Jeffrey’s Tonic

With the party season nearly upon us, we’re always looking for a fresh take on our favourite cocktails in order to impress! At The Amazing Blog we love a good gin and tonic just as much as the next person, however, we’ve found ourselves getting a little jaded with just plain tonic water, which is normally on offer. That’s where our #amazingfinds and discovery of Jeffrey’s Tonic comes in.

Jeffrey’s Tonic started when Mike and Maureen Robinson received a book for Christmas all about gin, tonic waters and syrups. After experimenting with the recipes and getting glowing reviews from family members, it finally clicked to the Robinsons that this might be something they should share. The distinctive ingredients are what make Jeffrey’s Tonic stand out. The syrups are made from cinchona bark straight from Ecuador. While most other syrups use quinine a extract, Jeffrey’s uses bark straight from the tree which gives it a distinct amber colour. Discovered in Peru, cinchona bark is known for its anti-fever properties. Did you know that Robert Talbot used cinchona bark to cure King Louis XIV of France of malaria?

Jeffrey’s Syrups come in 4 varieties and it is recommended that you mix them in a 1:5 ratio with soda water. The Not So Plain Tonic Syrup is simply made with cinchona bark and organic Sicilian lemon juice. We recommend pairing it with complex or fruity gin for an interesting cocktail. The Original Recipe is the first recipe that Mark and Maureen made, with cassia, nutmeg and allspice, The Original is a great addition to any Christmassy drink. We recommend adding a splash to your whisky cocktail for a round, bold flavour. The Lime, Galangal & Orange pairs perfectly with your bubbly prosecco or with soda water for an adult soft drink astThe galangal gives depth to the delicious citrus flavours. Whereas the combination of their Yarrow, Rosehip & Elderflower provides a really delicate flavour, perfect for pairing with a floral gin or dry prosecco!

If you want to add an original twist to your drinks this season, the individual Jeffrey’s Tonic Syrups can be purchased here for £7.00 for 200ml. Apart from being able to purchase them individually, we also like the Gift Set with all four varieties of Tonic Syrups, and think it makes the ideal stocking filler this Christmas, as it’s only £14 for four 50ml samples here.

Kalahari – Mafura Body Balm & Manipedi Hand & Body Moisturiser

The changes of seasons and central heating always makes our skin dry, flaky and dehydrated. As the skin is the largest organ of the body, it’s probably the one that is most forgotten about, hidden under layers of clothing during these cold months.  At The Amazing Blog we take winter skincare very seriously, which is why today we wanted to bring you our latest #amazingfinds with the South African based salon brand Kalahari Lifestyle We initially met Kalahari Lifestyle at a London trade show and found ourselves intrigued by their products. They very kindly gave us the Kalahari’s Mafura Body Balm and Manipedi Hand & Body Moisturiser to review.

Carina Franck, Founder and Director of Kalahari Lifestyle had always shown an interest in nature and through exploring ancient formulas and secrets for natural health from the Kalahari Desert, she built up a strong connection with the local Khoi San families. Their lifestyle and secret remedies inspired her to create a range of natural skincare and body products that would encapsulate the African itself with harvested authentic botanical ingredients. These are plant oils and extracts, from reputable Phytotrade organisations and certified sustainable resources, with stringent eco-awareness protocols ensure the safety of the vulnerable African ecosystems.

Let’s start with Kalahari’s Mafura Body Balm which is an ultra-moisturising balm with mafura seed butter, shea butter and baobab seed oil. These exclusive blends of African key ingredients help to reduce signs of premature ageing as they contain an enzyme that exfoliates, and a complex of vitamins A, D, E, F and other multiple antioxidants to deeply nourish the body. These natural ingredients will make your skin look much brighter leaving you with a delicious subtle sweet and fruity fragrance. Kalahari Lifestyle suggests applying it after using your shower gel paying extra attention to those drier areas like elbow and knees. We found that this Body Balm to be very long-lasting (all day!) effective and intensely replenishing. We’ll be buying more!

Now let’s talk about their Manipedi Hand & Body Moisturiser, this comes in a smaller tube making it ideal to carry with you and applying on the go. This moisturiser contains grapeseed oil, which is high in Omega-6 and linoleic acid that helps to unclog pores and has both antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Also containing guna beans and ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, these seeds contain between 40% and 60% oil that is rich in triglycerides mainly ricinolein acid; the combination of which makes it an excellent skin hydrator. We enjoyed using the Hand & Body Moisturiser with its gentle illuminating shimmer (from the mica and titanium dioxide) on our décolleté and shoulders which gave us an even more of a radiant glow.

If you too want to give your body a little love this winter, get your Kalahari Lifestyle products in select salons. Or purchase the 200ml Mafura Body Balm for €43 here and the 50 ml Manipedi Hand & Body Moisturiser for €19.90 here .

Friday Favourites – Shampoos with a difference

Shampoo is a product nearly everyone uses, but how do you know you’re using the correct shampoo for your hair? I know that here at The Amazing Blog we are very particular about the type of shampoo that we choose to lather up with. Some of us use shampoos that are organic, vegan or to help stimulate hair growth. And with so many options, we find that it can be an overwhelming choice to find the right one for each of our hair types. For this week’s Friday Favourites, we have three new and different shampoos that are our #amazingfinds to share with you.

The first shampoo is the Reseed Ginkgo & Sabal Fortifying Shampoo. Reseed was created to help people achieve stronger, fuller and healthier hair. Reseed understands the impact that both hair loss and thinning can have on self-confidence and created their hair care line to help combat this. The products all use natural actives that work to prolong the hair’s lifecycle. We love that they use essential botanic extracts, pro-vitamins and minerals - all which strengthen the hair follicles.

The Reseed Ginkgo & Sabal Fortifying Shampoo restores the structural fibres of the hair while simultaneously increasing its density and nourishing from within. We liked the fresh, fruity fragrance of the Reseed Shampoo! It’s enriched with vitamins B5, B6, E, F and Zinc to support the scalp’s natural functions.

The Reseed Ginkgo & Sabal Fortifying Shampoo is suitable for all hair types. We’d certainly recommend this for anyone has either hair thinning or loss, or who just wants to prevent it. If you’d like to purchase the Reseed Shampoo it is £18 for 250ml and can be purchased here or it’s also available at Lloyds Pharmacy and Selfridges too.

Our next Friday favourite is the Lavera Neutral Shower Shampoo this is ideal for anyone with fine hair. Lavera has won over 350 awards, proving that natural hair and skincare products can be both sustainable and innovative. In Latin, Lavera means ‘the truth’, and at The Amazing Blog we’re big fans of this brand and know first hand that a brand name like Lavera can be trusted. All their products are 100% natural and have cruelty-free ingredients, we think that Lavera is a brand name that you can really get behind.

The Lavera Neutral Shower Shampoo leaves hair feeling clean with a healthy, natural shine. It’s perfect for anyone with sensitive skin or fine hair because it contains extremely mild cleansing ingredients. It’s also a 2-in-1 product that doubles as body wash, which is perfect for packing in your weekend bag to save on products. We love that it contains organic evening primrose oil, to soothe easily irritated skin and sea salt to stimulate hair growth. Need a break from harsh fragrance or ingredients? Then purchase Lavera Neutral Shower Shampoo here for £8.95 per 200ml.

Finally, we‘ve chosen the Foamie Hibiskiss Damaged Hair Shampoo Bar. This is a completely plastic-free design and also we like how the interesting design of the Foamie Shampoo Bar which is made as an easy-to-hold shampoo bar. Simple to use, just run the bar under water until it lathers up and you get a good amount of foam on your hands to massage through the hair, then rinse out. Simply hang it up on its loop to dry after use.

We love the simplicity of this bar making it ideal to travel with and perfect for holiday hair. The hibiscus and nettle extract combat brittle and tired-looking hair, they also help to strengthen and nourish from root to tip. It adds shine and structure to the hair while leaving an amazing floral fragrance. Think outside the bottle, with this Foamie Hibiskiss Damaged Hair Shampoo Bar available here for £7.00 a bar here. 

Whether you’re looking for plastic-free, multi-tasking or something to just boost your hair, we think we’ve got you covered.

Viliv - skincare range

We love skincare that helps to keep our complexions looking plumped up and lush. At The Amazing Blog we’ve been hearing lots of great things about a new Swiss brand that recently launched here in the UK.  Step forward centre-stage Viliv with their uber-stylish contemporary branding and science-driven skincare.

Dr. Felix Bertram, founder of Viliv, is a leading Swiss skin specialist who’s noted for his exceptional aesthetic and anti-ageing treatments. From teaching workshops to educating doctors and students in dermatology and laser medicine, he also has global recognition for his award-winning dermatological clinic. There is absolutely no doubt that Viliv has an impeccable pedigree with its extensive scientific research behind all of the products.

Regular readers will remember that we reviewed the Viliv e - Shape Your Eyes Rich Eye Cream and so we couldn’t wait to try four more products from the range: Foam to Face Cleanser, Vi-Lift Your Skin Serum, Brighten Your Eyes Serum, and Get a Rich Restore Ultra-Nourishing Moisturiser.

Let’s start with a morning routine cleanser Viliv Foam to Face cleansing foam, easy to use with just two pumps massaged on our face in circular motions, then quickly rinsed this off. What we particularly liked about this cleanser is its fragrance, it contains chamomile and allantoin which soothes the skin leaving a fresh and subtle floral scent.  As a foam, a little goes a long way and with typical Swiss efficiency, it was also extremely effective at removing all makeup residue leaving our city-skin feeling fresh, hydrated and clean.

Next, we have the Vi-Lift Your Skin Serum which offers 24h urban protection. Here’s a fact that you probably didn’t know, blue light and infrared radiation (i.e. from your phone) affect the skin’s defence mechanisms. These disrupt the exchange of information between cells, leading to cell damage and premature skin ageing. The irony is that modern technology is now ageing us! The Viliv Vi-Lift Serum contains an exclusive active ingredient called +VIDERMACTIVE 7 that is rich in vitamin C and protects the skin from free radicals such as pollution or the blue light and preserves mitochondrial DNA. We also like that it’s quick to apply, not at all sticky, fragrance-free and it sinks easily into the pores for protection.

The Vi-Lift partners well with Viliv Brighten Your Eyes Serum, this is serum is our favourite out of the four we tried. We often forget that the skin around the eyes area is continually moving with active facial expressions and is four times thinner than the rest of our face. Therefore it needs support as we age and Viliv addresses this with their special ingredients of tetrapeptide eyeseryl which improves circulation and firmness, as well as reducing dark circles and puffiness. Plus the liftonin xpress which gives an instant lift with its microalgae extract and natural polymers. We found this Eye Serum gave us visible and instant results, it felt very cooling when applied and really does work wonders on tired eyes.

Lastly, in this skincare routine is Viliv Get a Rich Restore Ultra-Nourishing Moisturiser.  This is a cream that keeps on working, and as they say, it’s a ‘24-hour anti-ageing expert’. Containing PerfectionPeptide P7 which activates the skin’s natural defences by stimulating the responsible enzymes and managing the impact of UV related stress to protect against moisture loss. Other ingredients are silymarin, carosin and vitamin E all to help reduce wrinkles and firm the skin.  We also mustn’t forget to mention that Viliv is 100% vegan, cruelty and gluten-free, with no parabens, mineral oils, colourants, PEG, BHT EDTA or fragrance. See the full Viliv product range here with prices starting from £29. These products get a big 10/10 from us!

Friday Favourites - Hair Masks

Well, it’s finally Friday and time for another of our Friday Favourites! Have any fun weekend plans that require you to look radiant? Maybe a date night? Or just finally having some time for a bit of self-care? At the Amazing Blog, we like to take time out to apply a weekly hair mask. Whether it’s lying in the bath relaxing with a glass of something chilled, or feet up on the sofa watching Netflix - all are ideal moments for allowing a hair mask to work its magic. Today we have three of our favourite hair masks to introduce, they are hair mask and treatments that will not only leave your hair shiner and more nourished but also help to moisturise your much-neglected scalp too.

Let’s start with the 72 Hair Intense Replenishing Mask. 72 Hair was started by the Greens, a family of hairdressers with over 40 years of combined experience. With three generations of hairdressers, Gary has salons in Miami and London, while Matt is one of London’s go-to colourists. Johnny is 72’s ingredients expert, hand-selecting the finest ingredients to make up the formulas; while Nick is passionate about communicating 72 Hair’s philosophy to clients. As a joint effort, they decided to come together with their experience and knowledge and create an exclusive range product for both their salons and clients.

Winner of the 2018 Hair Awards the 72 Hair Mask is an ideal way to show your hair some love. We recommend using this alone or with the full range for 72 hair. We used it once a week, waiting 10-15 minutes before rinsing for best results, although it can be used more often on damaged hair. Infused with avocado and wheatgerm oil, your hair will be shinier, stronger and more nourished as It penetrates to de-frizz and is suitable for all hair types. It certainly left our hair smooth and tangle-free. To buy your 72 Intensive Replenish Mask for 250ml at £25, see here.

Lore Originals was started with the mission to create a simplified, unisex haircare range that provides integrity and health no matter your gender. A joint-effort between acclaimed stylists, clients, British chemists and perfumers, Lore Originals is suitable for all hair types. With Lore Originals, ‘his and hers’ products are a thing of the past. They are meant to be minimal and the products are all multi-use and versatile.

Packed with natural oils, essential acids, advanced scientific compounds and marine plant cultures the Legend Dry Mask provides complex levels of conditioning and strengthening. The Legend Dry Mask is pre-shampoo mask, and unique because it must be applied to dry hair for concentrated absorption. Volcanic marine bio cultures assist in prevention of heat-induced environmental stress and scalp dehydration, something that most people have. Not to mention, the scientific actives target the core elasticity of the hair which helps to speed up the drying time, great for those of us on the go! As mentioned, it works best on dry hair leaving where you leave mask ‘to set’ for a minimum of 15 minutes in surrounding temperatures of 25 to 40 degrees, which gave us the perfect excuse to have a bath or sauna (make sure to keep the hair dry). Free from parabens, sulphates, triclosan and MIT; with key ingredients including cystine co-polymer, green tea extract, kaolin, shea butter, sunflower and grapeseed oils. This was the best smelling hair mask, we loved the subtle green tea fragrance, that left our hair smelling simply divine. If you would like to purchase the Lore Legend Dry Hair Mask, it can be purchased here in a pack of 6 individual packets of 30ml each for £38. Ideal for travelling or taking on holiday.

Zenz Organics is a Nordic professional beauty and hair care company founded by Anne-Sophie Skjødt Villumsen who also founded the first green hair salon in Denmark back in 1999. After developing allergies towards chemical-based hair products during her apprenticeship as a hairdresser, Anne-Sophie was inspired to create her own line of organic and vegan hair care products. That’s where Zenz Organics was born.

The Zenz Organic Treatment Pure No. 03 Hair Mask is perfect for every member of the family. Made from only organic ingredients and without synthetic perfumes, it leaves the hair silky and soft without weighing it down. We love how it uses organic cold-pressed avocado oil and purified aloe vera to strengthen the hair from scalp to end. It coats each strand with a protective film to maintain the intensity of salon coloured hair, making it ideal for those who use dye. It is meant to be applied on freshly washed hair once a week but can also be used as both a rinse-out and a leave-in treatment. One of us here, has a very sensitive scalp and she said that this is the first EVER hair mask that hasn’t irritated her scalp. So it gets a big thumbs up from us. We’re very excited to have made the discovery of this brand and look forward to trying more from their range. The Zenz Organic Treatment Pure No. 3 Hair Mask 250ml can be purchased here for £28.27.

Which one will you choose?