Ylang-Ylang

PHYT’S – Gommage Contact+ Gentle Face Scrub and Elixir Hydratant 24H

Today at The Amazing Blogwe’re reviewing a French salon brand new to the UK, offering the consumer organic skincare and cosmetics, as well as salon based treatments. We are talking about PHYT’S who have over 48 years of experience in the professional skincare sector.

PHYT’S was founded by Jean-Paul Llopart a biologist and naturopath and Rosanne Verlé a beautician. Since 1972, PHYT’S has used only 100% natural and organic ingredients, most of which are sustainably sourced locally in France. With products such as the Crème Absolue, the Masque Gommage Contact+ and the Sérum C17 Purifiant gaining cult status in France; and their five award wins in the global 2020 Beauty Shortlist Awards including Solaire Fluide Protecteur High Protection SPF50 and Men’s Oxygenating Cleansing Gel, they’ve certainly piqued our interest!

PHYT’S has grown from their specialised treatments for the face, body, and hair; to makeup, dietary supplements and even baby products. With all this expertise, Phyts has fast become a global company with distributors in over forty countries. With its unique approach to cosmetics, in 2009 PHYT’S became the first fully-organic certified makeup line. The company’s organic focused methodology and ingredients have certainly made it into the distinguished brand that it is today. The two products that we’re reviewing today are the Gommage Contact+ Gentle Face Scrub and the Elixir Hydratant 24H water infusion.

Let’s start with the Gommage Contact+ Gentle Face Scrub this product has a warming scent of ylang-ylang and cloves, it’s ideal for all skin types, especially those who tend to react or a sensitive complexion. This effective yet gentle product helps to eliminate dead skin cells and removes impurities. To use first cleanse the skin then lightly apply the product to face and neck. Leave it on for at least 2 - 5 minutes, then delicately massage the area so that the scrub starts to roll or peel. Rinse the skin, pat dry and follow with a nourishing serum and moisturiser. The scrub’s ingredients have anti-ageing, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties; these include ylang-ylang which balances oil production and cloves, which help to reduce fine lines and maintain moisture. Priced at £24.99 for a 40ml tube from here

Next, we used the Elixir Hydratant 24H, which is perfect for any dry or dehydrated skin types, it offers an all-day-long added water infusion as it moisturises and holds hydration in the skin. PHYT’S tests showed that by using this Elixir Hydratant the skin hydration increases by 88% even six hours after application. It’s an intense lightweight serum that plumps and revitalises the complexion. The product is easy to apply, simply put a few drops onto clean skin morning or evening which can then be followed by other products in the range. We loved the pale lavender colour, the light floral scent and the hyaluronic acid. The actives are extracted from wood, aloe vera and hazelnut oil, all of which help to keep the moisture locked in. We can happily report back that we found these both to be impressive ‘must-have’ products, and we’d certainly buy more. Priced at £55.99 for a 30ml bottle here. These products can be used together or alone. The Gommage Contact+ and Elixir Hydratant 24H are both available from Beauty Fresh here.

 

 

The Love Light Life - Wellbeing Candle

We’re all mindful that Mother’s Day will soon be upon us on 22 March, and it’s time to put on our thinking caps and find the ideal gift to express our love and gratitude. Here at The Amazing Blog, we’ve certainly got one good idea for that perfect gift, meet The Love Light Life Wellbeing Candle. This candle has a delicious combination of lavender, ylang-ylang and geranium scents which your Mother is sure to love.

Founded in November 2018 by Nathalie Vanpoperinghe, Love Light Life Candles offer luxury natural candles for your wellness journey. Vanpoperinghe’s background as a business consultant in spas and wellness put her in the prime position to spot a gap in the market. She noticed that most candles in the spas she visited were badly made and inconsistent with how they fragranced the rooms. Hence her mission began…

The Wellbeing Candle is the first candle to launch. It is designed and made in France with ingredients of essential oils, cotton wicks, soy and coconut wax. Unlike other candles, it does not contain paraffin wax and is free from synthetic fragrances and dyes. Something to note is that when synthetic candles are burned, they can release carcinogenic chemicals which can cause headaches and allergies. We were pleased to hear that The Love Light Life’s Wellbeing Candle that was recently shortlisted for the 2020 Gift of the Year Awards in the Home Fragrance category.  

The essential oils in this candle have unique properties that can combat everyday stress, anxiety, and fatigue. Lavender relieves stress, curbs headaches, and can improve short term memory. The ylang-ylang promotes relaxation, kills bacteria in the air and has been linked to alleviating depression, making this scent perfect for an afternoon pick me up. And the geranium improves circulation and concentration as blood flows faster to the brain. Love Light Life told us that they are also in the process of creating three new scented candles and we can’t wait to try them. The Wellbeing Candle offers 50 hours of burn time and can be purchased for £32.00 here. So why not get your Mother a gift she’ll truly love, and be sure to check out Love Light Life candles.

FiiLit – Parfum du Voyage

As we were discussing here at The Amazing Blog, perfumes are an expression of ourselves, they tell a story and reveal a few of our personality traits. We all love to smell enticing, wafting into a room with some delicious fragrance or other. In fact, some of us can’t leave home without a spritz of our favourite fragrance! We find particularly when flying, security can present a bit of a problem as we’re not able to take 100ml+ bottles in hand luggage. FiiLit has the answer, with their travel-friendly ‘Perfume Sample Set’. These are ideal for slipping into a pocket or small bag and can literally be taken everywhere. FiiLit perfumes are not only perfect for travelling but they will also take you on an olfactory journey around the world. Each fragrance is inspired by the country from where the natural ingredients are sourced.

FiiLiT, from the Anglicism ‘Feel It’ was founded by Regis and Eloi, who are two scent enthusiasts who have created a range of perfumes that remind them of their nomadic worldwide travels. Apart from creating fragrant memories from different cultures and communities, they also wanted these elixirs to be good for the skin and the planet. FiiLit perfumes are vegan and made with a range between 87% to 100% of only natural ingredients. They have partnered with Stéphane Piquart's company BeHave to source their base ingredients and essential oils. BeHave works with multiple NGOs to get the ideal balance between quality ingredients and giving back to the communities.

The FiiLiT’s ‘Perfume Sample Set has 9 different eco-friendly Eau de Parfum fragrances, each represents a country or region. So why not indulge your senses and take off on your travels with some of our favourites: TUMBAO - CUBA a zesty touch with lime, blue ginger, cardamom, tobacco and rum perfume; or dip your feet in Polynesian waters with TEHANI - POLYNESIE the aroma of santal tanzani, tiare, citrus cocoa, ylang-ylang and patchouli. Perhaps immerse yourself in the Amazonian jungle with SAUDADE - AMAZONIA while smelling passionflower and fruit, guaiac wood, cabreuva tonka and balsam of Peru. Or take the opportunity to relax with the aphrodisiac scent of ylang-ylang, marigold, ravintsara, geranium, vanilla, and cinnamon from the land of Madagascar with WAKA - MADAGASCAR.

Have we piqued your interest? Then do try the others in the Sample Set which are inspired by Bali, Japan, Cyclades, Provence or Babylonia. To get your FiiLiT ‘Perfume Sample Set’ see here for £8.10. Once you’ve found your fragrance, why not upgrade to the 50 or 100ml bottle starting from £53.10 here. Then once you have run out, simply buy your refills here. Perfect!

Lark & Berry Fragrances

Finding only one fragrance that encompasses your style, personality and suits each season can be very tricky. At The Amazing Blog we believe a spritz of perfume adds that essential final touch to not only to how you feel but how you project your look. Today, we want to introduce you to one of our #amazingfinds from Lark & Berry, who have expanded their empire from being an exciting and disruptive force in the world of fine jewellery, to now turning their attention to making a change in the world of fragrances.

Launched in 2018 by Laura Chavez, Lark & Berry was born out of a desire to make a difference, and changing the jewellery industry. Laura noticed that she either found high-quality jewellery with skyrocketing prices or affordable jewellery that was very poor quality. She saw the opportunity to create her unique jewellery using only cultured diamonds and stones (all laboratory grown) which provide transparency, honesty, affordability and a much lower environmental impact. With Lark, meaning ‘playful’ and which was Laura’s favourite bird and Berry, being a pendant her grandmother gave her, she founded Lark & Berry.

Today we want to talk about Lark & Berry and their three fragrances in this new range of Eau de Parfum: Midnight Garden, White Dawn and Alchemy Number 3. This trio is all-natural, made with organic flower compositions and not tested on animals. We tried the Alchemy Number 3, all beautifully packaged in a subtle marbled box with a sweet hidden message (see pic above).  This deluxe bottle has a delightful touch with its gold chain and diamond charm around the neck of the bottle (perhaps it could double up as a ring?) Alchemy Number 3 boosted our senses with its heady key notes combining sandalwood and tuberose. It is deliciously long-lasting and retains top notes of the jasmine and ylang-ylang with the base notes of patchouli, leather and amber musk. As a warm and sensual fragrance, we think it complements this autumn season as the daylight draws in and the nights get longer. Each of the three Eau de Parfums retail at £75.00 for a 100ml here or at their new shop in London here. We also love is the fact that with every item sold at Larry &Berry (whether online or from their London store) five trees will be planted in areas worldwide where they’re environmentally needed the most, by their partnership with One Tree Planted (a US-based tree-planting non-profit).

 

SNiPH's Perfume Subscription Service

With February 14th fast approaching, you might be thinking about purchasing a little something for a loved one this Valentine's Day? Whether that's the case, or you're just looking to treat yourself, we’d like to provide a little bit of inspiration for you, here at The Amazing Blog. We like to gift perfume, but knowing exactly which fragrance to choose can be a bit of a minefield. This is where SNiPH comes to the rescue with their subscription service providing a plethora of different scents to choose from. The brand shares our belief that finding new fragrances can sometimes be overwhelming, so we were excited (and grateful) to discover that they have done the work for us.

By sampling vast amounts of scents from around the world, they then cleverly curate them altogether. Founders, Tara and Lisa wanted to make the world of fragrance a less intimidating one, offering to help us to discover new scents that we would perhaps not initially choose. The system is a simple one, either pick from their online shop (here) or subscribe to their monthly box, where you will have a monthly surprise delivered directly to your doorstep. Either way, you'll find a comprehensive selection of fragrances on the SNiPH website. They offer their 'Top Lists' for Men, Women and Unisex fragrances, which is brilliant for helping us to choose from the vast number of choices. We found this very helpful!

OK so let’s tell you what we tried. Firstly, the Biehl Parfumkunstwerke - PC02 EdP, a fruity and sweet fragrance from German fragrance company, Biel Parfumkunstwerke. We were surprised by the staying-power of this scent, a sweet yet spicy aroma that gently lingers. As with all fragrances, this perfume came with a fragrance card, which is very beneficial for helping to explain this complex notes of the fragrance to others. We received this as an 8ml atomiser, in a very stylish and sleek SNiPH branded black metal case, for £18. That said, you can purchase it without the case, or in a full size bottle (100ml) for £139.

The other fragrance we tried was Histoires de Parfums – This is Not a Blue Bottle 1/.2 EdP This instantly became one of our favourites at The Amazing Blog. It is a delicious, versatile and refreshingly light fragrance. Some of us here are particular fans of vanilla, so the further additions of ylang-ylang and pink pepper only further heighten our delight with this fruity and floral scent. Sourced from the famous French perfume house: Histoires de Parfums, we think that this perfume is something quite special. We also received it in the SNiPH black metal case (once again for £18, see here). After researching this perfume on their website, we saw that it also comes in a beautifully graphic and colourfully decorated bottle, as a rather appropriate named: 'This is Not a Blue Bottle'. Making it perfect for gifting, the full 60ml bottle is available here for £85.

Now if you're thinking, this all sounds great but I still have no idea which one to gift, don’t fret. SNiPH have recognised this inevitability, providing the option of gift cards (see here). Available for three, six and twelve-month subscriptions (ranging from £40-£130). All your recipient will need to do is choose a theme, and SNiPH will do the rest. They will receive a specifically chosen scent every month (within an 8ml case as photographed above), with free shipping and the option to cancel or pause anytime. What better way to gift the gift of fragrance!