Eve Snow London - Prima Donna Treatment Set

If there is one thing that makes us girls at The Amazing Blog feel perfectly put together, it’s a great manicure.  Sadly having the time and money to spend at the salon every few weeks is unrealistic.  Like me, you probably find doing your own nails is more hassle than it is worth.  I work toward a flawlessly smooth finish so I wave my hands in the air, for what seems like hours, until the polish sets.  I almost always end with an inevitable smudge!  Thankfully we have found a solution in the discovery of Eve Snow London and their Prima Donna Treatment Set.  This British nail lacquer and cosmetic company offers a great manicure at less expense!

Before applying a polish, we suggest pampering yourself with a salon-like treatment of trimming and filing to guarantee a quality manicure.  Afterward, apply the Eve Snow base coat.  The lacquer’s matte finish is impeccable and dries almost instantly, making the application of colour a breeze.  This Treatment Set includes the shade Prima Donna.  I love the metallic-gold shade of Prima Donna as it adds an edge to every outfit!  Eve Snow has plenty of colours to choose from which, unlike other polishes, include Vitamin E, Ginkgo Biloba extract and Argan Oil to nourish rather than harm nails.  Additional colours can be purchased separate of the treatment set for £15 here.  The colour polish dries almost immediately and a second coat isn’t necessary which saves you time!  However to achieve a perfect finish Eve Snow also offers a fabulous top coat.  Simply applied like the base and colour lacquers, the top coat secures the polish with a smooth finish so quickly that waving your freshly painted nails in the air isn’t needed!

Seeking luxury and supporting young entrepreneurship, Eve Snow nail lacquer excludes many of the toxins found in other polishes and nourishes nails with every brush stroke.  This unique and natural take on nail polish makes Eve Snow even more worth the cost of £38 for the Treatment Set.  You can explore Eve Snow colour polishes and purchase the Prima Donna Treatment Set online here.

Friday Favourites- Holiday Reads

All we want to do in this cold weather is snuggle up on the sofa in our pyjamas with a mug of tea and a great book. The Amazing Blog understands that there comes a time when a novel seems a bit too heavy for unwinding, so we have selected three very different easy reads to browse when you’re taking some time off. These are How to Draw Like a Fashion Designer, Peruvian Kitchen, and The Book.

There’s no denying that at some stage in our lives, we have all had career ambitions which were a little far fetched. When I was growing up it was either a princess or fashion designer… By about 8 I realised the former dream was a little unrealistic so I began to focus on fashion. I would draw stick women and drown them in horrible floods of colour, clothes that nobody would ever wear, but it was fun. The How to Draw like a Fashion Designer book written by Celia Joicey and Dennis Nothdruft would have been perfect for that phase of my life and would have helped make my stick people look less like…sticks. It’s a beautiful book filled with vibrant colours and step by step guides. Valentino and Zadra Rhodes are just two of the many designers who have contributed to the book, adding their own individual personality. There are interviews, drawing guides, intricate images and much more to set you on your path to become the next big name in fashion. I think this book is wonderful for a light read when you have five minutes to yourself. Its only £12.95, and definitely a book which will look lovely on a shelf or table in the lounge for everyone to enjoy. You can purchase the book here.

 

From one of our favourite ‘F’s, fashion, to another, which is food! The Ceviche Peruvian Kitchen by Martin Morales is filled with over 100 recipes and photos of the most celebrated Peruvian food. Restaurateur and cook, Martin Morales opened his restaurant Ceviche in 2012 and has since had huge success. This book shows you how to makes hundreds of dishes including the famous Ceviche. He traveled the country in search of the best flavours and recipes to share with his readers, and we agree he’s done just that. They are simple yet delicious and unusual, and we are interested by every one. The dishes are fusions of cultural essences from Africa, Spain, Italy, China and Japan. If you haven’t tried Peruvian food before then you need to, it’s definitely not one to disappoint as there are so many different spices and textures to choose from. We trust everything about these recipes as Martin Morales has been cooking since the mere age of 11!  His passion for food is displayed throughout the book and seen in the beautiful photographs which compliment each recipe. The book is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson and you can purchase it on Amazon here.

There is a particular genre of book that appears to be trending and increasing in popularity. These are self help books, ways to better your life and achieve greater happiness. If you visit book stores or use the internet you will probably be exposed to a large amount of these book titles, but The Amazing Blog can make it a little easier for you to choose. We have just read Linde’s life manual which goes by the name, The Book. It opens your eyes to different ways to maintain perfect health, wealth, happiness and longevity. It’s a guide to changing the way you perceive things to ultimately give you a happier and more positive outlook on life. As you journey through the chapters you learn how to understand how your body and mind function, and how to deal with them depending on your surroundings and environment. This book is full of optimism and is definitely one that I will keep referring back to as the years go on. It’s a bit like a support mechanism to guide you in the direction which will make you happiest. The hardback version is £30 and presented beautifully, it’ll be something to stay with you for years so definitely worth every penny. You can buy a kindle edition, or if you want, a hardback copy from here. 

The Clerkenwell Vintage Fashion Fair

As you know, here at The Amazing Blog, we LOVE fashion! If you do too, then there is only one place to be this weekend. The Clerkenwell Vintage Fashion Fair. The fair specialises in vintage pieces, including fashion, accessories and collectible textiles. The collections will consist of key iconic pieces from various eras so there will be something for all lovers of vintage whatever you era of preference. So you are bound to come across something that will spice up your wardrobe.

Over the last four years, the fair has become a key fashion event for not just lovers of vintage, but also leading figures in the fashion industry. Alongside the vintage collections you will be able to find numerous vintage lifestyle brands selling everything from brooches to teacups.

Onsite will be a fabulous vintage salon run by Nata­sha Hall, the founder of Lip­stick & Curls who will be there all day to help add a touch of glamour to your look whether you want the look of a Gatsby-esque flapper girl or a sixties go go dancer. And to top it all off, when you are all shopped out you can take a break in the Tea Salon, which will be serving all the traditional English favourites from vintage china. Between 12 and 3pm you will find a wealth of entertainment here. You can try your hand at some etiquette training or relax and take in a range of performer showcases.

If you would love to attend this fabulously vintage event then get down to Old Finsbury Town Hall on the 15th September between 11am - 5pm. Entry will cost you just £4 and if you are a student with an NUS card, just £2! For more information about the fair visit the Clerkenwell Vintage Fashion Fair website.

Love Brand & Co: Giving Back to the Elephants

  

As we all know, there are many wildlife charity organisations out there in the world working to help save, protect, and maintain endangered species lives and habitats. We at The Amazing Blog are always interested in these wonderful projects, and we have found an absolutely great one to introduce to you! Oliver Tomalin, who is passionate about Elephants and Fashion has found an exciting way to blend his two loves. A clothing company that donates sales to elephant conservation! I’m sure many, if not all of you know that elephants are drastically at risk for becoming completely extinct, and we can do our part to help save the species.

 

Love Brand & Co.  is the clothing company created by Oliver Tomalin that sells men’s and boy’s t-shirts, polo shirts, and a vast array of shorts. For every sale made, 5% of sales are donated to conserving elephants and their habitats. The company supports quite a few wonderful organisations. Elephant Family created by Mark Shand works to save the Asian Elephant and its habitat. They also have UK-wide Education Programs to extend the knowledge of the issue. The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust works in Kenya to hand rear orphaned elephant babies until they are strong enough to survive in the wild. They also work with anti-poaching efforts and have mobile veterinary units in place. Another trust that Love Brand & Co supports is the Tusk Trust, which has raised over £16 million to conserve wildlife and alleviate poverty across Africa.

 

Sounds wonderful, right? Well, it is. You can take your part and help the elephants, and get great clothes in the meantime.  The t-shirts and polo shirts have an adorable elephant logo, and the shorts are available in a wide variety of colours and prints. Plus, they are all made with 100% organic cotton, which is a fabulous thing on it’s own. These are perfect for you, a friend, son, or boyfriend. Hopefully we will get some women’s clothes in the mix soon from Love Brand & Co. They retail between £49.00-£119.00 and are available on their website. The company also has a flagship store at 5 Park Walk, London.

Sew Over It by Lisa Comfort

Ever wanted to know how to take a piece of clothing you have and make it fit perfectly? Maybe it is a bit too wide in the hips, or a pair of pants that need the hem let out. Possibly you just want to know the finer points of sewing on buttons and appliqués? Well, we here at The Amazing Blog have found the book for you. Sew Over It by Lisa Comfort (Ebury Press, £15) is a book for anyone who is interested in the art (and craft) of sewing. From a beginner to an expert level, this book is full of tips and tricks to benefit from. Lisa Comfort was interested in sewing from a very young age, received a sewing machine, and has since grown her love for the craft into a successful career.

Sew Over It goes from basic steps like needle threading and hand stitches to more advanced sewing techniques and projects.  An entire section is devoted to going through your closet, something many women (like myself) want and need to do. Lisa Comfort teaches you how to sort through what you already have and decide whether it is worth the time to change and repair. You then enter the chapters containing tutorials on customising, altering, and changing your clothing. There are not tutorials devoted to making clothing from scratch, but rather altering to make something fit and look better or applying an appliqué to enhance a garment. Lisa does include full on instructions for making accessories like a vintage scarf belt, a fifties style hair-band and a flower corsage. All of these are sure to make your wardrobe all the more exciting!

All in all, the projects Lisa includes in the book are very achievable and won’t take obscene amounts of time. Perfect fun for weekends and summer!  Sew Over It by Lisa Comfort (Ebury Press, £15) is a book that will enhance any shelf and is perfect for anyone who has ever had a desire to get crafty! If you are interested in taking sewing classes from Lisa Comfort and her team, she offers them at the Sew Over It Café in London as well as stocking plenty of fabrics, notions, and kits at the same location. You can purchase the book and see a list of classes offered on her website and on Amazon.