Benecos - Konjac Sponges

We’re halfway through the week, and back with another Benecos product. Regular readers of The Amazing Blog will remember that we featured their Natural Lip Gloss back in a March, and we were therefore thrilled to try their Konjac Sponges. Created by Silke and Stephan Becker, Benecos was established to provide makeup, skincare and haircare for both men and women, all with the ambition to encourage more environmentally conscious choices.

Their Konjac Sponges are no exception, made with 100% konnyaku root, aiming to encourage people to use natural exfoliants, as opposed to those containing harmful micro beads. These sponges are a gentle exfoliant, and can be used with a mild cleanser or on their own. We tested all three Konjac Sponges, the first being the Bamboo Black Charcoal. After soaking this sponge in water for a couple of minutes (as you must do with all three), we found that this sponge rid our faces of the day’s dirt. Black charcoal is ideal if you’re looking to rid the skin of common impurities, such as excess oil and bacteria. If you have sensitive skin, then the Red Clay Sponge is the best choice for you. While it exfoliates, this sponge is very gentle and calming. Lastly, the Green Tea Sponge is great for combination and dry skin. While balancing your complexion, the Green Tea Sponge also detoxifies, hydrates, and soothes irritation to the skin.

Thanks to these Konjac Sponges, our skin is so much softer - goodbye dry and flaky skin. An added bonus? These sponges last for two months, and are subsequently compostable and biodegradable. Guilt free skincare! To try a sponge for yourself, then click here, where each one can be purchased for £6.95.

Benecos for Men Only - Bodywash and Deo Spray

Could it be possible to squeeze the efficiency of German engineering into a tube we asked around The Amazing Blog’s water cooler this week? Some argued they had managed it with a rather infamous beer, so why not a range of skincare? Well, fellow enthusiasts, we can report they have come incredibly close with the new organically certified and vegan approved range from Benecos. It has to be said those clever Germans have created something rather wonderful. Sometimes with products which claim to offer the utopian world of skin nourishment to us, they can turn out to be a little on the watery side, or perhaps the fragrance reminds you of a wet weekend in Skegness. Fortunately, here we have something to truly buck that trend, with products free from parabens, paraffins, silicones, synthetic colours and artificial fragrances.

Benecos For Men Only: Body Wash 3-in-1 has got to be tried if only for the fragrance alone - a multitasker with the added benefit of suiting the face and hair too. It's fragrance is very fresh and with a bit of a zing, to provide the boost that some of us are in of to wake up in the shower first thing. The Deodorant Spray is a non-aerosol concept free-from aluminium salts and with an organic mix of 7 precious extract. Again giving the clean scent of freshness which comes from their cocktail of marigold, rosehip, burdock, nettle, st.johns wort, and black elderberry. We reckon it is the small-leaved lime blossom which adds the power-shot of energy.

Unlikely as it is, that we shall ever know the definitive recipe of this delicious concoction; fortunately, all we have to do is bathe and luxuriate in the stuff, before taking on the world in the morning. Benecos For Men Only don’t make any exorbitant claims with their new product, but we should point out that going for a spin under their influence, brought some admiring glances to our polished hubcaps as we purred through town, and our leather upholstery was brushed up against more than once.

All available online, you will also be pleased to hear all this magic is affordable too, at only £5.95 for Men Body Wash 3-in-1 in 200ml. Or the For Men Deo Spray at 75ml at only £6.95.

Friday Favourites - Lip Feature

Exposing your delicate lips to these chilly winds and unpredictable Spring weather is such a risk. Fortunately, here at The Amazing Blog, we’ve got you covered. We have discovered four new products that will surely be your pocket’s new best friends.

We all know how the brutal north winds are tough on the lips and leaving you susceptible to nasty, painful cold sores. With SoreFix, you will definitely wave goodbye to the cold sores and welcome back your beautiful smile! Their acyclovir-free, zinc-based treatment blocks off the cold sores from appearing with a subtle physical filter, without any known side effects. It both treats and prevents cold sores by reducing and healing the infection. It also moisturises those chapped and dry lips with extra high UV filter, SPF 30, and vitamin E. The Lip Balm comes in two different shapes. It is available in both a convenient squeezable tube and a 10ml jar making them both lasting and cost-effective. You can purchase both products from SoreFix here for £8.99 as a special offer (at the time of publishing) .

The second product we discovered is from Balmkind. Winner of an Award in The 2018 Beauty Shortlist Awards in Best Lip Balm category. The Alpine Rose & Lysine Lip Balm nourishes, protects and soothes lips with its carefully blended natural ingredients. It contains a comprehensive list of antioxidants and is rich in Alpine Rose, Lysine (which is an essential amino acid), oat lipids with skin active ceramides, licorice root, lipid-rich pomegranate sterols, and vitamin E. We particularly like the non-tacky lightness of this balm, it's definitely a lip balm for those whose partners are adverse to a sticky lip kiss! This soft rose-scented lip balm can be used daily and leaves you with natural shiny looking lips - just gorgeous. The Alpine Rose & Lysine Lip Balm you can purchase here for £12.00.

If you’re into a more natural tinted lip products then Living Nature has got you covered.  The Tinted Lip Hydrator has everything you could wish for in one single tube. Hailing from New Zealand, this Lip Hydrator contains castor oil, vitamin E, manuka honey, jojoba esters, candelila. With the addition of calendula oil and carnauba waxes (both certified organic). This product is also free of synthetic chemicals or preservatives. The 'Lush' colour that we tried gave a subtle coral tone and a 'luxurious sheen' to the lips. The Tinted Lip Hydrator is available to purchase here for £15.00.

Last but not least, if you love rocking red, but you’re worried about chapped lips, Benecos is right for you. Their Benecos Natural Lipgloss in Kiss Me is a combination of lip plumping and moisturising. Not only does it care for your sensitive lips, it moisturises, adds colour and gloss, and protects the lips while maintaining a sophisticated look.  All of these benefits come from certified organic and natural ingredients which are castor seed oil, beeswax, sunflower seed oil, calcium aluminium and borosilicate alongside a natural fragrance. Finally, if you wish to buy Benecos in the UK you need to go here and it will be £6.95. With our selection here, you now have no excuse not to have soft, lush and kissable lips!

Friday Favourite - Deodorants

This Friday The Amazing Blog is featuring some of our favourite new deodorants. We know that this is not a particularly 'glamorous' subject; however, we certainly regard it as an essential one. We invest hundreds, if not thousands of pounds a year on creams, perfumes and cosmetics, but most of us still buy the same brand of deodorant that we’ve been using for years! Think about it this way, you’re not still using the same mascara brand that you were at 14, so why are you using the same deodorant? We've compiled this post to show you some new options. Whatever you are looking for in a deodorant, we think that have found the perfect product for you.

The first on our list is a deodorant for men. 31st State is an amazing brand based in California (hence the name). Their products are inspired by the diverse Californian landscape, such as beaches, forests and mountains, where things seem a little less complex. As such they have created products to help make life as clean and effortless as possible. All of their products are designed for sensitive skin with no stinging or irritation. They are full of active ingredients, inspired by nature, designed to fight bacteria and soothe, with their well thought out ingredients.

Their roll-on deodorant is aluminium free and uses two strong anti-bacterial ingredients. The first is zinc which fights unwanted odours, together with silver, to combat microbes. Silver also acts as an effective anti-inflammatory and natural disinfectant. The product has a delicate masculine musk that is incredibly refreshing and promises not to overpower you like some other brands do. This is the perfect deodorant for the guy on the go and will keep you smelling good all day. Purchase it here for £5.99.

Next we have a spray deodorant specifically for women; The Damascene Rose Deodorant from the very special Spanish organic brand, Irati Organic.  Their ingredients are gathered from the farm of their parent company Josenea, a non-profit organisation who produce organic food and plants for all their healthcare and cosmetics brands. Key organic ingredients include rosa damascena flower water, pelargonium graveolens flower oil, rosmarinus officinalis leaf oil and salvia lavandulifolia leaf oil.

This deodorant is 100% free of aluminium, parabens, preservatives, dyes and synthetic perfumes making it ideal for those with sensitive underarms. The product uses essential oils to help neutralise any bad odours. It is extremely effective, with a gentle rose fragrance that isn't in the least bit overwhelming (unlike many others...) and scored as a big hit with our Exec Editor. It comes in an elegant glass bottle which merits display on any perfume shelf or vanity table. Simply spray under your arms and have a beautiful floral and fresh scent all day. You can purchase this deodorant here for roughly 11,95 €, (it is worth noting that while the prices are in Euros, the site uses PayPal).

For those of you who want to use an organic and natural roll-on deodorant, you have to try Deo Sensitiv from Giilnea Bio Organic. It is an innovative unisex product with powerful deodorising and anti-bacterial action. The product is alcohol-free and aluminium free using zinc, as well as rosemary-leaf extract and other active natural ingredients. The product is kind to the skin and will leave you feeling and smelling fresh all day long. It has a light, crisp and floral scent that reminds us of summer breezes. It does have a thicker consistency than you may be used to, but because it is a roll on, it is easily distributed across your skin. Purchase it here for £9.70.

Next on our list is the Deo Roll-on from Benecos which is another natural deodorant. We tried the Apricot and Elderflower fragrance which is very different to any other deodorant scent we have tried. Usually, deodorants are either fragrance-free or have a floral bouquet but they very rarely incorporate fruity scents like this one. What we love about this product is that the bottle is clear so you can see exactly how much is left. We think this would be a great product for a young adult new to the world of deodorant. The product is gentle and lets you perspire naturally while caring for the skin. You can purchase it here for £4.95.  

We hope that we have provided with some 'fragrant inspiration' and helped to save you from ruining any more of your beautiful dresses or shirts!

Lip Balm & Cleaning Wipes - Benecos

Here at The Amazing Blog, we know how important it is to keep our faces fresh and our lips moisturized, and that the best way to do this is to use natural products. So we were ecstatic when the brand Benecos sent us their Natural Care Happy Cleansing Wipes and their Natural Lip Balm.

It is important to cleanse your skin daily as after a long, hard, and tiresome day not only is our skin left looking dull and greasy, it is also covered in unwanted bacteria from pollution, our hands, and sweat. So having Beneco’s Happy Cleansing Wipes in your bag is the best way to cleanse on the go and throughout the day.The pleasant mix of mango, orange and aloe vera leaves your face feeling refreshed and clean. The cleansing wipes are gentle and soft but are sure to remove all makeup and bacteria on the face effectively. Don't worry if you have sensitive skin either; these wipes are pH-neutral and free of alcohol, oil derivatives, and fragrance. 

We found that the natural lip balm was the perfect solution to dry and cracked lips. The all-natural and fragrance-free balm soothes the lips using organic olive oil and organic cocoa butter. The balm comes in three different flavours: raspberry, orange, and mint.

You can purchase the cleaning wipes here for £3.46 and the natural lip balm here for £2.45.