Mr Vanguard - Eau de Parfum

As expectations go, the grooming market for us boys was always going to be big, however exploding into the multi-billion dollar industry has thoroughly proved the doubters wrong. My colleagues at The Amazing Blog inform me that within that market, the growth of  male fragrances has been extraordinary - a glance along the shelves in any perfumier exemplifies the range available. The array of bottles and concoctions designed in a myriad of shapes, colours and textures which would not be out of place in an art gallery, scream out for our attention - and of course our hard earned cash.

So, it is something of a breath of freshly scented air that Mr Vanguard arrived in 2017 offering up a discreet, and yet highly individual fragrance to challenge the huge marketing budgets of the larger brands.  Founded by Emmanuel Omoyele he commented that he wanted to “Develop a new generation of fragrance, merging quality, innovation and style.” He was determined to create a debut scent that was distinctive and a brand that fed the psyche of the contemporary man. Thus, proving that success stems from the core certainty of a winning product, rather than the hype of a huge advertising campaign. And the groaning shelf of awards Mr Vanguard has been decorated with is proof positive that these guys have a true winner on their hands, being awarded Best New British Brand, in Pure Beauty Awards 2018.

The fragrance has top notes of bergamot, grapefruit and coconut, along with jasmine, lily of the valley and rose; we’re transported to the tropical climates of The Far East and The Caribbean, finishing with the base notes of amber, vanilla, cedar wood and patchouli. A complex mix, with several layers, but ultimately a fresh and clean scent that will not overpower. The bottle itself is a triumph of self-restraint - clean and clear glass, angular in shape, simple no nonsense masculinity. Currently only available online here and competitively priced at £64.99 for 50ml, this self-assured fragrance is fast garnering a wide and loyal following, with exciting plans to expand distribution and availability.

Christmas Gift Guide for Women

Yesterday we published our ‘Christmas Gift Guide for Men’, so we thought it only fair to share a little gift giving wisdom for women too. Besides all of the beautiful candles, and festive food and drink available, we’ve created an overview of some of our favourite gifts for women, ranging from the affordable, to the more exclusive. With our help at The Amazing Blog, we hope that you’ll be able to find what she desires, creating the perfect Christmas gift (and giving you some last minute inspiration too!)

Let’s get started with something that won’t make you dig too deep into your pockets. All That Jazz is a specialist (and certified vegan) nail care brand, providing professional manicure and pedicure products. Founded in 2013, the company has been our go-to when it comes to nail care, especially since we loved their Caribbean Collection (see the blog post here). With their core range consisting of 36 on-trend shimmer colours, they have created their own game-plan, with a long-lasting base coat and choices of super quick drying top coat, matte top coat and top coat, specifically designed to magnify and smoothen glitter colours. Used by countless celebrities and thousands of nail technicians, this is a brand you can trust.

Bringing out four seasonal collections each year, The Designer Collection is our absolute favourite! This is the perfect add-on for Christmas, as the colours are glittery and powerful, inspired by the works of iconic fashion designers. Combining elements of runway glamour, four unique colours are created, from the timelessly chic, shimmery blue of Vivienne, through to the metallic red Coco. The collection also contains a cool nude, Vera and our favourite, the sparkling silver Betsey. The best part? This professional nail lacquer won’t break the bank. Click here to purchase The Designer Collection for just £11.97.

Another modest choice is from Heathcote & Ivory. Established in 2000, in London by Denis Aaronson, this brand is passionate about creating beautiful products with wonderful ingredients. Their colours, textures and patterns combine an eclectic mix of novelty, with British pedigree. Their forward-thinking design celebrates the role of women in ‘making Christmas happen’, where retro Christmas wrapping designs, sparkle and glamour greet the spirits of traditional British Christmas.

A perfect gift for her is their Vintage & Co. Baubles & Belles Festive Bath and Body Tin. The packaging is a Christmas dream, elegantly designed with a festive pattern and finished with a beautiful pink hand-tied bow. Containing three bathing delights infused with orange-peel oil, this is the perfect company for the relaxing self-care holidays. The gentle cleansing shower gel has a silky texture that lathers well, and the scented crystal bathing salts with sweet orange essential oil fill the bathroom with a delicious (and festive) fragrance. Finally, the softening body lotion enriched with almond oil and shea butter locks in the skin’s natural moisture, perfect for any New Year party. All three products are scented with spiced rum, pomegranate, red berries and orange zest, and are guaranteed to give the fragrance of Christmas. Click here to purchase a Baubles and Belles Festive Bath and Body Tin for £15.

One of the sweet delights of Christmas is that there is always a beautiful scent in the air. That said, it is sometimes difficult to know how to blend fragrances together, something that Aqua Oleum can help with. This brand’s knowledge of oils spans over three generations, with over 30 years of experience in providing top quality oils, at reasonable prices. Managing Director, Julia Lawless, well known as an author and expert in aromatherapy, personally ensures that every product is of top quality - so an Aqua Oleum gift is sure to be one that will not disappoint.

Their Blending Notebook (£28) is ideal for anyone passionate about creating their perfect scents, giving clear and concise introductions into the art of blending. Introducing theory guidance and formula ideas, it is a great way to track and develop your own aromatherapy elixirs at home. Containing all essential information, journal pages to write your own formulations, a glossary of key essential oils and a perfumery chart with notes on how to train your nose, this notebook is great to get you started. It is also beautifully designed, gold foiled and singer sewn bound. To get started right away, combine this with their Clear Head essential oil for just £5.22 (10ml). It helps with breathing (particularly if a Winter cold sets in) and works to penetrate and soothe your sinuses. Equally, their Festive Joy for £6.07 (10ml) is just as great, with a heart-warming, rich, and spicy scent that is comforting and uplifting, the perfect natural room fragrance for the festive period.

If a new fragrance is what you’re looking for, then we introduce Ancienne Ambiance. Already lovers of their Goddess Waters, we were keen to try their new Mini Colonia Gift Set. Providing luxury gifts with paraben-free quality ingredients, Ancienne Ambiance products are free from animal testing and encased in recyclable packaging.

The Mini Colonia Gift Set contains five 15ml limited edition mini roll-on perfume gift bottles, the perfect scent selection to propel your spirits. Different scents for different days, complementing your clothing and making you feel good. Although we like all five scents, our favourite is Colonia IX (nine) - an exotic, woody and oriental fragrance, blending cedar and sandalwood with a hint of patchouli. It genuinely smells like Christmas! Staying true to the origins of niche perfume, all scents are hand-produced in limited quantities (in France), with the finest ingredients. Packaged in a handcrafted purple-golden gift box, this luxury gift delivers the perfect Christmas spirit (and the box can be reused at a later date). Purchase the Mini Colonia Gift Set here for £60.

Last but not least we introduce April Aromatics. Since trying their Rose L’Orange Eau de Parfum in August - the perfect scent for that balmy summer - this organic scents and cosmetics company has been one of our favourite fragrance houses. Founded by Tanja Bochnig in New York, the brand delivers natural perfumes with pure extracts that create inner well-being. Their perfumes are also pure and natural, and no animal ingredients are used.

We were therefore excited to try their Tempted Muse scent, the ideal present for Christmas. Packed in a silver shimmery, elegant box, it immediately put us into the most festive mood. Inspired by the nectars of the gods, with sweet fruity golden extracts of frangipani and jasmine, this perfume is uplifting and aphrodisiac. Purchase your own Tempted Muse for a loved one for €169 (30ml) here.

There you have it, five brands that have hopefully given you some inspiration for the special someone you are struggling to buy for! Whether they love nail varnishes, home fragrances or perfumes, we’re sure she’ll be opening her presents with a big smile.

Love for hair: THERAPI

The Amazing Blog has long been on the hunt for salon quality haircare at home, so we were practically giddy when we came across the luxury British haircare brand THERAPI. The brand was created to offer luxury salon professional hair care available now to the consumer all at an affordable price.  Their hero ingredient is the multi-functioning Baobab Oil, which is extracted by ethical trade charter practices, and provides moisturising, strengthening, repairing and conditioning properties. Their products will leave all hair types with lustrous shine.  They have an easy to follow three step system which includes a cleanser, a conditioner and styling product. We decided to try their Signature Cleanser, Volumising Conditioner their Shimmer and Shine Spray combined with the Smoothing Cream

The Signature Cleanser is suitable for all hair types and gently cleanses hair without stripping the natural oils from the hair. The cleanser also contains Keratin Amino Acids to strengthen hair and Panthenol Vitamin B5 for added sugar. The Volumising Conditioner is ideal for those of you looking for lift and boost and is the perfect product to follow the Cleanser.  Leave the conditioner in your hair for 1-2 minutes before rinsing for unrivalled effects. After this use Smoothing Cream, enriched with Baobab Oil, contains a unique formula to smooth, hydrate and tame frizz. With its moisturising and anti-ageing properties this really is a smooth operator. Finally for the finished look use the Shimmer and Shine Spray for the ultimate polished look. The spray tames flyaway hair and smoothes split ends, so your hair looks shinier than ever before.  We loved THERAPI and not only are their products effective but they are also paraben and sulphate free, they protect your hair from harmful UV rays, contain Colour Lock technology and give extreme heat protection up to 250°c.

You can purchase the Signature Cleanser here for £9.99, the Volumising Conditioner here for £9.99, the Smoothing Cream here for £9.99 the Shimmer Shine Spray here for £9.99

The Caribbean Collection by All That Jazz

Here at The Amazing Blog, our current 'go-to' brand for all things nail care is All That Jazz. We're also happy to report that the only independent and international beauty awards, The Beauty Shortlist certainly seems to agree with us too. In March this year,  they awarded All That Jazz the much sought after title of ‘Best Nail Brand 2018’. Recently we have written about some of our favourite products from the brand like their Cuticle Oil, Cuticle Balm & Bee Bar Lotion here; as well as their Hand and Foot Scrub, Effervescent Soak and Hand and Foot Cream here. However, we were thrilled to be able to try out their latest Spring/Summer range, a set of four coloured professional nail lacquers from the Caribbean Collection. We're happy to say that they absolutely lived up to the other high quality products, that we already know and love from All That Jazz.

With our much anticipated summer just around the corner (ahem, well the clocks did go forward!) We wanted to give our nails a pop of colour to remind us that summer warmth is coming soon. The colours in the Caribbean Collection allow you to take your nails on their own mini tropical break with these four vibrantly coloured lacquers. The ‘Don’t be a Jerky’ shade is a blazing orange that gives nails a fiery passion. The ‘Caribbean Queen’ shade is a rich magenta that will make you feel like royalty. The ‘Patty Cake' shade is a lovely turquoise that reminds us of the ocean. And finally, the ‘Jamaican Me Crazy’ shade is a sparkling pink/orange colour that is sure to turn heads.

These lacquers offer full coverage with only two coats. When applied to the nail, they are quick drying and leave a smooth glossy finish. What sets this brand apart is that as these nail lacquers are specifically formulated for nail technicians and professionals, with top quality formulas which last. We  were so happy to find that it stayed on for over 7 days without chipping! We just can't wait to use these hard-wearing lacquers to flaunt our colourful toes and walk barefoot on a sandy beach. However, before application, we highly recommend using their Base Line (base coat) to aid and protect the natural nail from peeling and discolouration. And to finish by using the fast drying Top Note (top coat) which will give the final touches to your super shiny and long-lasting mani-pedi.  

Whether you are actually heading to the tropics on holiday or like us can only day dream… You can purchase the Caribbean Collection here for £29.98.  

Lift your mood with a little Abahna

Abahna is a quintessentially luxury British brand. Founded and run by Ed and Claire Croft, Abahna is a family run business and together the couple are passionate about sourcing natural ingredients and creating products that enhance your mood. It is definitely one my very favourite discoveries and hopefully it will become one of yours too.  All the products beautifully packaged and smell quietly literally as though they are ‘heaven scent’.

I find it very difficult to pick a favourite from the range of the four fragrances Mandarin and Sicilian Bergamot  (Uplifting), Lilac Rose and Geranium (Relaxing), White Grapefruit and May Chang (Refreshing), and the Frangipani and Orange Blossom (Soothing).

However, as we are all currently huddled up in the office at the Amazing Blog  looking out at rather bleak and grey London skies, we are definitely  in need of something to cheer us up.  So for now, my choice of Abahna fragrance has to be the delicious, warming and vibrant scents of the Frangipani and Orange Blossom Room Spray  (even Mojai the office dog gets a squirt!)  Out of all the essential oils Frangipani is probably the most uplifting with its heady aroma but when combined with the gentle orange blossom it blends to make a very special soothing scent. In a former life, I interviewed several esteemed massage therapists who told me that Frangipani essential oil is commonly used by many massage therapists in hospices to help give their patients a great feeling of euphoria. Interestingly, they classify it as their 'giggle juice'. Anyway, we are all now wafting in this wonderful mood-enhancing room spray, evocative of blue skies with racing clouds and lush green summer pastures. So roll on Spring!