Grass & Co : REST 1000mg (11%) CBD Oil Drops & 300MG CBD Body Balm

Winding down after a busy day at work should be the best part of the day, and if you’re anything like us at The Amazing Blog, you’ll know only too well how challenging it is to get both body and mind to rest. Regular readers will know that we're big fans of CBD and on our journey, have gleaned much about this miracle hemp plant. Today we’re featuring two CBD products from Grass & Co - the REST 1000mg (11%) CBD Oil Drops, which recently won ‘Best Product to Calm Anxiety Before Bed’ and Rest 300mg CBD Body Balm an’ Editor’s Choice’ at 2022 Beauty Shortlist Awards.

When the UK and Europe legalised CBD in 2018, Toby Gordon-Smith found the opportunity to create something innovative in the health and wellness industry. He told TechRound  "Looking at the stories of how CBD has genuinely changed people's lives was all the inspiration I needed. I've been working in wellness supplements since 2009 and in consumer goods my whole career." That same year, Toby founded Grass & Co a CBD company that focuses on topicals and edibles in three ranges: Calm, Ease, and Rest. The brand's mission is simple. Grass & Co wants to help its consumers reconnect with nature. "Our mission is to help our customers reconnect with nature by launching only the highest quality CBD blended with great-tasting botanical ingredients and beneficial vitamins. Our unique product range and formulations inspire well-being and have been specially created to work with your body to deliver uplifting results." Grass & Co promises to source only the most ethical and legally grown in the EU- meaning they’re grown without using toxic chemicals or pesticides. All products are natural, sustainable, vegan and broad-spectrum and THC-free. They are best known for their unusual combination of botanicals, which in their CBD oils offers unique smooth flavours. Grass & Co also promises full transparency on the entire process with lab testing and results available here and are now widely available on Amazon and at Holland & Barrett.

The first product we're focusing on is the REST 1000mg (11%) CBD Oil Drops, which have been created to help reduce fatigue, ensure feelings of wellbeing and aid a good night's sleep. This is the most potent one in the REST range; it contains 11% broad-spectrum CBD sourced from the hemp plant, which is also blended with hemp oil, pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) and MCT oil. MCT oil gives a smoothness in taste and a healthy dose of essential fatty acids. It also allows for a greater concentration of CBD to be absorbed into the bloodstream, and vitamin B5 is crucial to red blood cell production and stress hormones.

What's unique about this blend is the unusual combination of the three oils primarily used for flavour: Bergamot, lavender and hops extract (part of the hemp family), and we have to say, as a combination, it’s a very palatable one. Bergamot comes from the citrus bergamia plant indigenous to the Mediterranean and has properties that can reduce feelings of depression and reduce cholesterol and joint pain. Lavender is one of the most popular essential oils and for a good reason; apart from its healing properties, it also works as a mood enhancer. This oil promotes relaxation and can treat feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression. The hops extract comes from the flowering part of the hop plant, which is also used in brewing beer. Hops are primarily taken for anxiety, sleep disorders, and symptoms of menopause. To find your balance, Grass & Co recommends starting with a low dosage and then slowly building up to a higher dosage. We took it sublingually with a couple of drops under the tongue at night to help calm our busy minds. As mentioned, it has an unusual and pleasant taste that’s very smooth and mild. Although we're more advocates of full-spectrum CBD oil, we'd buy more of this, just for the flavour alone. It has approx 28 drops (or dosages) in this 10ml bottle and it comes in a recyclable cardboard box; to purchase the Rest 1000mg (11%) CBD Oil Drops for £72.50. see here.

The second product we tried was the Rest 300mg CBD Body Balm, again probably best to be used before bed. It’s designed to help with any soreness, inflammation, or just for tired limbs and contains 300mg of CBD. Our regular readers will already know the benefits of applying CBD balms for their therapeutic properties. However, for the CBD newbies, the 300mg of CBD here will relax any aching joints.

Apart from the CBD, the base (or carrier) oils are soy, grapeseed, evening primrose, passionflower and sunflower. The other healing essential oils are rose geranium, rosemary leaf, and frankincense. Rose geranium, in addition to treating conditions such as acne and dry skin, is used to reduce the symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression. Rosemary helps ease pain and increase circulation and is particularly good for reducing anxiety and stress before bed. Lastly, we have frankincense, a resin from the boswellia tree, which will alleviate feelings of stress and anxiety and is a mood enhancer.

We like this natural CBD Body Balm because it's full of relaxation-inducing ingredients and can be used even on sensitive skin. We’d recommend massaging a liberal amount into aching limbs or stiff shoulders before bed, to allow it to work its magic. Or, in our case, working it intensively in between the finger joints (stiffness from too much typing!) This rich formula nourishes the skin and performs as a mild anti-inflammatory. Plus, the floral scent will help relax your mind and boost your mood. The 60ml Rest 300mg CBD Body Balm is available here for £39.50.

If you’re new to CBD, we think these two broad-spectrum products offer a brilliant starting point, they’ll work beautifully together to help ensure your body gets a well-earned rest.

CBD Leafline: Gummy Rings

Do you have that one secret sweet treat that you can’t resist? Well, ,how about a sweet treat that helps you relax? The team here at The Amazing Blog have been nibbling away at all sorts of CBD edibles, and one of our recent #amazingfinds are these delicious CBD Gummy Rings from CBD Leafline - we even had to do a toss-up to see who got the last one! 

Paul and Sonia Shrive started CBD Leafline in 2018, and manufacture a selection of CBD infused products here in the UK. At the age of 15, Paul travelled to Nairobi, Africa, with his father, where he experienced how African natives used hemp/cannabis in their everyday lives. They used the plant to its fullest potential, benefiting from its therapeutic and healing properties, making rope, clothes and soap, or building homes. Seeing how natural hemp was appreciated in Africa made Paul valued the plant even more. Cannabidiol sailed through the UK in 2016 but only as food supplements for consumption and use, sparking interest in Paul. He said, “Recalling my love and passion of the plant, I began to research and set about working out how I could bring our own range of CBD products to market.” After a few years of research and planning, the Shrives decided to start their company. Their combined experience in manufacturing, distribution, wholesale, marketing, and the health and beauty industry served as a foundation for their business. They want to share and educate their customers about CBD and its benefits. With the UK’s restrictions on CBD, this brand makes sure all products comply with the legal requirements. Unlike other CBD brands, CBD Leafline manufactures all products in their own facilities in the Northwest of England and are a family-owned business. The couple and friends and family use CBD products daily and believe it has changed their wellbeing, “No miracle cures, to put it simply, we feel re-balanced.” All products in the CBD Leafline range are natural and combine high-quality whole-plant hemp oil containing broad-spectrum CBD (THC-free) with cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, omega 3/6 amino acids which interact with other vegan ingredients. In addition, all products are independently tested (see here) and, the brand is a CannaPro certified business. CBD Leafline was recently awarded Editor’s Choice and Finalist in The Beauty Shortlist 2021 Awards here.    

As our regular readers will know, CBD products can come in all shapes and forms like CBD oils, topical creams, chocolates, skincare, or vapes. So, why choose CBD gummies? Well, first of all, they’re delicious and easier to take rather than a capsule or oil. If one is feeling stressed, you can nibble at one wherever you are. Lastly, gummies are easy to control since each gummy has a definite CBD mg amount. Overall, it’s a convenient way to keep your CBD levels topped up. These CBD Gummy Rings have 10mg of CBD per gummy - which is the average amount of CBD in most gummies on the market. They are vegan-friendly, non-GMO, and all-natural. The tasty flavours come from apple, lemon, orange, raspberry and sour cherry and the bright colours come from black carrot concentrate, turmeric, paprika extract and spirulina concentrate. They use broad-spectrum hemp distillate, which is a whole hemp plant oil that doesn’t contain THC but still allows other cannabinoids to remain present. We enjoy CBD gummies with their added benefits of helping us with relaxation, and for relieving stress and anxiety, And of course, there is a plus, that they taste delicious! CBD Leafline recommends no more thanf 7 gummies per day, and the perfect dose will vary from person to person. We recommend that you experiment by starting with a small amount then slowly increasing it according to your mood. NB these are not suitable for pregnant or lactating women. And definitely should not be given to children or pets! We reviewed the Small CBD Gummy Rings, with 20 x gummies containing a total of 200mg of CBD, which you can purchase here for £19.99. 

Orange County: CBD Gummy Buttons

Don’t they look delicious? Having seen a lot of positive reviews on this CBD brand, we were excited to finally get the chance to try these goodies out. Needless to say that with the team here at The Amazing Blog, the jar did not last long! Yes, today we are reviewing Orange County CBD’s Gummy Buttons, and we are telling you all about these sweet treats!

Orange County CBD is an all-American CBD company that produces all sorts of CBD-infused goods, from E-liquids to beauty care products, along with…edibles! All of Orange County CBD’s  products are home-grown, manufactured, and tested in the U.S. The hemp is grown in controlled farms in Colorado, Kentucky, and Northern California, where the company is based, and the manufacturing occurs in a GMP certified lab. Since their beginnings, they have been aiming at producing high-standard quality products, and today they are recognised as one of the companies with the highest-quality CBD oil, which is used to infuse their products. Their distillate is indeed one of the purest on the market, thanks to their extraction method that uses supercritical CO2, a method with low environmental impact and that has been approved by the U.S. FDA. The distillate is broad-spectrum, meaning that it contains mainly CBD as well as a few other phytochemicals (CBDV, CBG, CBC) present in the hemp flower, but no THC. In other words, yes, it will relax you and soothe you, but no, you will not get high with CBD edibles, as CBD is non-intoxicating and has no psychoactive effects. What’s more, all of Orange County CBD's manufactured products are thoroughly tested in a third-party laboratory to ensure that their high standards regarding the accuracy of the cannabinoid profiles are reached. And you can check these yourself before buying (or eating if you purchase online) thanks to the embedded QR codes on each packaging, it doesn’t get any safer than that!

The product that we have received at the office is the CBD Gummy Buttons, in Small size and with 10mg per gummy – which is higher than most gummies on the market. They come in a small plastic jar and are available in three strengths: 10mg, 25mg, and 50mg per sweet, and three sizes: the small grab bag with 8 buttons containing 25mg each (approximately 200mg total), the small jar (which is the one we have) that contains approximately 20 buttons and a large-sized jar at 1250g. When we tasted these, they were not, as we suspected, too sickly sweet and we were surprised how fruity, soft and chewy they were – unlike traditional gummies which are glutinous and have a much firmer bite. No wonder they were won the ‘Best Edible’ Award at the Hemp and CBD Expo 2020, and got so many positive reviews! Usually, CBD edibles have a strong CBD oil taste which leaves a bit of an aftertaste -  not the case with these. They taste sweet and fruity, almost like traditional gummies, and each colour is a different taste. You can taste the berry, orange, lemon, and apple. Also, they have a 2-year ‘best before’ date, so if you can resist having them near you all this time you don't have to worry about a near expiration date. Although they are all vegan and GMO-free, they do contain sugar (no corn syrup or artificial sweeteners here), so if you feel a bit concerned about the presence of sugar, you may want to take them at strategic times during the day, like just after getting up, or just before/after a workout, and avoid eating these at night. If your main concern is insomnia or sleeping at night, you may want to try taking one before going to sleep to beneficiate from the relaxing effect of the hemp. As most of you know, CBD can be a great help to cope with joint, nerve and muscle pains, or anxiety. We think that edibles are perfect for a stressful period at work or to combat the winter blues! Orange County CBD recommends eating 2-4 gummies a day to get your dose of CBD in your system. The perfect dosage varies from a person to another, so we recommend that you experiment step by step, starting with small doses then increase them in case the relaxing effect is not there, especially if CBD is new to you. You can purchase the Small CBD Gummy buttons 10mg here for £16.99. Also thanks to CBD-Produce who sent us these and another CBD food product from their extensive range (visit here ) if trying CBD for the first time, or if you’re an experienced user, we think you’ll find something to tempt you at this this great one-stop shop for all things CBD.

Friday Favourites with CBD brands

We don’t know about you, but we’re intrigued by the wave of CBD products that have suddenly appeared. This is a topic often discussed at The Amazing Blog and something that we’re just starting to bone up on and today we hope to enlighten you a little too. We have three different cannabidiol (aka CBD) brands to talk about, and review. As far as we can gather the benefits of CBD are numerous and they need to be demystified in regard to the belief that they contain psychoactive properties – they don’t! The critical thing to look for is a brand that has good manufacturing practice.

As a rule of thumb, there two major types are of CBD which are either ‘full spectrum’ and ‘broad spectrum’. The full spectrum contains a tiny quantity of tetrahydrocannabinol (aka THC) which less than 0.2%; which gives the ‘entourage effect’, (meaning the benefit you get from ingesting multiple components of the cannabis plant) which is driven by all the natural cannabinoids and terpenes. These can assist with a range of conditions such as anxiety, inflammation and sleep disorders, whereas the broad spectrum has a process that reduces the cannabinoids and eliminates the THC. This type proves a popular choice with athletes or those in the public sector who may be subject to random drug testing, and don’t want to have any ‘false positives.’  Often there is a choice of 'filtered oil’ which is softer on the palate and easier to take, or a 'raw oil' which is processed by C02 extraction (no heat). The raw oil is best used for pain relief as it has an increased ‘entourage effect’ with the increased plant nutrients such as terpenes, flavonoids and phytosterols offering more plant matter and giving it a thicker consistency. The disadvantage of this raw version is that it has a very strong flavour (slightly more bitter and earthy tasting) and this extraction method is costly for brands. 

Let’s start with Brown’s CBD; founder Laurence Brown set up the company after experiencing the holistic power of CBD for the first time at university. This inspired him to forge ahead, start his own company and to offer great pharmaceutical quality CBD products at market leading prices. Brown’s CBD has a great select of CBD oils (full and broad Spectrum, filtered and raw) and they also have ‘water-soluble’ CBD which is ideal to be mixed with food, drinks or protein shakes plus up to 4 times more effective than the oil when ingested. 

We were sent their Golden CBD Hemp Oil 1000mg 10% CBD.  This is filtered oil and full spectrum made with organic hemp cannabis sativa CBD oil which is reliably sourced from in the EU.  It contains cannabinoids such as CBDA, CBDV, CBC, CBN, CBG & THC (0.2%). Although this is a filtered oil it is actually extracted by the C02 extraction method used for raw oils but this undergoes an extra filtration process which gives it a smoother taste and more of a golden colour compared to other filtered oils.  All of their bottles come in small dark UVA proof black bottles with a pipette. We strategically took this at night time to help aid relaxation and sleep. Using the pipette, we put 3 or 4 drops for sublingual absorption (under the tongue) and held it there for up to 60 seconds before swallowing. We have to say, from our experience, this is the first 10% CBD oil that we’ve found to be palatable and quite pleasant tasting. Did it help to take the edge off our day? Yes, I can confidently say that our tester’s sleep patterns definitely improved when taking it regularly.  You too can buy Brown’s CBD  Golden CBD Hemp Oils here starting from £39.99 for 10ml.

Next brand is CBD ONE  who have been at the forefront of launching CBD here in the UK. They offer a variety of CBD products ranging from oils, topical creams, and water-soluble products. They sent us their AbsorbPure+ this is a little different from the CBD oil and is in the form of a water-soluble paste that has a  mixture curcumin, vegetable glycerine, triglycerides, terpenes and bioavailable cannabis paste. Absorb has three products in the range, all of which are water-soluble and are for single daily use only. The key ingredient here is the ‘bioavailability cannabis paste’ which refers to how much of the active ingredient your body can use – here they say 99%. This product also contains THC with levels below 0.2% with the actual CBD content at 800mg making this Pure+ a high concentration paste with over 50 servings per 10ml syringe and delivery 16mg of CBD per dose. They claim that this is 10 times more effective than an equivalent oil-based product.

We used this by mixing it with water or fruit juice and have to say that the paste was a tad spicy and earthy and perhaps not the most delicious taste, but with the curcumin, it helps add a double whammy for those looking to aid from joint and muscle pain.  They also say that you can pump one dose straight into the mouth and swallow (we weren’t that brave!) One of us dosed up on this regularly in the mornings, prior to going to the gym. They have had various ongoing joint pain and did find with taking this regularly that there was a certain amount of relief. If you’re looking for a high concentrate water-soluble CBD then this is for you see here for 10ml £69.99amd 20ml £128.78.

Finally, meet Hemptouch a Slovenian brand that we’ve had our eye on for a while having first discovered the brand when they won a prestigious Wellbeing Award from our client The Beauty Shortlist for their CBD Spray Chocolate 300mg  and CBD Oil Amber 500mg. Silvija Špehar is the co-founder biologist and herbalist who has used hemp in her formulas to enhance, balance and nourish from the inside out with both the sublingual, ingestible formulas and her skincare. Ethical practice and sustainability are at the heart of the brand where they use locally sourced butter and hemp in their ingredients.

They very kindly sent us several of their products, the first of which is their Water Soluble CBD Spray – Lift & Inspire. Ingredients here are glycerine, water, matcha extract, hemp extract (cannabis sativa L) vitamins E, D and natural orange flavour. It is free from gluten dairy or sugar and contains no THC. There are 150 sprays in the bottle and each spray contains 1.3mg of CBD. This Lift & Inspire is designed to enhance focus and sharpen the mind. The CBD here helps to lower fatigue and protect from inflammation, the matcha helps to support energy levels and vitamin D is a natural mood booster.  We could taste the orange and matcha which takes the edge of the earthy hemp. It needs to be taken orally and we had 3 or 4 sprays daily under the tongue (they say that you can also spray on the inside of the cheek) and hold for a few seconds.  When we’ve been flagging, it gave us a much-needed spurt of energy and is perfect for keeping on the desk when you’re having a bad day and are in need of raising your spirits. For £31.99 you can buy this 20ml spray bottle here.

The other two CBD products are skincare and applied topically. We loved the Intensive Lip Balm, with its ingredients of raw hempseed oil, beeswax, vitamin E and cloves. NB: This raw hempseed oil has no THC. This tastes deliciously of cloves and is silky smooth on the lips, plus when applied we found that it lasts and lasts. Perfect for these winter months to keep handy in your coat pocket to protect lips from the wind chill factor. Available here in a 4.5ml tube at £7.99. 

The Balancing Face Cream is specifically designed for rebalancing oily and blemished skin and ideal for those who have breakouts or with very sensitive skin. It’s a botanically based with key ingredients of  CBD oil, hemp hydrolate, chlorella, orange flower hydrolate. The hemp hydrolate is a precious extract from the hemp plant, is and is what makes this cream unique. It improves microcirculation and leaves the complexion smooth and supple. With 2% in 50 ml of 5% CBD this gentle formula is dermatologically tested and proven to reduce the secretion of sebum. It has a subtle fragrance and when applied absorbs quickly barely leaving a trace. Great for using on face, neck and décolleté, morning and night, to help heal, purify and tone. Available here for £32.99.

We hope to have given you a bit of a starters guide to CBD. We’re certainly still learning, and in future weeks and months will be covering more from this extraordinary hemp cannabis sativa plant.