Health

Skincare Feature: Flora Mare by Asam Beauty

It is said that the best mornings start with an exceptional skincare routine. At The Amazing Blog we couldn’t agree more, especially after we experienced the Flora Mare by Asam Beauty products. The company is an innovative skincare brand that formulates their skincare products with anti-ageing ingredients, sea minerals and plant extracts. We were lucky enough to try out four of them.

One of our favourite product is the Day and Night cream, which is not surprising as it is one of the brand’s bestsellers. The cream is enriched with advanced sea minerals such as platinum-mare complex, omega 3, 6 and 9 as well as highly nutritive plant extracts including argan oil, sweet almond oil, olive oil, apricot kernel and aster maritima. The cream is a universal product that is designed to suit all skin types. Its refreshing and nourishing properties repair, pamper and leave the skin velvety- soft. The Day and Night cream is definitively a must-have skincare product to anyone who wishes to look fabulous day and night.

Did I just say that we loved the Flora Mare Day and Night Cream, well then we adored the Brightening Moment eye cream. This moisturising eye cream unlike any other cares and enhances your skin. Formulated with sea and maritime plants ingredients it deeply nourishes the skin, and reduces the visibility of dark circles and redness around the eyes. As well as concealing imperfections and illuminating the eyes the cream can also be used as a base for eyeshadows. When applied the Brightening Moment eye cream gives you an all-natural, healthy and glowy look. It is the perfect beauty product to use in your morning routine as it instantly gives you a wide awake and radiant look. Simply amazing! 

Ocean Elixir such an inspiring and promising name. This moisturising face serum is a real treat for the skin. Like the brand’s other products it is made with the Flora Mare unique recipe and ingredients including concentrated sea minerals and trace elements that instantly provide the hydration the skin needs. The consistency of the serum is very light; it spreads evenly on the skin and gives you a youthful radiance.

When we think about beauty and skincare, we tend to give great importance to the face and often neglect other parts of our body like the hands. Yes, the hands they are one of the most visible parts of our wonderful body, and they deserve as much attention as the face. Flora Mare took all the essential minerals out of the ocean and created a hand cream that has all the ingredients to make your hands look gorgeous. Not only the hand cream nourishes and hydrates the hands it is also a fabulous anti-ageing treatment that reduces the appearance of hand pigmentation and revitalises the skin.

Purchase the Day and Night cream here for £26.50; the eye cream can be purchased here for £15. If you want to experience a bit of Ocean Elixir it is available here for £23.00 and two piece hand cream duo can be purchased here for £22.50.

Argan & Orange Blossom Elixir by SoapNSkin

At The Amazing Blog, we think that everyone needs a go-to product. For us, our number one go-to beauty product is the handmade Argan and Orange Blossom Elixir from SoapNSkin, which is as versatile as it is effective. We cannot live without this product, it is 100% natural, effective on all skin types and can be used on your face, body and hair. Before we discuss the many ways you can use this product and the reasons behind its versatility, we have to tell you a little about SoapNSkin, which is one of our favourite brands. Founded by two mothers, SoapNSkin aims to empower women in any way they can, so not only is their Argan Oil Soil Association Certified, but it is also sourced from a supplier that is dedicated to looking after 600 Berber women that it has employed at its mill. This supplier only employs women and pays them a fair wage as they are often the sole supporters of their families, as well as providing free crèche facilities and education programmes.

Made with ethically sourced organic Argan Oil and Orange Blossom Oil, this beautifully fragranced elixir has a multitude of uses. This is because the Argan Oil moisturises, heals and renews lost vitality in skin and hair, while the Orange Blossom Oil helps to create an enviable glow. The ingredients are packed full of Vitamins A and E, Omega Fatty Acids and anti-oxidants which mean that your skin doesn’t just look better but is actually healthier on a cellular level.

To use this on your face, we would recommend gently massaging a few drops into freshly cleansed skin. The Argan oil is non-comedogenic which means it won’t clog up pores but will leave skin looking more radiant than ever. If you want to heal dry or damaged skin on your body – which can especially occur in the winter months – then we suggest applying the elixir directly to areas of concern and watch skin heal within days. Otherwise merely apply after showering for softer skin. Our favourite use for the elixir has to be when it’s used on hair.  If applied like a serum it will help to control frizz and leave hair glossy, but it also will soften hair and treat an unruly scalp if used as a leave-in conditioning treatment before showering.

We love this product and brand and hope you do too. The product only costs £42.00 and can be purchased here. All profits made from selling the elixir are given back to the communities who help mill the Argan Oil. 
 

Organic and Fair Trade Wholefood Snack Bars by Geobar.

The Amazing Blog are big believers in supporting fair trade farmers and we all jump at any opportunity to try a new fair trade snack whenever we can. So discovering Geobars fair trade wholefood snack bars has made our week. Their bars are filled with organic ingredients farmed from all over the world including Cocoa from Ghana, Raisins from South Africa, Cashews from India and Walnuts from Pakistan. The Amazing Blog tried the Carrot and Ginger, Apple and Kale and Cocoa and Beetroot bars.


These delicious fruit, oat and nut bars use ingredients from trusted suppliers to ensure they stay fair trade, they're also high in fibre and contain no added sugar. The Carrot and Ginger bar is made mainly from oats, raisins and dates, with the flavours of carrot and ginger to add a hint of spice. The Apple and Kale bar contains dried apple, dates and cashew nuts, with the kale balancing out the zesty apple flavour. The Cocoa and Beetroot bar is made with a similar combination of oats, raisins and dates, but includes both cocoa powder and nibs. We think these bars make for a delicious snack choice while maintaining a healthy diet and supporting fair trade. All the bars are suitable for vegan diets.

They are available to purchase from Ethicalsuperstore.com and Traidcraft for £1.40 per bar (40g) or £26 for a pack of 20.

Coconut Water Juices by Coldpress

Coldpress’ idea that “life is sweeter with less sugar” is something that we at The Amazing Blog can get behind. We love trying delicious new beverages, so we jumped at the opportunity to try Coldpress' new Coconut Waters. Coldpress throws out traditional methods of fruit juice production by pasteurisation and instead favour pioneering cold-pressed technology. This means that the juices retain substantially more taste and goodness than pasteurised juices.  If you’re looking to get more taste, nutrients and vitamins out of your fruit juice with the bonus of less added sugar, then look no further than Coldpress juices!

Coldpress' new Coconut Water is the latest addition to their delicious range of juices and smoothies. They’re currently available in two flavours; Blood Orange Mandarin Coconut Water and Raspberry Lemon Apple Coconut Water. For anyone jumping late onto the coconut water hype, or dislike the taste of unflavoured coconut water, the Coldpress Coconut Water is a great option to try. Coconut water is high in electrolytes, such as potassium, making them an excellent way to stay hydrated. As Coldpress combines coconut water with their cold-pressed fruit juices, the Coconut Water provides nutrients, vitamins and minerals in addition to the electrolytes from the coconut water.

As with the whole range, Coldpress Coconut Water is bottled in their unique hexagonal bottle, showcasing the originality of the product inside. Coldpress Coconut Water is available in Blood Orange Mandarin and Raspberry Lemon Apple flavours.

The 750ml bottles are available for purchase, in cases of eight, directly from their website here from £7.56

Shiny Lips Lip balm, Shea Butter Filtered Through Volcanic Rock and a Nourishing Beauty Mask from Manna

The Amazing Blog is a huge fan of the Manna brand, not only do they have excellent values but their products are always perfect. As the weather is beginning to change, it’s time to start switching up our skincare routine and products, and it seems only natural to incorporate Manna into this change. We have decided to include three of Manna’s products to help protect our skin from the ill effects of a dropping temperature and central heating. We sampled the Shiny Lips Lip Balm, the Shea butter Filtered through Volcanic Rock with Roman Chamomile and their Mattifying and Nourishing mask with blue clay. 

If you are anything like us then chapped lips go hand in hand with cold weather. It’s unfortunate but true and cold winds have a nasty habit of ruining our lips. As such we are never far from a lip balm, and Manna’s Shiny Lips Lip Balm is the perfect way to keep lips perfectly hydrated and shiny all through the bitter months. Made with natural ingredients, the balm contains Sesame Oil, which helps with hydration and elasticity, Castor Oil which nourishes the lips and Cocoa Butter which will hydrate and protect the skin from various impacts. The product also smells amazing thanks to the orange and lemon essential oils in the product, which give it a great citrus scent.  If you lips dry out then so too will your skin, so it is imperative to apply a nourishing cream or butter to it at least once a day. We love the fragrant Shea Butter Filtered through Volcanic Rock that Manna produces. It is deeply nourishing and acts as an excellent base for makeup. This is because Shea Butter filtered through volcanic rock differs from the usual kind as it tends to be creamier and gives a more even texture and coverage. Manna filters their shea butter through the rocks (perlite) without using any chemicals in the process. 

Although winter can be drying, that doesn’t mean you can get away with not properly looking after your t-zone. So if you are someone with naturally oily skin, you are still going to have to take care of your complexion. We would recommend the Mattifying and Nourishing Mask for this as it purifies skin in a gentle, natural and efficient way. Despite what people may think, oily skin is actually the most vulnerable as it dehydrates quickly, this mask will help keep skin looking great, healthy and hydrated all day long.

You can purchase the Shiny Lips Lip Balm here for £5.30, the Shea butter Filtered through Volcanic Rock with Roman Chamomile can be bought here for £14.80 and the Mattifying Mask here for £9.20