of frankincense, black peppers, rosemary, with a hint of the bergamot citrus, it helps to aid relaxation. All products have a pH level of 5/6, the natural acidity of the skin. Purchase a bottle here for £6.

Those of us with slightly more oily skin tried the Brown Rice Milk & Raw Honey Shower Cream. This is made from Dead Sea salt to cleanse with its antioxidant properties. The raw honey is antibacterial and anti-inflammatory that opens blocked pores. The combination of low comedogenic oils still locks in moisturise, while reducing existing sebum. It helps the skin feel less oily without drying it out or going into hyper oil production. This caramel and sage-scented product is deliciously moreish, it almost smells good enough to eat! Buy here for £6.

Next the Juniper & Açaí Berry Shower Cream, this aids polluted and sun damaged skin by strengthening it with the benefiting properties of acai, juniper and black cumin seed oil to mop up stubborn pollutants. This has some of nature’s most powerful antioxidants for this cream and it went on holiday with one of the team. It was reported back that this cream wash was so gentle that it soothed her sunburn and kept the skin flexible and moisturised allowing it to healing and recovery. This is definitely the one to pack for your sunshine holidays. What we also liked was the invigorating yet subtle zesty fragrance from tangerines and oranges. You can buy a bottle here for £6.

Finally, the fourth shower cream: Rosehip & Comfrey Shower Cream which is designed for more mature skin to hydrate, moisturise and revitalise.  Rose oil is both hydrating and soothing, while hints of vegetable glycerine locks in moisture and helps to plump the skin. The warmed dried comfrey (rich in Allantoin which protects and softens) and gotu kola leaves soaked in pure sunflower oil (which has been used Indian skincare for centuries for its toning properties) give this shower cream it’s richness. The rosehip oil regenerates the skin and primrose oil builds a barrier that creates plumper skin. The combination of rose, ylang ylang and lavender essential oils give the shower cream a floral fragrance and more of an aromatherapy twist than the others. This particular bottle was a great hit with girls in the office. To purchase see here for £6

All shower creams should be applied when skin is damp. Just lather a generous amount all over your body, leave for a few seconds and then wash off. They all left us feeling squeaky clean but none of these UXB Shower Creams dried out our skin, which in turn meant we economised, no need for body lotions or oils!