Herbal Dynamics Beauty - Acai & Mango Sugar Lip Scrub with Volumizing & Smoothing Rapid Lip Mask

Wishing all our readers a very Happy New Year! Let’s kick 2020 off with looking at lip products as we know that the key to any fabulous full-on red lips or just a healthy-looking pout is a quality lip scrub and mask. So imagine finding products that smell good enough to eat! Enter Herbal Dynamics Beauty ’s. Their Acai & Mango Sugar Lip Scrub contains only natural oils and extracts. Yummy as this might sound, we at The Amazing Blog do not advocate eating it! Instead, it’s best to use for exfoliating dead skin, paired with their Volumizing & Smoothing Rapid Lip Mask to help achieve plumper and healthier looking lips.

Herbal Dynamics Beauty is based in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was founded just a few years ago with the core belief that ‘what you put on your body is of the utmost importance’. Natural ingredients, like acai extract and pistachio oil, are combined with botanicals, such as xylitol and vitamin E, to create the Acai Lip Scrub and Volumizing Lip Mask Duo. Cocoa butter and pistachio oil add an extra layer of hydration and reduce inflammation with the scrub while peptides in the mask increase hyaluronic acid for plumper lips. This 'science-meets-nature' approach results in useful products that are gentle for sensitive skin and as we mentioned, smell amazing. Both products also are free from sulphates, parabens, phthalates, and are also cruelty-free.

The duo is perfect to use when you have time at night or when you want to pamper yourself. The sugary texture of the lip scrub allows it to work with just the slightest pressure from your fingers and creates a base for the lip mask to be most effective. A small coat of the lip mask should stay on your lips for about 3-5 minutes before removing and revealing more full lips ready for the next day or some lipstick. The company prides itself on making products for ‘consumers seeking affordable options’. It’s £24 for the Sugar Lip Scrub here and £21 for the Rapid Lip Mask here. This price point may appear high, but a little goes a long way and they’re something you will only use 2-3 times a week.

Friday Favourites: Body Care Products

When The Amazing Blog did a quick beauty poll amongst some friends, it seems that body care products are something frequently overlooked. We all take great care to moisturise our faces, but what about our poor hard-working bodies? Today we have reviewed some of our #amazingfinds for the body, which we hope will tempt even the most sceptical or lackadaisical among you.

Let’s begin with Lavera, a brand that we know and love (see here for more). Lavera never fails to live up to our expectations with their 100% certified organic ingredients, all of which are dermatologically proven, vegan and with all the free-froms. We like a good multi-tasker and with their Firming Body Milk we have found just that. Not only does it help to moisturise, but it also works to firm up the skin too. Lavera claims that when used every day, there will be a noticeable difference in your skin texture within two weeks – quite a claim, but one we can justify! Gently fragranced, the use of key ingredients, organic green coffee bean and green tea, help to stimulate the skin, for a soft and smooth finish. On the other hand, the use of rosemary and grape help to leave skin feeling silky-soft. It is lightweight to use and absorbs quickly, thankfully leaving no sticky residue. They suggest exfoliating first (Lavera has a rather lovely Smoothing Body Scrub) and applying daily. Whether you’re looking for body firming or not, we really liked the fragrance, feel and texture. Sensibly priced at £10.95 for a 200ml tube , it is available here.

Next, we have CeraVe’s Moisturising Cream, an impressive hyaluronic acid and ceramide based barrier cream, suitable for use on both the body and face, and gentle enough for eczema-prone skin. What are ceramides, I hear you ask; they are lipids that not only help to form the skin’s barrier and retain moisture but also protect against environmental pollution. This body moisturiser is particularly suitable for anyone with dry or very dry sensitive skin. CeraVe is a US brand developed in tandem with dermatologists, they have over 70 products to offer and what makes their product unique is their revolutionary delivery system: MultiVesicular Emulsion Technology (MVE). This technology releases moisturising ingredients over a 24 hour period, layer by layer, to help keep skin soft all day long. Ingredients are not natural, but they are fragrance free, non-comedogenic and hypoallergenic. CeraVe are also quick to point out that they have received more Seal of Acceptance awards from the National Eczema Association than any other brand, which makes them a very tried and tested brand. Available from Boots or Superdrug, this is an economical product, £8.50 for 177ml.

Our third body moisturiser is from the award-winning British brand PHB (Pure Handmade British) Ethical Beauty which is stuffed to the gunnels with delicious superfoods. This 2-in-1 Hand & Body Moisturiser has had us all cooing and oohing. We’ve been long-standing fans of PHB Ethical Beauty and have reviewed several of their products (and we hope many more) - see here. So when given the opportunity to try their new Hand & Body Moisturiser – we leapt at the chance! This brand is very special with 20% of their profits going to The OneLove Foundation (founded by PHB Ethical Beauty in 2015). All their products are made with ethically harvested and responsibly sourced ingredients that are 100% natural, vegan, cruelty-free and alcohol-free (Halal certified). They call this a “no-nonsense moisturiser” and we couldn’t agree more. It absorbs quickly and comes with a list of simple, natural and certified organic ingredients that perform; it feeds the skin with a pure and powerful blend of mango, shea butter, apricot and pumpkin seeds – we love both the fragrance and simplicity. It is available on the PHB website here for £16.60, in a 150ml recyclable tube.

Our final discovery are Liquid Body Washes from Fil Blanc (meaning “white thread” in French), perhaps best known for their high-quality Hammam Turkish cotton towelling (we have our eye on their multi-coloured hand woven bath robe). The brand’s inspiration is taken from Mediterranean luxury living, with a touch of bohemia thrown in. Fil Blanc is based in historical St. Nicholas Market at the Exchange Hall, Bristol where they started three years ago. All products are sourced or designed by the founder Gulsum Gok. She very kindly sent us two of their body washes Relaxing and Orange & Jasmine. All body washes are 99% natural with a 81.98 % organic base, also vegan, cruelty and paraben free. Again they come with a very simple list of ingredients: Relaxing is made with essential oils of geranium, lavender, orange and ylang-ylang; whereas Orange & Jasmine has only these. Both contain honey and aloe vera with an Argan oil base. At a reasonably priced £12 for 259ml you can purchase both here, or alternatively make a visit to their Bristol HQ.

Now there is no excuse not to implement a little body pampering!

She LDN Candle

Rain or shine, all of us at The Amazing Blog are continually burning candles in the evenings. There is something simple and calming about watching the flickering flame and being surrounded by its seductive fragrance. This is why we're always on the hunt for our next one! Recently, we discovered SHE LDN, an up-and-coming British home fragrance brand. The company is known for their handmade soy-based candles, which are inspired by the modern streets of London. SHE LDN produces all their handmade candles in their London studio. This week we're burning their NO. 1 Tropical Candle, which we think is evocative of forthcoming summer festivals (especially our fav, the Notting Hill Carnival) with its exotic fragrance. Bring on the sunshine, even if it's raining! We just can’t get enough of this uplifting fragrance!

The NO. 1 Tropical Candle also reminds us of Piña Coladas on a warm, sunny beach. The tropical blend of pineapple, banana, and mango is made from high-quality soy-wax and essential and fragrance oils. One of our favourite things about this candle, apart from its fragrance, is the stylish design and packaging. This funky candle comes in a sleek cardboard box and glass container, all printed with a contemporary colourful design of flamingos and palm trees.

The candle has up to a 50 hour burn time, so it'll give you a week or so of summer evening pleasure, even if it is (like now) grey, rainy and miserable! To achieve best results, SHE LDN suggests burning the candle for at maximum 4 hours at a time. They also recommend trimming the wick 1/8 – ¼ of an inch before each use.

You can purchase the NO. 1 Tropical Candle from SHE LDN here for £20.00. 

Pudology

Well, that's it - summer is officially over. With the end of the August Bank Holiday there's little to look forward to this side of Christmas; days are getting shorter, nights are getting colder and wistful dreams of a summer full of beer gardens and barbecues are but a distant memory. Pimms is disappearing off drinks menus and chicken ceasar salads are no longer the order of the day.

However, as the descent into winter swiftly begins, there is one rather large plus point - the influx of comfort food. No longer having to parade around in bikinis on our annual summer holidays and with chunky knits dominating the shop floor of our favourite retail outlets, now is the perfect time to embrace our more 'cuddly' side.

And what better way to do so than to indulge in all things, well, indulgent? We at The Amazing Blog have found the perfect pudding to while away the winter nights - and even better - they're suitable for everyone.

Borne out of a dream for everyone to be able to enjoy incredibly rich and delicious puddings regardless of any food intolerances, the clever folks at Pudology work tirelessly to create a wide range of tasty, indulgent treats that everyone can enjoy. None of their delicious desserts include any form of dairy, and neither do they include any wheat or egg based ingredients.

With a tantalising range of flavours on offer - including mango, espresso and banoffee - Pudology have managed to succeed where others have failed by creating the perfect pudding. There was something of a squabble here at The Amazing Blog when we got our hands on Pudology's offerings and we can confirm that they are every bit as delicious as we had hoped.

Juna

Here at The Amazing Blog we're never without a drink in our hands, non-alcoholic of course. It may be water, tea, or even the occasional fizzy drink. However, one thing we can't get enough of is juice - orange, apple, cranberry, you name it, we drink it. So when we came across Juna fruit juices we jumped at the chance to try the 'new generation' of juice.

Juna fruit juices are the 'new generation' of juices because of their unique flavours and being 100% natural and free from preservatives. Juna has 4 juices: Guanabana, Lulo, Mango, and Mora - all equally scrumptious and equally as good for you. High in vitamins, protein and fibre, the health benefits from drinking Juna alone are enough to make you pick up a bottle! Let me tell you, these juices are unlike anything you've ever tasted, you feel like you're in a tropical paradise sipping on juice straight from the fruit. You may think you've tasted tropical juices before, but none are as delicious as Juna. Juna is committed to making sure their company is sustainable, the bottles are recyclable and even the labels are made from fully biodegradable materials. The only flaw of Juna juices is that they're not a widely available as other mainstream juices, I'd buy them in bulk if I could!

These healthy, delicious, and exotic juices are definitely not a beverage to be missed! Have a look on their website to find somewhere close to you that sells Juna.