Berries Skincare: Radiance Pigmentation Solutions

As we’re all now working from home and sporting ‘naked faces’ (who can be bothered with makeup?!) It’s brought to our attention the patches of pigmentation and sun damage. With this in mind, The Amazing Blog has been on the hunt for a product to help even out our skin tone. Step forward the artisan brand Berries Skincare with their Radiance Pigmentation Solution.

Berries Skincare’s  Guyanese founder is Maryam Hack who has created a skincare range that helps remove pigmentation and boosts skin self-confidence. Although she still resides in Guyana (South America), the brand is based in the USA. Having only launched a year ago, word of mouth travels fast and they now ship to over 220 countries worldwide.  With a background as a nutritionist, where she set up a home-based healthy food service, called Mary Hack’s Diet Food; armed with this knowledge and experience, it has stood Hack in good stead to find and curate the ingredients for her products. While there are currently only three products in the range, she hopes to expand with more offerings in the future. All Berries Skincare products are with less than 0.25% natural fragrance, manufactured in an FDA certified facility, they follow Good Manufacturing Practices, and are inclusive of all genders and skin types. These products are formulated without parabens, sulphates, synthetic dyes, phthalates, silicones, hydroquinone and triclosan. They are also Non-GMO, cruelty-free and vegan.

The Radiance Pigmentation Solutions can be used on both the face and body. It’s three primary objectives are to help even skin tone, brighten skin and reduce pigmentation/sunspots. Although the ingredients are mainly of a natural origin, they still recommended a sensitivity patch test first before use, ensuring there’s no adverse reaction. Apply onto moisturised skin, twice daily until the skin tone evens out (this could be anything from 2 – 6 weeks). This Pigmentation Solutions product should be gently dabbed onto the skin (not rubbed back and forth) in the localised area where needed. It is formulated with five key active ingredients kojic acid, vitamin B3, E and C, plus chamomile and camellia sinensis aka green tea (our photo above is with camellia sinensis). The kojic acid is a by-product from the fermentation process of malting rice for use in the manufacturing of sake (the Japanese rice wine). It targets and prevents pigmentation and lightens the skin. Vitamin B3 blocks melanin production and helps even out the skin tone; vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that nourishes and soothes the skin. Vitamin C fights signs of ageing while brightening the skin. The chamomile extract helps reduce redness, whereas the green tea extract fights signs of ageing and soothes the skin. The most important point to mention here is that an SPF 30+ must be used during the day while using this product. it prevents further sun damage, particularly with the kojic acid ingredient, which will make the skin more sun-sensitive. We found it easy to use and it didn’t cause any irritation. Did we see any results? Yes and no – it certainly helped reduce the darkness of sunspots but not banish them, although to be fair, we only used it for two weeks – we needed to use if for longer. Also, I’m not sure how permanent the results are, we’ll let you know when we return back from our next sunshine holiday. However, with the UK’s yo-yoing #lockdowns this might be 2022! To start your journey to a more even and brighter skin tone and head to Berries Skincare here to purchase a 50ml bottle of Radiance Pigmentation Solutions for $29.95, shipping costs will vary according to your location.

Tropikal Sundai – Golden Mango Body Butta

Has your skin got the winter blues? Then at The Amazing Blog we can’t wait to introduce you to some tropical sunshine. What better way to start the New year off right by treating dry skin to this super-hydrating Golden Mango Body Butta from Tropikal Sundai. With this gloomy January #lockdown, we love that this brings a much needed holiday glow to our skin.

Starting at a young age, Tropikal Sundai’s founder Ashlie-Selina Ryan spent her Sundays learning about Bajan plants and their healing properties from her Mother. While on a bike ride in Cherry Hill, Barbados, her skin started to get irritated and inflamed. This was when she learned from her cousin about the benefits of using plants such as Aloe Vera to soothe her skin. This gave her the inspiration to create her own line of products with Tropikal Sundai utilising traditional Bajan ingredients. Although now based in Hackney, Tropikal Sundai is as the name indicates a tropical fruit-infused artisan brand, whose ingredients are entirely vegan, cruelty-free and natural. One of their strong beliefs is ‘that mother nature has the abilities to heal, restore and nourish.’ They currently have a trio of products in the range with Guava & Aloe Hydrating Mist, Peach Papaya Glow Serum and Golden Mango Body Butta (which we are featuring below).

As mentioned, we think this Golden Mango Body Butta will make a great addition to your body care routine. As this Body Butta keeps skin moisturised and glistening with its all-natural ingredients. All products are handmade and in small batches where they only use raw butters and organic or cold press oils. Here in the Golden Mango Body Butta, the mango and cherry kernel oil are the prominent fruity fragrances in this decadently rich whipped body cream. With its key ingredients of aloe vera/coconut butter, mango, cherry kernel and shea oils, together with rosehip and grapeseed oils, which when combined make this a supreme skin food. The aloe vera/coconut butter hydrate and soothes irritated skin. The rosehip and shea oil help to moisturise and reduce any appearance of scarring. Although, the number one ingredient here is the mango (mangifera indica) butter, which rejuvenates and heals the skin, easing skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis. This is a truly luxurious body cream, where a little goes a long way, when applied in the morning it lasted until bedtime, keeping skin soft supple throughout the day. It’s suitable for dry patches or for those with eczema;  we highly recommend treating skin with this pure and tropical plant magic, Golden Body Butta 250ml for £25, see here to purchase. 

Cannabina – CBD Bath Bomb Trio

Here at The Amazing Blog, we highly recommend soaking away 2020 and welcoming in the New Year with a nice relaxing bath, and a CBD infused Bath Bomb. Today we are featuring the deliciously scented CBD Bath Bomb Trio collection from Cannabina.

From growing up in sunny Jamaica, Cannabina’s founder Gemma McKay already had a knowledge and understanding of cannabis with all its properties and benefits. Which is why she recently launched this British brand with its hemp-based THC-free broad-spectrum CBD ingredients. These products have been created for everyone to enjoy the healing and soothing benefits of CBD. Which is where Cannabina offers a variety of CBD infused items from bath bombs and skincare to tinctures and edibles. McKay’s passion and interest in cannabis are the motivating factors behind the brand’s mission to improve the quality of life for their consumer, through this incredible plant's relieving and healing properties. Cannabina is an all-natural CBD brand where the products are free from harmful chemicals, pesticides, solvent residues, chlorophyll, fats and lipids. There are no preservatives, sulphates, mineral oils, parabens, artificial colouring, flavours or perfumes. The brand’s products are also cruelty-free and are tested and certified by both US and UK laboratories. Cannabina also has a strong sustainability ethos with its recycling and asks customers to return their product empties, for which they are rewarded with a 5% discount on further purchases.

The CBD Bath Bomb Trio is a collection of all three bath bombs. Each contains 100mg of broad-spectrum CBD and Epsom salts and are formulated with a specific combination of essential oils for a specific purpose. Let’s start with our favourite; this was the Purple CBD Bath Bomb we used this bath bomb when we were feeling particularly restless and wanted to soak-out a stressful day. With key ingredients of lavender flowers and oil, we knew we’d get a good night’s sleep. It dispersed slowly into the bath and filled the room with a glorious scent that left us feeling relaxed and aided towards a good solid seven hours sleep. Next, the Red CBD Bath Bomb which they described as ‘sensual’. It’s made of ylang-ylang, patchouli, rose geranium and orange essential oils. Ylang-ylang is known to calm the nervous system and offers a feeling of euphoria. Patchouli helps boost circulation and has a soothing effect on both the body and mind. Orange helps ease muscle pain and is also considered an aphrodisiac. Whereas rose geranium is often used to treat anxiety, depression and insomnia. There were rose petals that floated in the water when this bath bomb dissolved and the four oils when combined offered a sweet slightly fruit/rose floral scent - we’d say that this is mood-enhancing and relaxing. The third Bath Bomb is the Yellow CBD Bath Bomb which comprises of cypress, lavender, chamomile and lemongrass essential oils. Cypress has strong antiseptic qualities, lavender is relaxing, chamomile an anti-inflammatory and lemongrass relieves aches and pains. It has a robust, zesty lemongrass/cypress scent, where we found it more invigorating than relaxing. We think it’s best used after a run or a hard session at the gym with its great anti-inflammatory qualities. 

Quickly added, all three of these Bath Bombs are designed to ease tension in the body.  The Epsom salts found in each Bath Bomb are not ‘salts’ they are comprised of magnesium sulphate and oxygen. Magnesium plays a number of roles in the body, including regulating over 325 enzymes, reducing inflammation, helping muscle and nerve function, and prevents hardening of the arteries. Sulphates improve the absorption of nutrients, flush out toxins and soothes headaches. As a rule, we don’t consume enough magnesium in our diet, and these Bath Bombs release a good ratio of magnesium ion as well as CBD and essentials oils. Which when combined in these Bath Bombs and melted into the bath, are then absorbed into the body helping stimulate its healing process. We highly recommend giving these a try, not only will your bathroom smell amazing, but your body will unwind into a state of blissful tranquillity. The CBD Bath Bomb Trio are each 200mg, and you can buy them here for £20.00.

Black Sheep Dispensaries: CBD Full Spectrum Supplements

Have you felt a bit ‘wobbly’ recently? In these uncertain times, we at The Amazing Blog have been searching out natural products to help steady our nerves, take the edge off and generally give us some uninterrupted sleep. As regular readers will know, we’re big fans of CBD (see here) not only for its calming effects but also for its anti-inflammatory and skin-boosting qualities. As we approach Christmas (and the anticipation of a further lockdown in the New Year), we’re just so pleased to introduce you to  Black Sheep Dispensaries and their supplements, which we have to hand!

Black Sheep Dispensaries was founded in 2015 with a vision to provide honest, affordable, organic, natural cannabis products for the consumer. Kimberley Brown and her co-founder have a wealth of knowledge on the cannabis plant which includes a Bachelor of Science Degree whereby a study was made into the link between cannabis and mental health as well as two diplomas in Medical Cannabis. In 2017 Black Sheep Dispensaries officially launched with their product range and over the past few years have developed new products, clothes and accessories. Through personal experience, cannabinoids have been used to treat anxiety which was a contributing driving force to create a company based on a product which had a positive impact upon their life. As the company has developed connections have been made throughout the sporting industry which includes boxing, mixed martial arts, football, basketball, snowboarding, motor cross as well as actors and the general public across a wide span of age groups. The customer base and connections made have further driven Black Sheep Dispensaries to become pioneers within the industry by continuing to grow, develop and provide for every different type of consumer. They are continually completing research and development with a vision to be pioneers within the cannabis industry by bringing new and exciting products to market.  Products currently include edibles, vapes, wax crumbles and balms all of which are made with organic hemp.  Black Sheep Dispensaries uses the whole plant with full spectrum cannabis sativa plant, where it’s extracted using a supercritical CO2 extraction. This gives their products the cannabinoids, terpenoids, flavonoids, Omega-3,6, fatty acids, and amino acids; all of which encourage the entourage effect.

They very kindly sent us three of the products to try. The 1 ml Whole Plant Cannabis Sativa Extract Syringe 1000mg was a first for us, as we’ve never tried a cannabis sativa extract in a syringe before. Having both CBD and CBDA it offers even more health benefits than your regular CBD. For those new to CBDA (cannabidiolic acid), it’s a raw form or predecessor to CBD. It has been used in many medical trials as an anti-inflammatory, anti-depression and anti-nausea for cancer patients and also deemed effective in medical trials for seizure treatment (see here). Whereas, the CBD present, offers all-round pain relief, anti-anxiety and improved sleep. Recently we learnt that it has antidiabetic and enhanced bone healing properties too! With full-spectrum CBD, terpenoids, flavonoids, omega 3-6-9 fatty acids, and amino acids; this Extract offers you all the goodness that you could want from a CBD supplement. We think this is a great way to take CBD. For novices, we should say that this Extract does have a bit of a ‘kick’ but not in an unpleasant way. It’s quick and easy to take, we put a tiny rice-sized amount onto our finger and then massage into your mouth. This is extremely good value at a mere £10 for 1ml here as with this Extract Syringe, a little goes a long way!  

 We also received the 1000mg CBD & CBDA Oral Dropper in 10ml  which comes as an oil in a black bottle with dropper.  Again, this is made up full-spectrum CBD plant extract together with the CBDA (as discussed above) and diluted with organic hemp seed oil.  It has the strength of 14% which is erring on the low side, so good for the initiating any CBD newbies. The percentages of CBD tend to start around 10% and up to 50% for the most potent. They recommend no more than the maximum dose of 200mg so you might want to go here to see the calculator when taking. See here to purchase the Oral Drops at £35. 

Finally, we have the third product which is their 100mg Full Spectrum CBD Capsules. For those of you wanting to try CBD but not keen on the hempy taste, these will be for you. They have 14mg of CBD per capsule, with a breakdown of 11.7% CBD and 2.5% CBDA with the same 14% of CBD + CBDA as the Oral Dropper. However, here the capsules are combined with organic MCT (coconut oil) in a vegan capsule. To purchase  30 capsules for £35 see here . We agree with Kimberley Brown, the co-founder who said: “We believe cannabinoids play an important role within the body and by introducing daily cannabinoids to your everyday diet and routine you not only treat existing ailments but prevent others from arising.” As they say, prevention is better than cure!

Cheerful Buddha: Naturally Flavoured CBD Drops

As we at The Amazing PR  are fervent supporters of CBD, we thought we’d share with you some more THC-free products that we’ve recently tried. Taking CBD oil sublingually is one of our favourite ways to ingest it because it’s a fast and easy way for the body to absorb all the goodness. The Cheerful Buddha CBD drops that we’re featuring today, taste absolutely delicious with naturally flavoured Peppermint or Chocolate & Hazelnut. We had to keep reminding ourselves not to overdose!

Cheerful Buddha was recently founded in 2019, and is one of the few UK based CBD companies offering home produced, manufactured and tested products. The hemp is grown by one of the country’s rare Home Office licensed Sativa growers. The founder and CEO of the company, Claudia Marcela Guevara Gonzalez explained more about the brand in an interview for Natural Products online: “We have worked tirelessly to create a stylish and superior product that steps above the hippy stereotypes of the cannabis plant. Cheerful Buddha embodies the scientifically proven health and wellbeing benefits that CBD naturally brings.” Being able to spread positivity and promote feelings of well-being, and inner peace is what motivates Claudia, who by her own admission is a quite spiritual person who identifies with the Buddhist principles of peace, love, and positive existence. The brand carries a whole range of CBD-infused coffee, drops, and chocolates, so it’s easy to find a CBD product that suits. All of these are broad-spectrum and offer the entourage effect with their terpenes, flavonoids, and waxes, but THC free nevertheless. The cannabidiol is extracted through a high standard critical CO2 extraction and of course, to guarantee top quality and respect of dosage restrictions, all batches are third-party laboratory tested here in the UK, and the results are made available directly on Cheerful Buddha’s website here. The hemp-derived CBD oils are also all gluten-free, non-GMO, organic and lactose-free. We think that transparency is key when purchasing any CBD products.

In the Cheerful Buddha Naturally Flavoured CBD Drops, the carrier oil is MCT oil, which is the best carrier for cannabidiol, as it is sustainable – no deforestation required like that of palm oil. Also, more importantly, it allows faster absorption of the product and does not affect the amount of CBD ingested. This allows the body to fully benefit from the percentage of CBD present in the oil, which is about 500mg per 10ml bottle. These oils not only contain cannabinoids including CBD, CBN, CBL, and CBCVA, but also the aromatic cannabis terpenes like pinene and limonene. In addition, they contain a wide variety of other healthy constituents such as the vitamins B1, B2 and D, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, trace minerals zinc, calcium and magnesium. The best part is, that for those of you who want to benefit from CBD’s many positive effects but cannot stand the hemp taste, these drops are available both in Peppermint, and Chocolate & Hazelnut flavours. The flavours and sensations are different: The Chocolate & Hazelnut tastes chocolatey, sweet, well-rounded and absolutely de-li-cious! While the Peppermint one has a creamy smooth mild minty taste which leaves a freshness. Overall we found that these two oils did their job, and helped to take the edge off the day with their dose 500g of CBD in 10ml. We loved both but we’d have to say that we did have a preference for the yummy taste of the Chocolate & Hazelnut drops. Why not try these to help you find your inner calm with either of these two Naturally Flavoured CBD Drops which are available for £34.95 right here.