Siam Botanicals - Wild Roots of Zingiber

Thankfully in 2019, many beauty brands are now realising the power of harnessing all-natural ingredients. If you can find all-natural skincare products that work way better than anything synthetic, why wouldn’t you use them? At the Amazing Blog, we’ve been stressing the importance of all-natural beauty for years now, with no sign of stopping anytime soon.

We’ve been lucky to find Siam Botanicals, an award-winning and cosmos certified brand whose mission aligns so well with our beliefs. Their inspiration came from a search to find natural products for their own spa in Thailand. When they couldn’t find what they wanted, they went on to create their own. Combining traditional Thai-inspired ingredients and scientific know-how; Siam Botanicals uses the purest ingredients and source responsibly only using local suppliers whenever possible. We love how all of their products are made in small batches ensuring the best quality in every pot, jar or bottle. Living in a big city, we consider having a good cleansing routine to be a vital part of our daily regime. Which is why we wanted to try both the natural Cleansing Balm and Facial Scrub from Siam Botanicals. Their latest range is the Wild Roots of Zingiber  are all formulated with premium organic seed oils and essential oils distilled from the roots of zingiber. These remarkable asian rhizomes including plai, turmeric, ginger and ginger lily have natural skin healing properties that have long been used in effective eastern skincare remedies.  

The first product for us to try was the Lime & Turmeric Cleansing Facial Balm. The balm is formulated with cold-pressed organic seed oils, zingiber roots and boswellia tree resin all of which provide a deep cleanse and hydration. Use a generous amount on your fingertips and massage into the face and neck. Remove with a damp cotton pad and see all of the dirt and makeup come right off! We love how it doesn’t strip the skin of its natural oils and left our face feeling soft and refreshed. Turmeric root is known for its antibacterial properties, calming the skin and preventing blemishes. The turmeric combines beautifully with the uplifting zing of lime to calm the skin.

For an even brighter and healthier complexion, we exfoliated twice a week with the Ginger Lily & Plai Clarifying Facial Scrub. Its fine jojoba wax beads with argan and moringa oils offer the perfect amount of exfoliation without leaving the skin irritated. The essential oils of ginger lily and plai have natural anti-inflammatory properties and our skin looked noticeably brighter after using the scrub. If you’d like to purchase the Lime & Turmeric Cleansing Facial Balm, it can be purchased here and costs £30 for 50ml. or The Ginger Lily & Plai Clarifying Facial Scrub here which can be purchased for £19 for 15ml.

Kalahari – Mafura Body Balm & Manipedi Hand & Body Moisturiser

The changes of seasons and central heating always makes our skin dry, flaky and dehydrated. As the skin is the largest organ of the body, it’s probably the one that is most forgotten about, hidden under layers of clothing during these cold months.  At The Amazing Blog we take winter skincare very seriously, which is why today we wanted to bring you our latest #amazingfinds with the South African based salon brand Kalahari Lifestyle We initially met Kalahari Lifestyle at a London trade show and found ourselves intrigued by their products. They very kindly gave us the Kalahari’s Mafura Body Balm and Manipedi Hand & Body Moisturiser to review.

Carina Franck, Founder and Director of Kalahari Lifestyle had always shown an interest in nature and through exploring ancient formulas and secrets for natural health from the Kalahari Desert, she built up a strong connection with the local Khoi San families. Their lifestyle and secret remedies inspired her to create a range of natural skincare and body products that would encapsulate the African itself with harvested authentic botanical ingredients. These are plant oils and extracts, from reputable Phytotrade organisations and certified sustainable resources, with stringent eco-awareness protocols ensure the safety of the vulnerable African ecosystems.

Let’s start with Kalahari’s Mafura Body Balm which is an ultra-moisturising balm with mafura seed butter, shea butter and baobab seed oil. These exclusive blends of African key ingredients help to reduce signs of premature ageing as they contain an enzyme that exfoliates, and a complex of vitamins A, D, E, F and other multiple antioxidants to deeply nourish the body. These natural ingredients will make your skin look much brighter leaving you with a delicious subtle sweet and fruity fragrance. Kalahari Lifestyle suggests applying it after using your shower gel paying extra attention to those drier areas like elbow and knees. We found that this Body Balm to be very long-lasting (all day!) effective and intensely replenishing. We’ll be buying more!

Now let’s talk about their Manipedi Hand & Body Moisturiser, this comes in a smaller tube making it ideal to carry with you and applying on the go. This moisturiser contains grapeseed oil, which is high in Omega-6 and linoleic acid that helps to unclog pores and has both antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Also containing guna beans and ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, these seeds contain between 40% and 60% oil that is rich in triglycerides mainly ricinolein acid; the combination of which makes it an excellent skin hydrator. We enjoyed using the Hand & Body Moisturiser with its gentle illuminating shimmer (from the mica and titanium dioxide) on our décolleté and shoulders which gave us an even more of a radiant glow.

If you too want to give your body a little love this winter, get your Kalahari Lifestyle products in select salons. Or purchase the 200ml Mafura Body Balm for €43 here and the 50 ml Manipedi Hand & Body Moisturiser for €19.90 here .

Stellar Décolletage – Elixir Extraordinaire Dry Oil Mist

We’re going to try not to mention ‘anti-ageing’ here at The Amazing Blog, let’s talk ‘age-inclusive’ products aimed at a less than youthful skin – particularly as there is an age variant here in the office! As time goes by, our skin can’t hide the sun damage, a bad diet or any environmental stress that we sustain; and let’s be honest, none of us ever gave ageing a second thought in our 30’s. Well, here we are today, wondering if there is help at hand. Happily we return to a brand that has already left a deep impression on us, Stellar Décolletage. We recently wrote about their Velvet Restore Sleep Complex which is the second step of their trio of products that have been designed to replenish, restore and rejuvenate the décolletage.

We bring you their third step in the trio, with this exceptional award-winning product the Elixir Extraordinaire Dry Oil Mist. Rich in vitamins and designed to target the much-forgotten areas of the delicate neck, breast and décolletage. With its unique blend of six oils, it is light, absorbs quickly and leaves you with a wonderful powdery and floral bouquet. Key active ingredients are the Inca inchi oil, which contains vitamin A, E and amino acids, all of which have antioxidant properties, reducing lines and boosting the anti-ageing factors. There is also macadamia oil, rich in omega 6 and 7 which support skin restoration and act as an antimicrobial (which are mainly found in younger skins). And finally, shea butter that hydrates skin sweet almond, jojoba and borage oils all of which rejuvenate, soothing and help to relieve breast tenderness.

To use the product, apply it daily (morning and evening) on cleansed skin by spritzing it over your breasts and décolletage. Using your hands massage it moving upwards towards the neck and upper arms, allowing it to smooth into your skin. Hydrate and protect your skin with this lightweight oil that comes as a spray, not only does it feel good but we love all the antioxidants that it has too. Get your Stellar Décolletage Elixir Extraordinaire Dry Oil Mist 100ml bottle for £68.00.

Tiiya Alanoud Alattiya - Rose Oud Epiphany Eau de Parfum

Every so often you smell a perfume that transports you to another time or place. At The Amazing Blog we instantly felt transported to exotic Arabian nights after closing our eyes and a little spritz of Tiiya Alanoud Alattiya’s RoseOud Epiphany Eau De Parfum and we relished every fragrant moment.

The founder Alanoud Alattiya is a graduate from the UCL Museum and Gallery Practice Masters program. By day she is a museum practitioner and by evenings a couturier. She grew up in a household fully immersed in couture, with her mother being one of the first women to wear Christian Dior in the Arabian Gulf. it was just a decade ago, that her career in couture designing amongst members of elite society was frowned upon. However, her first cousin, His Highness The Father Amir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani built a platform of newer social meaning and understanding, allowing her creativity to be celebrated.

Regular reader will remember that we recently wrote about her Concentrated Eye Cream here, but today we wanted to tell you about her Epiphany Rose Oud Eau de Parfum. After applying a spritz of this perfume, we immediately felt the warmth and essence of the luxurious Persian Gulf. The Arabic oud’s woody deep scent mixes with the sweet floral notes of rose oil to create an elegant fragrance. Oud oil is estimated as being worth 1.5 times the amount of gold. This ‘liquid gold’ gives the Rose Oud Epiphany perfume a complex aroma and mythical essence of the East. Trust us when we say that with the Epiphany perfume, a little goes a long way. It lingered on the skin all day and then some. If you too want to smell like luxury, the Tiiya Alanoud Alattiya Rose Oud Epiphany Eau de Parfum 100ml can be your too, if you purchased here for £120.

Viliv - skincare range

We love skincare that helps to keep our complexions looking plumped up and lush. At The Amazing Blog we’ve been hearing lots of great things about a new Swiss brand that recently launched here in the UK.  Step forward centre-stage Viliv with their uber-stylish contemporary branding and science-driven skincare.

Dr. Felix Bertram, founder of Viliv, is a leading Swiss skin specialist who’s noted for his exceptional aesthetic and anti-ageing treatments. From teaching workshops to educating doctors and students in dermatology and laser medicine, he also has global recognition for his award-winning dermatological clinic. There is absolutely no doubt that Viliv has an impeccable pedigree with its extensive scientific research behind all of the products.

Regular readers will remember that we reviewed the Viliv e - Shape Your Eyes Rich Eye Cream and so we couldn’t wait to try four more products from the range: Foam to Face Cleanser, Vi-Lift Your Skin Serum, Brighten Your Eyes Serum, and Get a Rich Restore Ultra-Nourishing Moisturiser.

Let’s start with a morning routine cleanser Viliv Foam to Face cleansing foam, easy to use with just two pumps massaged on our face in circular motions, then quickly rinsed this off. What we particularly liked about this cleanser is its fragrance, it contains chamomile and allantoin which soothes the skin leaving a fresh and subtle floral scent.  As a foam, a little goes a long way and with typical Swiss efficiency, it was also extremely effective at removing all makeup residue leaving our city-skin feeling fresh, hydrated and clean.

Next, we have the Vi-Lift Your Skin Serum which offers 24h urban protection. Here’s a fact that you probably didn’t know, blue light and infrared radiation (i.e. from your phone) affect the skin’s defence mechanisms. These disrupt the exchange of information between cells, leading to cell damage and premature skin ageing. The irony is that modern technology is now ageing us! The Viliv Vi-Lift Serum contains an exclusive active ingredient called +VIDERMACTIVE 7 that is rich in vitamin C and protects the skin from free radicals such as pollution or the blue light and preserves mitochondrial DNA. We also like that it’s quick to apply, not at all sticky, fragrance-free and it sinks easily into the pores for protection.

The Vi-Lift partners well with Viliv Brighten Your Eyes Serum, this is serum is our favourite out of the four we tried. We often forget that the skin around the eyes area is continually moving with active facial expressions and is four times thinner than the rest of our face. Therefore it needs support as we age and Viliv addresses this with their special ingredients of tetrapeptide eyeseryl which improves circulation and firmness, as well as reducing dark circles and puffiness. Plus the liftonin xpress which gives an instant lift with its microalgae extract and natural polymers. We found this Eye Serum gave us visible and instant results, it felt very cooling when applied and really does work wonders on tired eyes.

Lastly, in this skincare routine is Viliv Get a Rich Restore Ultra-Nourishing Moisturiser.  This is a cream that keeps on working, and as they say, it’s a ‘24-hour anti-ageing expert’. Containing PerfectionPeptide P7 which activates the skin’s natural defences by stimulating the responsible enzymes and managing the impact of UV related stress to protect against moisture loss. Other ingredients are silymarin, carosin and vitamin E all to help reduce wrinkles and firm the skin.  We also mustn’t forget to mention that Viliv is 100% vegan, cruelty and gluten-free, with no parabens, mineral oils, colourants, PEG, BHT EDTA or fragrance. See the full Viliv product range here with prices starting from £29. These products get a big 10/10 from us!