Lavera – Illuminating Effect Fluid

Since the highlighter craze began in full force, The Amazing Blog joined in trying Benefit Cosmetics’ Watts Up! Highlighter and Rouge Bunny Rouge’s Love Lights Highlighting Powder. Both solid highlighter products gave our cheeks a heavenly glow, so we were excited to mix things up with a liquid highlighter and see the results. We were even more excited to receive the Illuminating Effect Fluid from one of our trusted brands Lavera, which has brought us so many #amazingfinds over the years from the SOS Help Hand Balm to the Powerful Lashes mascara.

The 100 per cent certified organic company has been a leader in the worldwide natural cosmetics industry since its founding in 1987. Its core mission is to create products that are ‘beautiful, natural, effective’ and sustainable. This mission is seen in everything from where the raw ingredients are sourced to product packaging and disposal.

The Illuminating Effect Fluid is no different from Lavera’s other products in its high-quality organic and natural ingredients as well as effectiveness. The highlighter, which we tried in Sheer Silver, has a light and creamy texture with pigments that naturally reflect light. It spreads easily and a little bit of this product goes a long way, even a light layer leaves a bright pearlescent sheen on your skin. While one layer of the highlighter is quite subtle and natural looking in the sun, you can build the product to create a deeper shine depending on if you want to refresh your typical look or make your cheekbones and brow bone pop. You can also use it as a foundation primer or mix it with moisturiser for an everyday glow.

The formula includes actual pearl extract to fresh your complexion and sunflower oil to smooth skin for additional radiance. Jojoba and shea butter help nourish skin with vitamins and minerals, and shea butter has even been proven to help with anti-ageing. It has also been dermatologically tested and is good for sensitive skin. You can purchase the highlighter (30ml) here for £14.90.

SARYA Couture Makeup - Eye Shadow

With the April showers finally in the past, flowers are beginning to bloom everywhere in London. While there are so many different colours around us, The Amazing Blog has been inspired by the colour pink. It is in the flowers and sunsets, clothes in shops, even cocktails at bars. There's a reason why millennials adore this colour and it's because it is no longer reserved for super 'girly' women, but can be embraced by everyone. This is where SARYA Couture Makeup comes in with its beautifully pigmented Italian-made vegan eye shadows.

The brand offers four different shades of eye shadow, but Pastel Me (a light rose colour) is what got us into the whole 'pink craze.' It is a nice rosy shade that has a smooth texture and diffuses easily into skin using fingers. The product creates a perfect base for other colours in an eye shadow look but leaves a subtle and pearlescent finish by itself. While it is sold as an eye shadow, we found that this colour looks particularly nice on the apples of your cheeks – as if you’ve just returned from a beach holiday. This versatile and pretty shade has all of the necessary components a quality eye shadow must have, but what makes SARYA Makeup’s product stand out are its slightly more unusual ingredients which include the likes of: Fossil flour, extracted from fossilized fragments of aquatic algae, Organic Shea Butter, rich in Vitamin A, E , F and  Karanja oil for its antibacterial properties.
 

Sarya launched in the summer of 2018 by Claudia and Teodora, who share the same passion for beauty and bio and do not consider it only a passing trend, but they see it as the future of the production for the entire industry. The pair has an ideology of ‘purity and transparency’. ‘Purity’ begins with products that have no added mineral oils, perfumes, or phthalates while ‘transparency’ is seen in all of the products being certified organic, vegan, cruelty-free, gluten free, and paraben free. On top of all this, the eye shadow has an organic formula of bio apricot oil for moisture and bio shea oil for essential vitamins A, E, and F. This eye shadow will not only provide maximum health benefits to your skin with its antioxidant-rich formula, but it also won’t make your spring allergies act up. Join the pink craze this spring and purchase the eye shadow here for €20. Or here Amazon UK . We just can’t wait to try more from this brand!

Voya Men's Grooming Range

We head over to the glorious the isle that is emerald, for this post, indulging in, without apology, Voya’s dreamy range of men’s skincare- with such a deliciously smelling combination of clove and lime, it certainly wasn’t a hardship - indeed more an exceptionally unrestrained bout of serious pampering. Such a start to the day really sets you up perfectly for what may lie ahead - good or bad (the day we mean!) the skin is certainly going to be in tiptop shape. The girls at The Amazing Blog have already experience the gorgeousness of this organic Irish brand with a few of their goodies including their Hydrating Body Lotion  So now it’s my turn!

The provenance of this range stems from a formidable heritage, rooted in the luxury spa marketwhich originated in the indigenous bathhouse tradition of Co. Sligo. The bathhouses which opened in 1912 may have since closed, but the essential ingredient which continues to provide it’s magic of course remains in bucketfuls … well vat-fulls really. And this essential ingredient which provides such incredibly healing results is of course seaweed. Naturally, the benefits of seaweed have long been known to soothe and heal, but more thorough investigation continues to throw up advantages not simply in deep detoxification, but also in aiding weightloss amongst other things. As nature’s most powerful anti-oxidant from the vegetal world, it’s hydrating and nourishing properties come from it’s plethora of minerals and vitamins, which have proven to effectively treat skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis and acne, and is particularly good for sensitive skin. It also naturally moisturises, whilst reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles by improving skin’s elasticity and stimulating the renewal of damaged cells.

The Voya Men’s grooming range is totally focused on organic seaweed and the following two scientifically proven and 100% natural active ingredients. Speci’MenTM derived from the Baobab tree, and DEFENSIL®-PLUS: A complex of Blackcurrant Seed Oil and Balloon Vine extract. Here we have a three step routine to savour: An Invigorating Face Wash, (recently awarded Winner in the 2019 Beauty Shortlist Awards) Cooling Shave Gel  and Rejuvenating Moisturiser. These Seaweed-based products use the highest-quality botanical elements and aromatherapy oils in sustainable and historical processes to attain their high level of quality. The organic seaweed itself is harvested by hand to help protect the delicate coastline of West Ireland and no artificial colours or fragrances are used, with all products adhering to the strict COSMOS standard. All this science could easily overshadow the fundamental treat that comes with using this Voya For Men range -  but  we enjoyed, and enjoyment is certainly the route we took! It must also be added that they are perfect for fighting signs of aging, reduce enlarged pores, calm inflammation from shaving and soothe dehydrated skin.

Available here priced at £27.00 for the 125ml Invigorating Face Wash, £23.00 for the same sized Cooling Shaving Gel and £45.00 for the  50ml Rejuvenating Moisturiser … For the level of luxury on offer here, and the chance to bathe in some Irish magic, trust me the cost is well worth it.

Acti-Labs - Vendome Eye Shadow Palette

We love to make new discoveries here at TheAmazingBlog particularly when they offer us an affordable price-point and great value for money. The British beauty brand Acti-Labs pride themselves in doing just this. They carefully select their high concentrate of botanical ingredients from the south of France, where they  create their state of the art and performance-led products. None of their products are tested on animals and their factory in France has even received a Government Environment Award for low carbon footprint. In having their own laboratory, it means that they can offer exceptional value products at laboratory direct prices.

We particularly like the Acti-Lab’s core philosophy of  ‘using science to get the best out of nature’ and ‘medically inspired products for home use’.  Although this brand is probably best known for their skincare, we decided to venture into exploring some of their makeup.  They very kindly sent us their Vendome Shimmer Palette that comprises of twelve shimmering and neutral shades of eye shadow. This glamorous Vendome Shimmer Palette is very easy to use to mix and match. What we liked best, is that like other Acti-Labs’ products, this palette is infused with completely natural ingredients like vitamin E, kaolin and jojoba. Not only do the shades apply smoothly, the added vitamin E  helps to protect and nourishes the skin. Also included in the palette are a mirror and a two-sided brush, which is perfect for application and blending.  

While everyone has different steps in their makeup routine, we recommend applying your primer first before applying your eye shadow to achieve a longer-lasting effect. After choosing your colours, Acti-Labs recommends starting with the lightest colour working up to the stronger shades, blending until you achieve your given look. To get this elegant and versatile Vendome Shimmer Palette buy here,  it’s a steal at only £15! We can’t wait to try more…

The One Skin Range

If you are a skincare aficionado like us at The Amazing Blog , this newly launched skincare brand One Skin has a range of products that are just for you! One Skin prides itself on creating skincare made for specific lifestyles, focusing on long-term skin health rather than short-term results. If you live in a heavily polluted area or if you regularly exercise (yes, this can also affect your skin), then One Skin offers products to target all your specific concerns.

In 2005, British skin expert Noele Hammett, officially launched her exclusive skincare range One Skin to her salon clients. Moving forward to 2018, she finally unveiled her full collection of tried and tested, gentle but efficient, cosmeceutical skincare range to the public. What makes this range special is that contains only the finest results driven bioactive ingredients. All these products are free from sulphates, parabens, fragrances and colours, making the line perefect for everyday use.

I met Noele at a trade beauty event in London, where we engaged in conversation about my skincare needs and she very kindly gave me three of her products to try.

Let start with the cleanser PH Cleansing Wash. Like in any good skincare routine, the first step is always to prepare the skin in order for serums and moisturisers to perform their job correctly. One Skin’s sulphate-free pH Cleansing Wash removed grime, oil and make-up while still hydrating and soothing my skin in the process. One of the key ingredients is Lycopene, an antioxidant found in tomatoes, which helps to protect against any damage or build up, without irritating the skin. Other surfactants in the wash like the sunflower and coconut oils gently yet deeply cleanse while still leaving skin soft and not feeling uncomfortably tight. I noticed that this cleanser left my skin feeling soft, not taut as some other cleanser have done. I used a small amount of the wash mixed with water to lather and cleanse both in the morning and evening. The pH cleansing wash is available here for £17.60 for the 50ml bottle and £32.00 for the 100ml bottle.

The next step is to repair any damage which skin the has received from living a fast-pace, polluted life in the city (i.e. me in London!) One Skin’s City Repair Serum does just that by stimulating collagen synthesis, protecting your skin in the process. The serum ‘s key repair ingredients are built around a soothing seaweed extract containing minerals such as sulphur, iodine, calcium, magnesium and selenium to maintain collagen generation. Not forgetting the major ingredients like hyaluronic acid and glycerine, which further condition and protect the skin. After cleansing, I applied 1-2 pumps of the serum morning and night and allowed for a few minutes to get complete absorption. To purchase the 30ml serum for £60 click here. If you aren’t living the city life like me, don’t worry One Skin has five serums targeting different lifestyles like the Stress Repair Serum, Holiday Repair Serum and even a Party Repair Serum. Check the full Repair line here.

Finally, after the City Repair Serum, I then applied my last skincare step with Noele’s amazing Wonder Age Cream. This rich moisturiser helps to lock-in the serum’s skin protective properties. The Wonder Age Cream is just one of the five moisturisers offered in the range. The Wonder Age Cream is the anti-ageing cream in this range and I noticed that combining this with the City Repair Serum that it not only hydrated and nourished my skin, but also it brightened my complexion. The Wonder Cream is made with resveratrol, hyaluronic acid and a variety of muscle-relaxing peptides, these ingredients work together to improve the complexion and reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. For best results I applied two pumps morning and night, and then in the morning went ahead and applied my foundation and make up. To purchase the 30ml bottle of Wonder Age Cream for £74 click here.

All of these products and the rest of the One Skin line are available at their Skin Clinic located in Essex or online on their website here. Not sure where to start? There is a skin consultation questionnaire on their blog here that will help you to choice the right products for you and to understand your skin better. Finally to say, that we were THRILLED to see that our new discovery, One Skin, has won 3 x Editors Choice Awards in the prestigious 2019 Beauty Shortlist Awards for their Wonder Age Cream, Eye Repair Serum and The Cosmeceutical Apothecary Set. We say don’t miss out on trying this new result driven skincare!