Neighbourhood Botanicals – Facial Oil and Lip Balm

Mainstream skin and body care products can be costly, and we at The Amazing Blog never want to forfeit the quality of the regular skincare that we use, just for cheaper products that don't use the same top ingredients. Micaela Nisbet, the founder of Neighbourhood Botanicals, agrees with us here too. After moving from Australia to London to pursue a music career, Micaela found herself spending a large chunk of her paycheck on such products. This inspired Micaela to follow her love for the magic of natural oils and blend her own skincare. The result was the formation of Neighbourhood Botanicals, a reliable natural oil-based skin care line made in the UK.

We were happy to try out the Neighbourhood Botanicals’ Dream Dream Dream Facial Oil. This facial oil is a blend of Moringa seed oil, rosehip fruit oil, apricot kernel oil, geranium oil, ylang-ylang flower oil, vitamin E, blackcurrant seed oil, lavender oil, and is wonderful for all complexions. Since its non-irritant, all natural, and hypoallergenic it is suited to everyone's skin type. In the morning, our skin felt soft and replenished. The contents of the Dream Dream Dream Facial Oil contain essential fatty acids and vitamins, to renew the skin while we sleep. Plus, we reaped the benefits from the phytosterols and vitamin C, which stimulate skin elasticity and collagen regeneration. The floral fragrance left us feeling calm and pampered for bedtime. This 100% cruelty-free and vegan facial oil can also be used during the day on top of a moisturiser, or with foundation. Neighbourhood Botanicals’ Dream Dream Dream Facial Oil 30ml can be purchased here for £28.00.

We also mustn't forget to mention their cute ‘Mon Amour’ by Rejjie Snow lip balm, which is in collaboration with Neighbourhood Botanicals. This wonderful tiny pocket-sized lip balm is also made in the UK. ‘Mon Amour’ lip balm is 100% natural (yay) and applies easily, keeping our lips well-conditioned. It is made from sweet almond oil, shea butter, beeswax, cocoa, white clay to cut the shine, vegetable glycerin, organic honey and vanilla flavours. Our favourite part of this lip balm is its cocoa scent! You can purchase the Mon Amour’ by Rejjie Snow lip balm here for £5.00.

Kaplan MD Perfect Pout Duo

We all want plumper lips, but don’t always want to go the route of something invasive, which is where Kaplan MD’s Perfect Pout Duo comes in. This duo set includes a Lip Mask and Lip Balm and we at The Amazing Blog loved enhancing our lips, with this little kit.

Kaplan MD was created by renowned Beverly Hills Dermatologist, Stuart H. Kaplan, M.D. Stuart Kaplan created the Perfect Pout range which is the first complete anti-ageing regimen for the lips. It combines 22 organic extracts alongside patented peptides, antioxidants and two types of Hyaluronic Acid. These ingredients are combined to address fine lines and wrinkles around the lips, loss of fullness, loss of colour, chapped and flaky skin and sun damage that all come with ageing. The result is softer and fuller lips.

The Perfect Pout Lip Duo is perfect for hydrating chapped lips, protecting them from sun damage and instantly plumping the lip contour and smoothing fine lines. The Lip Balm is an ultra-hydrating treatment that works to seal in hydration while the SPF 20 protects the lips. Ingredients include the 22 organic extracts, beeswax and sunflower seed wax, marine collagen peptide, hyaluronic filling spheres and SPF20. The Lip Balm also looks beautiful on top of lipstick and stains, giving a glossy appearance.  The luxuriously creamy Lip Mask both exfoliates and visibly plumps the lips in only three minutes. This Lip Mask also includes marine collagen, peptides and papaya enzymes (to exfoliate chapped lips) with high (topical to soften) and low (penetrates deeper for intense hydration at the cellular level) weight hyaluronic acid.

The Perfect Pout duo includes both these products, in travel-friendly sizes, however, the Lip Balm and Mask can also be bought separately in larger sizes. Purchase the Perfect Pout Duo here for £19, the full size Lip Balm here for £27.50 and the Lip Mask here for £37.

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!