Casa Mencarelli: Limited Edition Miniature Gift Box

Now we’re now fast approaching the bank holiday, there are two things on our mind at The Amazing Blog: packing and gift-giving for our host. Finding an all-natural travel-sized skincare, and/or the perfect gift for a host can be a difficult one at the best of times. That's why want to introduce Casa Mencarelli's Limited Edition Miniature Gift Box which has five 15ml-sized products, making it ideal as a gift or an all-in-one travel skincare set for a weekend break.

Casa Mencarelli is an Italian skincare brand that focuses on making natural and organic products without any essential oils or synthetics. The brand's founder, Lucia Mencarelli, started her passion for making natural skincare products after being diagnosed with ‘multiple chemical sensitivity’, from using too many synthetics ingredients in her skincare. This struggle to find the right fragrance-free and natural skincare, prompted Lucia to enrol with Formula Botanica, where she graduated and went on to create her own range. Casa Mencarelli launched in 2018, using traditionally Italian and Mediterranean ingredients. This is where Lucia looked to her home country, Italy, to find powerful and healing botanicals to be the basis of her products. Lucia’s natural and ‘less is more’ approach to her ingredients has earned Casa Mencarelli over 11 national and international skincare awards, including being featured in The Beauty Shortlist and The Green Parent. All Casa Mencarelli skincare products are suitable for different skin types, and stay true to their ethos of creating of an all-natural skincare. Something that sets this cruelty-free brand apart, is that there are between three to eight COSMOS certified ingredients in each product, together with no have added fragrance or essential oils. 

We had heard so many great things about this brand, and couldn’t wait to try it, and to get a feel of Casa Mencarelli’s many products, we requested their Limited Edition Gift Box. The Gift Box has five 15ml-sized products together with an organic face cotton cloth and a little wooden measuring spoon. The skincare here includes: Green Clay Mask, Sea Buckthorn Serum, the Sea Buckthorn Balm, Honey & Orange Toner and the Nourishing Tomato Night Cream and Cleanser. The Sea Buckthorn Serum is a moisturising and rejuvenating serum due to its antioxidant ingredients that help to increase the production of collagen, resulting in smoother skin and reduced appearance of fine lines. Sea Buckthorn Balm, similar to the serum, is excellent for moisturising and nourishing the skin, making it perfect for dry or sensitive skin types (like ours). The Green Clay and Lemon Mask and Scrub contains marine minerals and antioxidants that allow for a spa-like treatment that leaves the skin feeling soft and restored. The Orange and Honey Toner helps keep skin in check by tightening the pores and leaves a natural aroma of honey and orange blossom. The Nourishing Tomato Night Cream and Cleanser is rich in vitamin E, antioxidants, and omega 3-6-9, making it an effective cleanser to remove makeup or other impurities, while also hydrating the skin. . All of these products help to cleanse, hydrate and protect the skin.

We loved the simplicity of the ingredients here, as well as how gentle these were to use. If we had to choose a favourite from this Gift Box it would be the multitasking Tomato Cream & Cleanser - which performed brilliantly as both a cleanser and a night cream/balm. Apart from being conveniently travel-sized, we also liked how all the products are packaged in recyclable glass jars and bottles. If you are looking to sample some of Casa Mencarelli's natural skincare products, or to introduce a friend as a gift, we think that this is a must-have. To purchase this Limited Edition Miniature Gift Box see here, for 5 x 15ml products, it’s priced at £65. We also noticed that the brand offers a Discovery Set here for £12, which includes 2ml and 5ml samples of these products, in three skin specific ranges.

Poppy’s Natural Skincare: The Super Age-Defying Organic Face Oil Bakuchiol & Amla

Today, at The Amazing Blog we’re feature an award-winning British natural skincare that we've had our eye on for quite some time… Meet Poppy's Natural Skincare with their 100% pure botanical actives, that help to connect us back to nature.

Poppy's Natural Skincare is a high-performance natural skincare brand founded by Poppy Choudhury. it was born out of necessity , due to Poppy’s extremely sensitive skin, she knew that the only way ensure the quality of the skincare ingredients, was to formulate her own! And from a young age, she has been aware of the therapeutic and healing powers of botanicals and plants.  Poppy also has a scientific background and read Molecular Biology at university, worked in London with pharmaceutical clients, and studied Cosmetic Formulation and Science in Skincare. Her scientific knowledge and passion for natural beauty remedies led her to develop this skincare range that brings together the best of science and nature. Poppy was born in Bangladesh and raised in England; she can trace much of her inspiration back to her early days from observing plant remedies being incorporated into everyday medicinal and beauty routines. Poppy's Natural Skincare is a range of potent botanicals designed to help repair and protect skin's barrier function together with a whole host of other skin benefits. The brand's products include face oils, face masks, accessories, body butters, balms, and cleansers. Poppy encourages the ritual of self-care with her skincare, to help us all luxuriate in the experience and enjoy the moment. All products are uniquely formulated and handmade in Poppy's workshop, located in the English village of Kings Langley, Hertfordshire. They use the most potent ingredients that are 100% plant-based, ethically sourced, sustainable, cruelty-free (certified with Leaping Bunny), with thirteen out of the fourteen products being vegan. Plus, all products and packaging are 100% recyclable. We applaud the brand for their giving-back where they donate 10% of their profits to the Myna Mahila Foundation, which employs women from urban slums in Mumbai to manufacture and sell affordable sanitary pads in their communities, thus providing stable employment, improving menstrual hygiene, and building a trusted network. Being born in the Indian subcontinent and having family there, Poppy knows how hard it is for women to access sanitary products, so Myna Mahila is close to her heart. Poppy's Natural Skincare has a very popular following and is loved by many and won many awards from Natural Health, Global Green Beauty, FreeFrom Awards, Green Parent Natural Beauty and The Beauty Shortlist. To sum up the ethos of the brand, Poppy said, "The Poppy's Natural Skincare range was developed by me, but the knowledge comes from our amazing, shared history of the botanical world and its healing powers." 

One of Poppy's Natural Skincare's hero products is the recent winner at the 2021 Global Green Beauty Awards, the Super Age-Defying Organic Face Oil Bakuchiol & Amla. This is suitable for all skin types, and works to help prevent signs of premature ageing. It is a lightweight and fast-absorbing oil-based formula and contains a luxurious blend of age-defying phyto-retinol compounds that are supercharged with youth-boosting botanically active ingredients to help repair, rejuvenate, and bestow radiance. As Poppy Skincare tells us, this is formulated with 31 of the world's most potent botanicals, including bakuchiol, co-enzyme Q10, marine algae, amla, acmella oleracea, kahai, unsaponifiable olive oil, neroli, and olive squalene. Bakuchiol extract is from the psoralea corylifolia (babchi) plant's leaves and seeds (see photo above). It is a compound recognised as a phyto-retinol and a natural alternative to the synthetic retinol. It works in the same way and stimulates collagen production, reduces visible lines and hyperpigmentation, and helps restore the skin's elasticity. Poppy first came across this key ingredient in Bangladesh, where babchi is used to treat vitiligo, eczema, and also found in some skincare. The co-enzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is both age-defying and a potent antioxidant. It protects the skin from the damaging effects of sun exposure and free radicals; it also helps to reduce sun damage, even skin tone, and improve skin hydration. Marine algae extract is a potent age-defying botanical that increases cell turnover and collagen production, thus reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Amla (Indian gooseberry) is a super berry and is a highly regarded medicinal Ayurveda plant too. It contains copious amounts of vitamin C, which helps to fade hyperpigmentation, and has amino acids and antioxidants which also actively encourage collagen production. Acmella oleracea, in known to relax the facial muscles lessening muscle tension, and in turn softening the appearance of fine lines. The kahai (cacay oil) has high levels of vitamin A, linoleic acid, and vitamin E. Unsaponifiable olive oil replenishes the skin's lipid layer to restore skin suppleness and elasticity. The essential oil neroli is also here, which is said to be cytophylactic, meaning it helps with the creation of new skin cells. It's also the fragrance in the Face Oil. Finally, there is the olive squalane, this helps to slow down the transepidermal water loss and boosts skin moisture.

Because we have dry and dehydrated skin, we used about two or three pumps of the oil (rather than the suggested one or two). We applied it by massaging the oil gently into the face, neck and décolletage. It absorbed well, leaving a fine veil on the skin, which for us, made a good base for applying makeup – dare we suggest, that you could even add a pump of the oil to your foundation, to help it glide more gracefully onto the skin.  We love the neroli scent with its rich, honeyed floral notes and citrusy overtones, which always has a soothing effect on our mood and makes the ritual of applying this Face Oil even more pleasing…. What a joy this is to use, and we are so pleased to have finally tried this award-winning Super Age-Defying Organic Face Oil. We believe in supporting indie skincare brands like Poppy’s Natural Skincare, this is for many reasons. We find their products are created with great passion, love and care and always formulated with far more superior ingredients, which makes this another of our #amazingfinds!  To try the 30ml Super Age-Defying Organic Face Oil Bakuchiol & Amla, you can find it here for £75.00.

Wow Beauty + Saskia's Flower Essences: CFF: Clarify, Focus and Flow Flower Essence & Powerful Woman Flower Essence

We believe in flower power. What about you? Today meet these ‘flower essences’ created by capturing the unique vibrational energy of a plant and holding it as a memory in water. In simple terms, when the flower essence is swallowed, an individual’s energy is reminded how to be, taking the body back to its original balance. At The Amazing Blog, we love how these flower essences help to boost confidence and give us back our balance. A while back, we wrote about Saskia’s Flower Essences here, and today, we’re featuring more from the brand who have partnered with Wow Beauty to launch the CFF: Clarify, Focus and Flow Flower Essence  and the Powerful Woman Flower Essence. We will explain why we think that these are true ‘nature’s little helpers’.  

The background to these begins in 2021, when Wow Beauty partnered with Saskia’s Flower Essences to launch these two unique botanical blends. Their alliance came via a chance meeting on social media, which has since led to a joining of minds and the creation of a new range of flower essences. Saskia’s Flower Essences was founded in 2003 by formulator and practitioner Saskia Marjoram, who has worked with plants and botanicals her whole life. Her background is as a professional gardener and as a florist to H.R.H. Prince of Wales. The brand’s essences are primarily made from native wildflowers and trees. Each tincture is designed to help people shift and change their emotional and behavioural issues. Saskia said, “I was delighted when Denise asked me to develop a blend with the title ‘Clarity Focus Flow’ from my range of single essences. After quite some deliberation and lots of intuition, the final essences we chose are designed to help people feel clear and sure as they move forward in their lives with a sense of purpose.” Saskia went on to say, “I am continually fascinated by how plants and humans interact and the wisdom they have to share with us. My deep love, friendship and knowledge of the flowers has continued to grow as I discover just how powerfully their energy affects and interacts with us.” Denise Rabor is best known for Wow Beauty ,a natural beauty and wellbeing portal that launched in 2016. More recently, she has launched The D.O.R Beauty Edit, an online store with products from female-led holistic and wellbeing brands. Denise has always been intrigued by vibrational medicine and flowers for helping solve emotional states, and this is how the concept for creating ‘CFF’ was born. Denise told us, “CFF is something that came to me early last year when I was creating some personal affirmations. Why? I needed to clarify and refine my purpose but required extra support. I wanted to create a product that could help things happen whilst also maintaining a state of flow. And I know that many women that I've spoken with feel the same need for some extra support.”  People have used flowers to heal emotions for thousands of years, extending back to Ancient Egypt and indigenous Australians who also used them as part of healing ceremonies to resolve emotional imbalances. In fact, we learnt from Endeavour College of Health that the earliest European recorded use of flower essences was by abbess Hildegard von Bingen in the twelfth century. It was where muslin sheets were placed over flowers at night to absorb the dew, then be collected in the morning, rung out, and used to treat people with emotional imbalances. However, it wasn’t until 1930 that Dr Edward Bach discovered the vibrational power of flowers and how to apply flower essence, thus creating 38 Bach Flower Remedies. This is where extraordinarily talented alchemists like Saskia Marjoram carry on this legacy. 

At this precise moment in time, the need for flower essences could not be more poignant. As the world gradually finds its feet after the global pandemic, this is when we all need to ask for help and guidance from these essences as ‘nature’s little helpers’. The CFF: Clarity, Focus, Flow Flower Essence was created to support individuals for when some clarity in life is needed. It helps to maintain focus, and achieve and maintain a flow. To use, take seven drops of essence two to three times a day, and say a personal affirmation. Take these drops for as long as you need, whether it’s a couple of days or weeks. The bottle contains 30ml, and the ingredients include springwater (60%), organic vodka (40%), and energy imprint of rio clarillo, crab apple, blackberry, peppermint, and willow (16% ABV). Springwater is free of contaminants and contains important minerals, organic vodka is free of pesticides and GMOs.  Rio clarillo helps you go with the flow, crab apple enables you to release guilt and shame, blackberry enables you to feel that it’s safe to grow, peppermint enables you to be clear and focused, and willow helps you be flexible. 

The Powerful Woman Flower Essence is for a confidence boost and was made with a view to helping women step into their power, have a strong sense of self and succeed at anything they put their mind to do. It is designed to enhance creativity and increase intuition.  Again, like the CCF, take seven drops of the essence under the tongue. The ingredients include springwater (60%), organic vodka (40%), and energy imprint of dandelion, twayblade, blackberry, bluebell, nettle, pennyroyal, and evening primrose (16% ABV). Springwater and organic vodka (described above). The dandelion allows you to release, twayblade helps you take a leap of faith, blackberry enables you to feel safe to grow, bluebell helps you be heard, nettle is for when you are really mad, pennyroyal helps you feel complete, and evening primrose enables you to see the light in the dark. 

Since childhood, my mother actively encouraged both anxious humans and pets to take a few drops of Bach Flower Essences under the tongue, and this has stayed with me, as a regular practice. I still use many of the Bach Flower remedies and I’m also a big fan of Saskia Flower Essences, primarily of the Focus Energise Create, which interesting has one or two of same ingredients as CFF. So, for me, the CFF would be my current ‘go to’ rather than the Powerful Woman. That said, Powerful Woman has a place and on days when one feels indecisive or full of self-doubt. And before you ask, all these flower essences are completely safe to use in conjunction with other medicines, homoeopathic treatments or during pregnancy and breastfeeding. We highly recommend try these, especially if you are a novice to the world of flower essences, and think these are a great first step. All flower essences are 30ml and you can find the CFF: Clarity, Focus, Flow Flower Essence here for £15.00 and the Powerful Woman Flower Essence here for £15.00.

Vilana - Mint Hair Conditioner

One of our missions this month has been to find a completely natural hair conditioner that won’t irritate an itchy or sensitive scalp. Not an easy task!  At The Amazing Blog, we’ve searched high and low and were recommended to try a brand called Vilana Natural Beauty, who are famed for their gentle hair care products and advice on hair loss.

Founded by Vilana Bagdone, a wife and mother of three who has a light bulb moment when one day she caught sight of her ‘dull, drawn and pale skin’. Despite using countless bottles of high street creams and serum, nothing seemed to help. It was only then that she realised she needed to return back to basics to harness the true power of nature and natural products. Today Vilana Natural Beauty uses a selection of top-quality essential oils to ensure she has the best to create her effective skin and hair care solutions. We’re excited to report that the brand has recently been nominated for The Scottish Business Awards which will be held on 23 February.

We tried the Vilana Natural Beauty Mint Hair Conditioner which is their hero product from the hair care collection. Looking at the key ingredients, it’s no surprise it is a bestseller. The conditioner is enriched with apple vinegar that leaves the hair feeling soft, shiny and smooth and peppermint essential oils which help to promote hair growth. Peppermint has antimicrobial and antifungal properties which help to tackle dandruff and other scalp issues. The shea butter and honey also add moisture for more luscious and thicker-looking hair. We’ve used this several times and noticed that it helped to restore, nourish and soften the hair effortlessly. They advise that you leave the product on the scalp for up to five minutes, in order to let the conditioner soothe and sink into the scalp, then rinse away. We were left with a refreshing scent of mint and very shiny hair. The added bonus is that it can be used as a hair mask as well.  There are no sulphates or parabens, and they even offer a full ingredient list with an explanation here. This one of our #amazingfinds of the week; you too can purchase a 200ml pot of Vilana Natural Beauty Mint Hair Conditioner for £12.50 here.

London International Mime Festival 2020

Let this New Year begin with laughter and joy as you soak up brilliant talent, skill and humour at the London International Mime Festival 2020. Commencing on the 8th of January until the 3rd of February, the 44th year of London’s Annual International Contemporary Visual Theatre Festival is here to keep you entertained, gleeful and excited. Be sure to find your way to at least one if not all the shows coming up at theatres around town such as The Soho Theatre, Shoreditch Town Hall, and Wilton’s Music Hall etc. Missing these astonishing, fascinating and exquisite performances will mean forfeiting the opportunity to experience one of the best mime shows in the world.

With 20 performances going on throughout the early year, the festival is pulling in talent from all ends of the world including Puppetry from New York and France, a dance theatre company from Belgium as well as talent from Australia amongst various others ensuring they’ve got something or the other for the diverse and distinct taste of all Londoner’s. 

First, we’d like to introduce Australian artist Fleur Elise Noble who has spent seven dedicated years towards creating The Magical Universe of Rooman. The show incorporates a rich tapestry of puppetry, projection, moving animation, dance, music and sound effects. Rooman highlights a fable of romance, fantasy and the eventual pursuit of happiness. Centred around a girl meeting a kangaroo man in her sleep, Fleur Elise Noble explores the theme of romance, life and furthermore the human psyche. On at The Pit in Barbican from the 14th – 18th January, book your tickets online for only £18.

Up next is BOYS presented by The PappyShow (UK), a celebration of male tenderness, silliness, vulnerability and community performed by a cast of exceedingly talented young men. Unscripted and refreshing, each story is told uniquely in every performance. BOYS is a joyful, electric, occasionally raw but always tender piece that hopes to unravel preconceptions and uncover the endless possibilities that can make up a man. Brought to life in 2013 by director Kane Husbands, the PappyShow is one of London’s finest theatrical ensembles.  On at the Southbank Centre's Purcell Room on the 20th and 21st of January, the show has been said to be an essential viewing for every boy, so be sure to get your tickets well in time! Tickets are priced at an easy and affordable £18.

Last but certainly not least is Optraken created by the ferociously talented Galactik Ensemble. Unstable ground disappears underfoot, walls wobble, ceilings collapse, danger’s come from every side. Forget elegant tumbling and spangly tights – this wonderfully inventive and original piece of physical theatre is a battle in which every movement matters for survival as five breathtaking acrobats pit themselves against a hostile environment. The show proves to be spectacular, impressive, unpredictable and enormous fun at The Peacock from the 29th of January to the 1st of February online. Ticket prices range from £15 - £45 depending on the seats you choose to buy.

Finally, we at The Amazing Blog highly recommend you see a minimum of one of the twenty shows being putting on by the London Mime Festival not only to enjoy the various talents of the participants but also to give yourself that much-needed break from your hectic schedules! Hop on over to their official website here for more information regarding the same.