Mr Smith's Balancing Shampoo

When The Amazing Blog were asked to come up with Australia’s best exports, shampoo was not our most obvious answer. Heaven knows there are a huge range of Aussie brands on offer here in the UK, from beachwear to popstars; beers to soap operas, and everything in between. However, a haircare company which has proved to be incredibly popular is now happily making waves over here, in the elegant form of Mr Smith - a gender neutral, high performance range of haircare products. We have happily welcomed them to our shores.

Mr Smith’s hair care products are beautifully presented in the most stylistically monochromatic packaging. It is clear where the makers want us to focus our attentions, and that is within the pristine white containers of nourishment, designed for tending to our luscious locks. And it is Mr. Smith’s Balancing Shampoo which immediately caught our attention, as the fragrance created a therapeutic massage of the nostrils - and that was before it had even been applied to the scalp! With rose geranium, patchouli, jasmine and mandarin in the mix, such a result is probably not a surprise. The addition of shea butter, avocado and lime oil makes for a sublime sense of clean too. Mr. Smith have clearly been painstaking in the research and development of this range, and with the shampoo in particular, nourishment and enrichment of the hair follicle is key, and has certainly come through in just one blissful wash!

As with many coveted brands, sourcing gems such as the Mr. Smith Collection may prove a little on the challenging side, but they have just recently launched in the UK, so here’s hoping they get to spread their magic more widely soon. We managed to track down the delights of the Balancing Shampoo here. At £25 for a 300ml bottle, the price reflects the effort that has been lavished not only on the shampoo, but also the entire range. This includes conditioners and styling options; all of which are sulphate and paraben free and PETA certified. What’s not to love?

UPDATE 2023: From our reader's feedback, this product is no longer available in the UK. We suggest trying portals like eBay or Amazon to see if you can purchase it there.

Savon Stories

Sometimes we beauty-lovers pay so much attention to our beauty products that we neglect our body-care routines and settle for the most inexpensive body washes at our local Boots. We at The Amazing Blog are certainly guilty of this, so we’ve made a conscious effort to move onto healthier and more organic products for our bodies as well as our faces.  Savon Stories is a company that firmly believes in handcrafting organic remedies for enduring health and beauty. We were given the opportunity to try a body wash, bar soap and lotion bar.

The Lime & Bergamot Organic Hand & Body Wash is 99% Organic and 100% Natural. It’s been cold-processed to retain as many benefits as possible from the blend of hydrating extra virgin Greek olive oil, nourishing coconut oil, castor, hempseed, and fragrant essential oils. The result is an ultra moisturising product that smells out of this world. The Bamboo Charcoal Bar Soap with Bergamot, Lavender & Rose Geranium is specially formulated to draw out toxins and absorb excess oil while deeply cleansing pores. This aromatic floral-citrus blend is highly recommended for oily and acne prone skin. Lastly we tried out the Argan Oil Lotion Bar with Mandarin, Neroli & Lavender. This solid moisturising bar is made from cold-pressed organic oils and butters that deliver vitamins, antioxidants & regenerative minerals. We love that it’s quick absorbing, leaving our skin smooth and non-greasy with a sweet citrusy and cocoa-y aroma.

Invest in some organic products with Savon Stories. You can purchase the Hand & Body washes here, the Bar Soaps here, and the Lotion Bars here.

Sobe Rice Bran and Mandarin Body Moisturising Pure Oil

Despite a lot of attention over the last few years, oils are by no means a new product in the beauty industry. In fact, they’ve been around for centuries and there are hundreds of varieties to meet every skin and haircare need. But lately more people are returning to the traditional beauty ingredients and using oils in their skincare routine. With essential oils having such great benefits for the skin and body, we at The Amazing Blog,  are always on the lookout for any fantastic products that contain essential oils. So in our plight to find the perfect beauty oils, we have been testing out Sobe Pure Oil. Sobe is a new beauty project by You Can Group, inspired by oriental philosophy, working with food elements from the deep-rooted Japanese tradition. They believe in the concept of food nourishing both your body and skin and therefore created a series of natural cosmetics made from effective recipes of essential oils and natural ingredients.

We had the pleasure to try out their Rice Bran and Mandarin Body Moisturising Pure Oil, an oil packed with antioxidants with hydrating and smoothing properties. The rice bran is thought to have firming, protective and nourishing qualities with the Mandarin having a stimulating and draining effect which can help with water retention and prevent cellulite. This means the oil tackles signs of skin ageing and gives your skin a new shine.

It comes in stylish frosted glass bottle with a pipette in the lid for easy use. A few drops on the skin is all that’s needed for you to feel the effects once it’s been rubbed in. With it being an oil, you may think that it would be very greasy but it’s not at all. It absorbs into the skin leaving it soft and silky. The smell is absolutely gorgeous, fresh and very luxurious, like you have just had a spa treatment. I absolutely love this oil, never have I thought to use pure oil on my body, but I have been converted thanks to the fantastic results. I think it’s an all year round product, but particularly in the oncoming Winter months, when the skin is drier and may need a quick pick me up.

Sobe Pure Oils and other cosmetic products are available to purchase from their website, with the Rice Bran and Mandarin Body Moisturising Pure Oil retailing at €29.50 for a 15ml bottle.

Marie Reynolds - Hot Toddy Candle

One of the things that we seem to collect at The Amazing Blog's HQ are candles - they sit on our desks and we light them being extra careful (we're too scared of ruining our computers and phones with wax). As soon as Marie Reynolds' candle in Hot Toddy arrived to the office I had to grab my lighter and burn the wick, especially after reading some lovely reviews on the company's products. Due to my clumsiness and my fear of setting the whole office on fire, I decided to take the candle home with me and sit it on my bedside table where the rest of my candles live. Marie Reynold's candle in Hot Toddy is one of the most delicious candles I've burned. Marie Reynolds' Hot Toddy is warm and sweet; its bold smell is the result of mixing spiced apple, mandarin, satsuma, peach, cinnamon and nutmeg - and it's part of the Aromawax range, rich in Argan Oil and a blend of pure essential oils. The Aromawax range is made from ethically sourced organic soya wax; creating a clean and safe candle burning experience. The one thing that made me love this candle (apart from the delicious smell), is the fact that you can use the melted wax as an actual massage oil that adds a beautiful gold sheen to your skin. This is due to the candle's low melting point so can be ‘scooped’ from the glass jar and massaged into the skin, giving a hydrated, silky soft result and leaving the skin as nourished as the richest body butter would.

At The Amazing Blog we'd love to try more fabulous candles by Marie Reynolds, as Hot Toddy has impressed us very much (and it's left my bedroom smelling amazing). You can purchase Marie Reynolds' whole range of candles from their website. Hot Toddy can be purchased in two different sizes: 135 gr and 50 gr - they retail for £30 and £8 each.

Juiceology

How many times have you tried to experiment with a new type of healthy drink only to come away disappointed? You attempt to be healthy and try fruit and vegetable juices but they end up tasting awful.  Having been through a plethora of allegedly healthy juices, I almost gave up hope on finding a  drink that was good for me as well as delicious. That was until a box of Juiceology arrived at The Amazing Blog  - yes and we all agree that each of the four flavours is everybit as good as the last!

The juices created by Juiceology are all natural and don't contain any artificial sugars or preservatives. The taste of these juices comes from the blend of juice, purees, herbs, natural botanical extracts, and spring water. For additional health benefits, Juiceology has included a multitude of antioxidants as well as milk thistle to all of their drinks.  I tried the apple, lime, and mint which was absolutely delicious. The flavour of apple combined with the citrus taste of the lime blended perfectly with the subtle hint of mint at the end.  Their other flavours are mandarin, ginger, and cardamom, lychee, berry, and basil, and coconut water and white guava and the gang at The Amazing Blog are certainly looking forward to drinking our way through them - in fact we think that with a quick dash of vodka they'd be rather nice too...  So, if you, too, are in need of a healthy thirst-quencher more exciting than water, give Juiceology a try, available online priced at £14.99 for 12 bottles.