Shakeup Cosmetics

My turn dear readers to say ‘Happy New Year’! Today I’m kicking-off with one of our #amazingfinds which is a new brand of men’s cosmetics. Apparently us boys have different skin to the girls… (NB: Girls at The Amazing Blog!) that may sound a glib expression, but there is an increasing amount of data to show that our skin is 20 - 25% thicker due to the presence of testosterone, which goes some way to explain why certain products manufactured for women can be ineffective for us. Since we also have slightly larger active sebaceous glands, our pores tend to be larger leading to a higher propensity of acne and pore blockages. Of course, we also put our skin through the dreaded daily slash of a sharp blade which inevitably stresses the epidermis, making it far more sensitive.

Happily, for us twin brothers Shane Carnell-Xu and Jake Xu have come to our rescue - they are the driving force behind Shakeup Cosmetics and are shining the light ahead for us boys to reap the benefits of a skincare range as diverse as that for women, but specifically tailored for our needs. Whilst we all want to look our best, not everyone wants to make it headline news when we walk into a room, which is where Shane and Jake have come to our aid with their Shakeup Cosmetics For Men range. Although born in Beijing, the boys emigrated to the UK in their teens and are proud to have formulated and produced their line here, ensuring the highest standards, as well as rejecting animal testing, and keeping their products totally vegan-friendly.

At the moment, we have the Under Eye Concealer and Moisturiser, called ‘Eye Eye Captain’, the ‘Let’s Face It’ Tinted Moisturiser, and the ‘Lip Life To The Full’ Volumising and Moisturising  Lip Gel, with the first two of that list coming in Light, Medium and Dark shades for the skin palette. Retailing at £20 for the Concealer, £25 for the Moisturiser, and £12 for the Lip Gel, we can get our hands on these goodies from here and that stalwart of the pioneer brands, Harvey Nichols - and when HN starts stocking a range, you know it’s one to watch! This range is certainly one to try, as there is a revolution afoot in the male grooming world, and it is being spearheaded by dynamic teams like Shane and Jake who believe in natural, wholesome skincare, and are bringing it to market for us to enjoy.

PHOERA - The Body Luminizer

As the glimmering snow is beginning to fall (wishful thinking!) And we’re the smell of eggnog and gingerbread are overtaking our senses,  Santa’s coming to town very soon! Every nook and corner of London is shimmering with festive decorations highlighted by the twinkle in everyone’s eyes and hearts. Here at The Amazing Blog, we love to part take in Christmas holiday fun and thus with all the festivities just around the corner, we thought when everything around town is embellished with glitter and gold, why shouldn't you do the same? We bring to you a little shimmer by our new #amazingfinds beauty brand PHOERA with their glistening Body Luminizer. Say goodbye to your old self and hello to the new dewy, shimmery and angelic person you will soon see in your mirror.

The Body Luminizer is a gel-based formula with light-reflecting pearl pigments that give you unfathomably smooth and glossy skin. Key ingredients are rose water, glycerine, distilled, water, witch hazel, and mica. The formula melts like butter on toast into the skin ensuring a streak-free finish that's perfect for buffing into any area of the body in order to glow like a goddess. Additionally, it also has priceless moisturising qualities so that it not only leaves your skin shiny but also healthy and hydrated. Especially with all this winter weather, the gel-based formula promises soft, supple and smooth skin that feels drenched in a sunny, radiant luminous finish making you look as though you just vacationed in the Bahamas. However, this post-holiday look is now yours to keep all year round, after all, who said you needed a tan to look golden?

The formula is available in three different shades. Rose gold for fair and light tones, Metallic gold for medium and tan tones and finally, glistening bronze for deeper skin tones. Whichever of the three you chose according to your skin tone is up to you however, the end result will surely be the same, glowing and dewy complexion blessed by the heavens above! Consider this recommendation from us our little Christmas present to you for your New Year’s Eve celebrations. You can easily purchase the 30ml bottle online from their official website for as little as £5.95 here.

Bili Beauty – Eyes of India Eyeshadow Palette

India is well known for its bright colour palette, diverse culture and unique beauty. Bili Beauty is a brand that creates makeup inspired by India’s evident diversity and celebrated explosion of various different shades and tints. All their products are made in California, vegan, cruelty-free and made with natural and organic ingredients. Bili Beauty brings together Indian beauty trends and presents it to a spectrum of individuals to all different corners of the world.

The founder of Bili Beauty, Sarah began the company with an underlying political motive. Although many of the major stores have an array of different cosmetic brands and products, they are often unable to cater to all the different skin tones. This is where Bili Beauty sets itself apart from others as it is highly pigmented and adapts to suit all given skin shades, textures and tones.  With the combination of her love for Indian culture and her passion for makeup, Sarah was able to create a cosmetics brand with clean ingredients and high pigmentation that celebrated and educated people about the beautiful diversity of Indian culture.

The Eyes of India Eyeshadow Palette is one of our #amazingfinds and our new favourite here at The Amazing Blog. The palette features ten matte as well as glittery shades of pink, gold, red, green and various others that will make your eyes pop. While the palette will enhance your eyes with their vibrant shades, its fragrance will also take you on an olfactory journey all the way to the hidden roads of Jaipur and the magical wonders of Agra. This eyeshadow palette takes you on a cultural beauty that walks you through the enchanting beauty of India, all from the convenience of your blending brush and creativity. The key natural and organic ingredients in these pigments are vitamin E, sunflower and moringa oils, rosemary leaf, Indian gooseberry terminalia chebula and bellerica, caesalpinia sappan bark and bamboo extract. It’s 100% vegan with no animal byproducts and almost 70% of these eyeshadows are made up of pure pigment. We also applaud Bili Beauty who donate a percentage of their annual sales to Destiny Rescue a non-profit organisation to help end child sex trafficking all over the world.

We think that this special eyeshadow palette is not only perfect as a Chrismas gift but as a present to yourself! To embark on this cultural experience, simply visit here to get your very own The Eyes of India Eyeshadow Palette is $49.00.

EcoStardust - Unicorn Edition Biodegradable Trio Glitter, Balm & Brush

What is the best way to stand out at a Christmas party this year? We think it’s rocking a bit of glitter! We know what you’re going to say ”…but most commercial cosmetic glitters are dangerous to the environment!” Fear not, here at The Amazing Blog we’ve discovered an environmentally-friendly and biodegradable premium grade cosmetic glitter, that can add some serious sparkle to your day – step forward EcoStardust.

Launched in 2017, a Blue Patch New Business Award-winning EcoStardust is an eco-conscious company that makes its glitter from plant cellulose, derived predominantly from non-GMO sustainably farmed Eucalyptus Trees. It aims to promote ‘joy and happiness through vibrant and high-quality products whilst raising awareness of environmental issues’. All their products are vegan and cruelty-free; 10% of net profits go to charities and environmental bodies, and every piece of packaging is made out of recyclable materials.

They very kindly sent us their EcoStardust Unicorn Edition Biodegradable Trio Glitter Balm & Brush Set which includes: 3 x 6g biodegradable glitters, one bamboo glitter brush and one bio-glitter 10g beauty balm. The three various shades of glitter (silver and a hint of purple, pink and blue, and extra shimmer pink and blue) can be used individually or mixed to create your unique shade, enhancing a look or matching an outfit. We think the more the better! So, our favorite recipe is mixing all three shades and highlighting our best features. Apply a small amount of a plant-based shimmery balm either with the bamboo glitter brush or your fingers. This can be anywhere on your body, face, hair or nails. Then sprinkle some glitter on it and you’re good to go. NB: We would stress caution when applying on the face, you need to avoid using the product around your eye area due to the fine particles which could fall into the eye. It easy to remove and washes with warm water and soap, or by using regular makeup remover. If you have any allergies, the checklist for this glitter does not contain any common food allergens, such as eggs, sesame seeds, sulphur dioxide or nuts.

Add some extra festive sparkle this Christmas, with this fun set of glitter. You can purchase it for just £22 here

Lavera – Organic Lip Balm and Matt n Stay Lipstick

It’s not always easy to find an organic long-lasting matt lipstick or an organic lip balm with an SPF. That’s why we at The Amazing Blog have combined two lip products to review from one of our favourite organic beauty brands Lavera. As regular readers will know we’ve recently reviewed their Powerful Lashes and their SOS help lip balm so when we saw they had two new lip products Lip Balm and Mat’n Stay lipstick, we had to try them.

Lavera’s Organic Lip Balm range is composed of 3 different lip balms: The Protect and Repair made from organic pomegranate and argan oil, The Pearly Pink, Sun Care Lip Balm with an SPF of 10 and Basis Sensitive made of a green Hydro Protection Complex. We tried the Lavera Organic Lip Balm - Pearly Pink, which wowed us with its light pink shade that stays on the lips. The formula is very rich and will moisturise and nourish your dry lips. The lip balm is organic and free of mineral oil with active ingredients like almond oil and mallow to moisturise and help prevent irritation to sensitive lips. Their New Green Beauty Complex consists of active ingredients like coconut oil which prevents lips to cracked, cocoa butter which nourishes the lips and shea butter which moisturises and soothes dry lips. We like using this as it gave a subtle blush of colour and stopped our lips from feeling dry.

As for New the Lavera Matt'n Stay Lips is 2 in 1. Indeed, they all give a lovely colour to your lips and while at the same time, they soften and moisturise. The matte lipstick has only natural pigments all of which give them their pretty colours. It is made up of a flower butter composed of rose, mallow and linden all to aid moisture and nourish the lips. The range is composed of 6 colours: Plum, Pink, Berry, Rose, Peach and Red. We tried the Lavera Matt'n Stay in Rose and loved it. The application is effortless thanks to the pencil lipstick, we applied first at the centre on our lips then move outwards.

We highly recommend both these products and you can purchase the Lavera Organic Lip Balm - Pearly Pink in 4.5g for £4.95 here and New Lavera Matt'n Stay Lips - Matt'n Rose in 3.1g for £10.90 here .