Botanical

Les huilettes - Mon huilette night

After a long and tiring day, we at The Amazing Blog can’t think of anything better than taking off our makeup and applying a soothing night serum. What makes  a night serum stand out for us from other skin care products is that they’re jam-packed with ingredients that nourish and brighten your skin while you sleep. We can never get enough of serums, as each one has specific properties to enhance the skin, such as anti-ageing from les huilettes we are referring to, of course, their very special mon huilette night serum. 

The brand was started in France in 2015 by two long-time friends, Pascale Gal and Claire Auzouy. Gal was a pharmacist with a degree in Aromatherapy while Auzouy had a background in luxury gastronomy. Gal desired to ‘return to a simpler beauty, essential and without sacrifice, summed up in a few principles and gestures’. The pair combined their unique experiences to start a cosmetics company that is 100 per cent natural, vegan, and botanical. Les huilettes is also committed to the environment and partnered with Up2green Reforestation, a French nonprofit organisation that helps replant fruit trees in communities affected by deforestation. 

The Mon huilette night serum is made for all skin types to smooth and enhance your skin’s suppleness. Overnight, it leaves your skin looking more radiant overnight and repairs any signs of anti-ageing such as wrinkles and skin dullness. The formula of a ‘plant synergy of essential and vegetable oils to be effective without fluff’makes the night serum stand out. Essential oils like Italian helichrysum have an anti-inflammatory benefit while myrtle and bourbon geranium have therapeutic aromatherapy effects to enhance positive well-being. Argan and avocado oils deeply moisturise and plump your skin while prickly pear cactus prevents the formation of premature wrinkles and lightens dark circles. These elements result in a light-feeling oil serum that melts evenly into your face and neck and doesn’t make you feel greasy. 

A little goes a long way, and you only need 3-5 drops per use. You should purposely but gently massage the serum into your freshly cleansed face for optimal results. However, for extra pampering and an at-home massage, we suggest you watch their serum application video here . On top of it all, rose and white flower leave a tangy and therapeutic scent on your face to relax you before bed. You can join ‘tribe of huilettes’ and amp up your night skin care routine by purchasing the mon huilette night (15ml) here for 45€

Friday Favourites - Face Oils

Including a face oil in our daily beauty routine has become somewhat of a ritual for us at The Amazing Blog. This week, we’d like to introduce you to four of our favourite luxury face oils that will enchant your senses, revive your skin and keep your complexion feeling supple and hydrated, even as the temperatures drop.

Our first pick is Replenish, a night oil created by the award-winning aromatherapy brand Beatitude. As a brand that we know and love, we have previously written about their Peace Bath Oil. Founded by Rebecca O’Connor, the name of the brand itself represents supreme happiness and blessedness, and according to Rebecca, the brand aims to bring “a sense of happiness, calm and well-being”. We can certainly vouch for this, as the Replenish Oil has become a much-loved part of our wind-down evening routine.

It’s a profoundly nourishing oil that awakens your senses and skin cells, to give your complexion a radiant and healthy glow. With powerful ingredients like rose, neroli and immortelle, it is also anti-ageing, working to combat fine lines and dehydration. Anti-oxidants and vitamins are mixed in a unique formula of rosehip, vitamin E, evening primrose and many more natural plant ingredients. These make our skin feel nourished and rejuvenated, and as the texture is light on the skin, it doesn’t leave the greasy look that most of us fear when considering facial oils. Instead, it absorbs quickly and has become a firm favourite in our nightly beauty routine. It can be used under night cream or stand-alone; apply to the décolleté, neck and face with light upwards massage movements, but be careful to avoid the delicate eye area. Click here to purchase a 30ml bottle of anti-ageing magic for £38.

Up next is a deeply nourishing and natural facial oil, known for its premium anti-ageing properties. Created by experts at Lumity, a brand committed to proving that ageing is more than skin deep, their Natural Anti-Ageing Facial Oil is equally rejuvenating and balancing. The brainchild of Sara Palmer Hussey, Lumity’s products are designed with busy lifestyles in mind, combining vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids and amino acids to create simple skincare and supplement products. In fact, we reviewed Lumity’s Anti-Ageing Supplements back in 2017, click here to view the post.

This time, we tried the Facial Oil and were pleased to discover that the formula contains 32 different botanical oils and extracts, including passion flower seed oil, known for stimulating skin cells, and marula oil, known for healing powers. Alongside this, the mixture of argan and jojoba seed oil make this a unique and plant-based blend, full of the nutrients that are welcome as winter approaches. This luxurious oil provides smoother skin, and in just 4 weeks, 73% of users noticed a reduction in the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. These are statistics we can back, as members of the Amazing Blog team (not naming any names) have noticed similarly smooth and younger complexions. Lumity's Facial Oil (30ml) is available on their website, standalone for £60 or at a discounted rate of £48 if purchased as part of their monthly subscription.

Our third find this Friday is from Botany Blend; a brand celebrated for combining green beauty and luxury, offering us a range of oils that indulge our minds and bodies. With expertise in aromatherapy products that satisfy your senses, and revitalise the skin, each batch is handmade and all ingredients are sourced sustainably. We love the use of certified organic ingredients and were excited to discover that the products are all made in a small studio on the Devon coast.

We tried the Aceso Oil, which like Botany Blend's other products, is free from essential oils. The formula contains numerous potent antioxidants, alongside Co2 extracted sea buckthorn, rosehip berries, apricot kernel, safflower and Japanese camellia. These are all rich in plant-based fatty acids, helping to nurture even the most sensitive of skin. We found that the oil was easy to apply, and was soothing, yet non-greasy, ideal for use both morning and night. It even acts as a smooth base for makeup, something we would often steer clear of with other oils. If you have sensitive skin or are merely looking for an organic oil that does not contain essential oils, then this will be for you. Purchase your own 30ml bottle of Acesco for £35 here.

Last, but by no means least, we came across Vetivert & Co, a London based brand, founded by Aanu Oduyeni to provide plant-based oils to nourish and repair the skin. Suffering from acne, and dreading scarring, she envisaged a brand that would be free from synthetic fragrances, nut oils and parabens, and suitable for vegans. These goals are something that she has very much achieved, so we were excited to try the Balance Oil.

As with Vetivert & Co's other products, Balance Oil is cruelty-free, and 100% natural, containing a blend of tamanu, seabuckthorn, palmarosa and lavender oils. We found these ingredients not only helped to avoid future breakouts by neutralising and calming the skin, but that they also helped to repair it, aiding with the scarring that many of us are availed with. This oil helps to defy the stereotype that oils will clog pores and worsen acne, as many of us here have been suitably impressed with the long lasting effects. As a lighter oil, this can be used twice daily (morning and evening) and should be gently patted onto damp or dry skin. Combat your acne worries by purchasing a 30ml bottle here for £35.

Face oils often have a reputation of only being necessary for dry or older skin. While there is truth in this statement, we hope to have opened your eyes to the uses of facial oils for all skin types. Whether you have sensitive or acne prone skin, we're sure one of these products will be suitable for you.

Skincare and Lipcare by Skôt Beauté

Skôt Beauté’s philosophy is centred around incorporating natural and pure botanical ingredients to enhance your skin. The company prides themselves on their cruelty-free, vegan, eco-friendly and organic products. The people at Skôt believe that beautiful skin can only be achieved by treating it right and we at The Amazing Blog couldn't agree more. Skôt very kidly sent us a few products from both their skincare range and lip care range.

Toks Fahm Ajayi, the founder of Skôt Beauté, was inspired to create the company after experiencing various beauty rituals from different cultures around the world. The star ingredient of the skincare products is Calendula, a flower that has been used throughout history to regenerate and heal dry and damaged skin. Skôt sent us their Discovery Kit which included the Supple Glow Moisture CrèmeDivine Cleansing Crème, Nevaeh Hydrating Mist and the Lip Smoothie. The Glow Crème contains anti-ageing antioxidants and extracts of spinach leaves and grape skin which protect skin from damaging UV rays. The Divine Crème gently removes makeup while the calendula and sunflower oil stimulate cell regeneration. The Hydrating Mist is delightfully refreshing and it instantly hydrated, refreshed and brightened skin. The Lip Smoothie acts as a treatment to help diminish fine lines around the mouth. Enriched with lemon balm extract, shea butter, carrot extract, peppermint oil and beeswax, lips are left feeling softer and more supple.

The Natural Luxe Lipstick, made again from organic oils, extracts, botanicals and butters, intensely rejuvenates lips, visibly reducing the appearance of lines leaving your lips looking luscious and kissable.The colours are bright and attractive; we tried the brilliant but deep fuschia rose colour which we think is the perfect summer shade. 

You can buy the products in Pounds on their US website via PayPal, where prices will be listed in Dollars. The Discovery Kit is roughly £43.00 and the Natural Luxe Lipstick here for approximtely £19.30.

 

Ruby Red Reviving Body Cleanser

With so many skincare brands available it's often hard to know which one to opt for. And with the shelves of shops fit to burst with choice, it can be all too easy to choose the most brightly packaged, or the one that's on offer, rather than taking time to select one that's right for our skin type.

Ruby Red Cosmetics was founded in 2008 by Mike and Martine Ruby who combined their passion for botanical ingredients with their love for design to create a brand whose core belief centred around natural products Having previously worked for cosmetics giant Elizabeth Arden, it was an eighteen month sabbatical around SE Asia that inspired Martine to start Ruby Red, having witnessed the way in which natural ingredients were used in everyday life without a chemical substitute.

And so they created a fabulous product range suitable for all types of skin, including those who are sensitive to harsh chemicals and synthetics. Botanical ingredients are used, which means all of Ruby Red’s products are free from harsh chemicals, parabens, perfumes and dyes and they are never tested on animals so you can rest assured that their products really are top notch.

The Reviving Body Wash that we at The Amazing Blog tried out was every bit as wonderful as it sounded. Made from the natural cleansing foaming agents of coconut and corn with Aloe Vera Leaf extracts, it is rich in natural polysaccharides which soften and soothes skin, and certainly left ours in butter-soft condition.  With fresh aromas of Key Lime, sweet Red Mandarin, crushed Coriander and Wild Cedarwood, this really is a treat for your skin. Available online from the Ruby Red Shop, the Reviving Body Cleanser costs £16 for 200ml and £32 for 500ml  – it's a substantial bottle and will last and last so a worthy investment for such a wonderful cleanser!

 

Pairfum

Every so often, us girls at The Amazing Blog get to try products that are unlike anything else on the market. When these opportunities come along we jump at the chance to feature these unique products. And this is the case with the Pairfum Canopy Infusion room diffuser. I'm sure everyone out there has seen some sort of reed diffuser, and as lovely as they are, there don't even come close to the Canopy Infusion diffuser. We have the diffuser in the Trail of White Petals fragrance and we can't imagine how amazing the other scents smell if they're anything like this one! Not only do they fragrance a room beautifully but they look so elegant as well. The diffusers come in a variety of fragrances, so whatever your scent preference, Pairfum is sure to have one to suit you. The Canopy Infusion diffusers are created by coating an air-dried 'seagrave' leaf in a concentrated perfume infusion. This then fragrances the room for up to 4 weeks, when you can replace the diffuser for a new one. The Canopy Infusion diffuser comes with 6 large leaves and are all hand-crafted, meaning each leaf is unique. Even better still, all the packaging is fully biodegradable, meaning every part of your Canopy diffuser is healthy for you and the environment. The Canopy Infusion diffuser is currently taking up residency on top of our cabinets in the office, but this unique diffuser would look great in most decors, and rooms in your house. There are also a ton of different ways you can display your diffuser, we've left it in it's stand, but feel free to get creative with it!

If you're looking for a unique and long-lasting way to scent your space we really recommend having a look at Pairfum's Canopy Infusion diffuser and their selection of home products.