Kora Naturals - African Pearl Luxury Body Butter & Organic Papaya Seed Oil

As summer is now here, at The Amazing Blog what we want is for our skin to glow and feel hydrated. so our search to find a new body butter soon became a matter of priority!  We looked at the list of award-winners for 2019 The Beauty Shortlist and found the African inspired brand Kora Naturals. What attracted us to this brand is that they only use organic, natural and environmentally friendly ingredients. We tried their award-winning Body Butter as well as their new Organic Papaya Seed Oil. Although these are were originally formulated for women of colour, we found these products perfect for all of our different skin types too. 

Kora Naturals was founded in 2010 by Corrine Hayford-Kwatchey who found that there was a lack of premium skincare available for (and made by) women of colour.  Corrine has created her brand based on natural, ethically sourced and wildcrafted premium African ingredients. She explained about the brand name: “Kora is taken from the Ghanaian Twi language (pronounced Kraa) for the calabash, a common natural utensil in Africa and the Caribbean. It is widely recognised as a reference to the natural or 'Ital' lifestyle of using organic, unrefined products.”  The idea of creating Kora Naturals came to her with the birth of her first daughter, when she was addressing post-pregnancy skin issues. It has since developed from being an artisan business into the luxury skincare brand that it is today. We think that so many unique African ingredients are very underused here in Europe (see where we recently wrote about the special African Baobab here). Kora Naturals utilises African native raw ingredients and oils, where they are all ethically produced using traditional methods, which is so refreshing. 

We were excited to try the African Pearl Luxury Body Butter which is very rich and smooth. You can almost feel the vitamins, antioxidants and omegas 3 and 6 working into your skin.  The ingredients include cocoa butter, organic shea butter, coconut oil, wildcrafted baobab and marula seed oil. All of these make the Body Butter effective at holding in the moisture and giving the skin a silky finish. This Body Butter certainly lives up to its reputation and is our number one choice to get our skin summer-ready. You can buy a 200ml pot here for £25.00.

Next we tried the Organic Papaya Seed Oil which is for the face, we found that it helped control sebum and remove impurities by unblocking pores.  This is also another product rich in omegas 6 and 9 and vitamins A, C and E; all of which help to reduce the appears of brown spots and scars.  Some studies have indicated that the enzymes of papain in papaya can decrease acne inflammation. It’s effective in removing the dead skin cells which clog the pores, and our skin did appear to benefit from using the oil - so another thumbs up to Kora.  This is a reasonably priced product at £7.00 for 50ml here, we found that a little goes a long way.  Both of these products can be bought directly from Kora Naturals.

Bnatural CBD UK - Award Winning Face Oil

 We love to exploring new products at The Amazing Blog and one of our latest #amazingfinds is a new CBD skincare, which as regular readers will know is currently riding the crest of the UK beauty wave. Meet the Award Winning Face Oil (yes it really is called that!) by BNatural CBD UK. Those with oily skin often swerve face oils, but this CBD infused oil has many benefits for ALL skin types -  including oily. We first discovered BNatural CBD when they won a silver award at The 2019 Hemp & CBD Awards, and it’s a very well done to them, as they were pitted against some of the biggest CBD industry players.

BNatural CBD UK is a family run business that offers some of the highest quality ingredients, at a very competitive price point. They sell full-spectrum CBD cosmetics (skincare) and oral tinctures and are proud to announce that all their products have full traceability from farm to shelf. This way they can not only proudly offer products from the best suppliers and extractors but also carry out their own third-party lab tests on every product. For their ingestible products, they source hemp from the hills in Switzerland and only use Co2 extraction (we talked about this method with a previous CBD brand here ). They are also members of the trade associations Cannabis Trades Assoc. and CannaPRo which gives us all the assurance that their products are all fully compliant with the current UK laws. We want to applaud this brand for their giving back policy to Zellweger UK, where they donate each month a percentage of their sales. Zellweger Spectrum Disorder which is a rare genetic condition which belongs to a group called Peroxisomal Biogensis Disorder (PBD).

The Award Winning Face Oil, is a full-spectrum CBD skincare, which means that it contains a small amount of THC coming in line with the UK regulations. It combines 100mg of full-spectrum CBD golden oil together with other natural and vegan oil ingredients. Best of all, you can rest assured that it is free from pesticides, herbicides and heavy metals. In creating the Award Winning Face Oil, they have chosen each element carefully to work in harmony with the cannabinoids, which includes rosehip, jojoba, geranium and orange essential oils. All of which when combined with the CBD, offers a fragrant, light to the touch, nourishing and moisturising face oil. Contained in a dark blue glass bottle with pipette, this face oil is a delightful slightly citrus-scented golden liquid. It was easily absorbed, leaving the skin smooth and without any oily residue. We think it would work perfectly too for all makeup lovers out there, as a great primer to give their complexions a wonderful radiance prior to applying foundation. Plus, all the cannabinoids here bind directly to the endocannabinoid system in the skin, helping the skin find its balance. CBD has many healing properties and added benefits such as being anti-ageing and anti-inflammatory, again making it ideal for anyone who has acne and mild eczema. You can purchase the 30ml bottle of Award Winning Face Oil for £ 30.00 here.

Douvall's Argan & Ungurahua Oil Shampoo & Conditioner

Most people when you mention Argan oil, think about it from a culinary perspective and their gastronomic trips to Morocco. However, here at The Amazing Blog we want to talk about it as a key ingredient in skin and hair care. For centuries women in the Arab Maghreb have been using Argan oil for its beneficial properties in their hair. Today we’re featuring Douvall's latest launch of Argan & Ungurahua Shampoo and Conditioner. Douvall’s were one of the first British brands to use organic Argan oil here in the UK.  We’ve reviewed their Moisturiser here and more recently, their Organic Hemp & Argan Oil and  Cannabis & Argan Oil here. Knowing how much we love their products, we couldn’t wait to try these! 

As mentioned previously, Douvall's is a British make-up and skincare brand whose key ingredient is organic Argan oil, founded by mother and daughter, Alicia and Georgia Douvall.  They produce vegan, cruelty-free, eco-friendly cosmetics made from only natural ingredients. They use no chemicals, artificial fragrances, sulphates, parabens or alcohol and the brand also commits to support charitable causes such as the breast cancer charity The Haven. They also partner with the women's cooperatives that produce their argan oils in Morocco. This partnership has led to the construction of a school and a reforestation project. 

The Shampoo and Conditioner look quite similar; the packaging is recyclable brown plastic pump bottles which are useful as it allows us to see how much product we’ve used. The label is a pale salmon pink with gold and black writing which makes the duo both girly and aesthetically pleasing. The fragrance of each is natural and subtle where we could easily pick out green tea extract. The key ingredients in both are Argan oil (which we know about) with its antioxidants, vitamin E, omega 3,6 and 9. The other, Ungurahua oil was new to us. It derives from the rainforests of Central and South America, dating back centuries to the time of the indigenous people. It is high in unsaturated fatty acids, especially oleic acid and due to its antibacterial and anti-fungal properties, Ungurahua is also considered to be one of the best remedies for treating scalp problems, especially itchy dandruff and hair loss. Plus, it stimulates the regeneration of follicle cells. Impressive!  We wonder if this will set the trend, and we’ll see more hair care containing this new ingredient soon. 

They both also contain the same ingredients such as organic green tea, aloe leaf, rosemary leaf, honeysuckle flower and raspberry leaf. The Shampoo complements the Conditioner perfectly. We particularly like that they are both colour safe, which we find this is a rare find in the world of organic and natural hair care. As one of us has coloured, long, fine and curly hair, this cetainly set a challenge. Not only did it step-up to the mark but actually detangled without damaging and left hair silky, shiny and soft to the touch. Will we be buying more? Absolutely! To purchase 275ml Argan & Unguraha Oil Shampoo for £24 and the 275ml Conditioner for £26 see here.

Bao-Med Pure Oil Bodywash & Pure Soap

We hate having dry skin, particularly at this time of year when we’re regularly applying our fake tan. At The Amazing Blog far too often we’ve experienced our sunless tan going patchy and flaking off from the hard London water. This is why we’ve been exploring new products with baobab oil, known for its super-hydrating qualities. It’s an extraordinary seed oil that has impressed us in Body Balm and Moisturiser here and as a Hydrating Body Oil here.  Today our latest baobab #amazingfinds are Pure Soap and Pure Oil Bodywash from Bao-Med UK.

Bao-Med UK has four products: Pure Soap, Pure Oil Bodywash, Food Supplements and Pure Skin, Scalp & Hair Oil (the latter won an award with Beauty Shortlist Award in 2020). All products are natural and organic and come with international certification. Baobab seed oil production contributes to the economic revival of the poorest parts of South Africa and Venda. Bao-Med's products are made from pure baobab seed oil and a vitamin and mineral-rich white powder from the fruit which is used in their Food Supplements. This oil has softening, protective and restructuring properties and which are excellent for skin and hair, often used for stretch marks or dry and damaged hair. Bao-Med products use only a sustainable process, only collecting the fruit that has fallen from the tree onto the ground, leaving the tree intact. In this way, they ensure a sustainable harvest and the tree can produce fruit for hundreds of years to come. This brand’s products have been created to help promote healthy skin, scalp, hair and nails; as the baobab seed oil is renowned for its hydrating and healing properties.

First of all, let's start with their Pure Soap made with pure baobab oil with the addition of a natural fig fragrance. It’s smooth to handle and looks like a maple fine-grained wooden roundel. The fig fragrance is subtle, even moreish and particularly evident when lathered up in the hands. We ventured to use this both on the hands and body. It also became a regular fixture both prior and during our covid19 lockdown. Best of all, unlike other soaps when used, we didn’t need to follow it immediately with hand cream, as it magnificently cleansed and moisturised.

Then we have the Pure Oil Bodywash made from baobab and olive oil. This hit the spot addressing our dry skin problem. Hydrating? Oh yes, this most certainly was. With a pH balance of 6.0 pH (neutral and akin to milk) when applied, it had the consistency of oil not that of liquid soap. As soon as it mixes with water goes from being clear into a silky milk-like foam. The product is not greasy and as soon as you apply it, you can feel that it cleaning and moisturising, which leaves a dewy glow to the skin. It also gve a delicate fragrance and worked like a wonder oil keeping our dry and flaky skin at bay. We think this would be particularly good for those with sensitive skin who find regular soap too harsh. Out of the two, this was undoubtedly our favourite. You can purchase your Pure Oil Bodywash 50ml for £9 or a 200ml bottle for £25 here. You can also buy the 90 gm Pure Soap here for £15.

Norse - Exfoliating Face Wash & Shower Bar

Have you noticed how the girls at The Amazing Blog are slaves to their skincare routine? Well, it’s now starting to rub off on me! I’ll let you into a secret… This week I’ve found some amazing new grooming products that are not only 100% natural, handmade, vegan and parabens free, but come in an eco-friendly bar form. Meet British brand Norse. The two products I’m going to be talking about today interact efficiently and look promising to offer results.

Norse is a startup company, founded by Iain Kerrigan, whose main focus is to produce 100% natural grooming products for men. Iain is a bearded gentleman who was bored of looking like a grease monkey from the products he used, hence his mission began to create his own… Whether it’s for maintaining a beard, a moustache groomed or keeping skin smooth; Norse has something to offer every well-groomed man (or lady - but razors only!) They are all handmade in the UK and as Iain says they are “plastic-free, environmentally (and wallet) friendly.” His range has everything from skincare and shampoo to plastic-free razors. The products I tried out are their Exfoliating Face Wash Bars and Shower Bars which are a must-have for every man out there, and the reason I underline the word ‘every’ is that these gems are for all skin types.

I’ll begin with the Exfoliating Face Wash Bars which come in two amazing scents: Woodsman and Citrus. They are produced using olive, coconut, castor, organic sustainable palm and almond oil. These oils are rich in vitamins A and E, they have anti-inflammatory effects and penetrate the dermis preventing moisture loss. The organic sustainable palm oil tightens the pores in an efficient manner and helps in preventing the rough bumps which may be caused by sun damage or aging. The ingredient together with the activated charcoal effectively cleanses the skin, removing dead skin cells and impurities, leaving the skin smooth, clean and even-toned.  You will find the link for both Exfoliating Face Wash Bars here, so you can purchase the one with your favourite scent Woodsman has a base of tea tree and peppermint, whereas the Citrus has a mixture of orange and lemon oil, each is only £ 8.50 for a 100gm bar.

Next with the Norse Shower Bars which also come in the same two scents as the Exfoliating Face Wash Bars; Woodsman and Citrus. They are produced using similar ingredients as the Face Wash Bars with olive, coconut, castor, organic sustainable palm and almond oil but minus the addition of activated charcoal. They are solid bars, and as we mentioned above, these ingredients offer great benefits. We’d also like to add that not only they are made of 100% natural ingredients, but they are also environmentally friendly simply packaged in cardboard boxes, thus no plastic waste is produced. To purchase your favorite scent of the Shower Bar for only £ 8.50 you can find Citrus here or Woodman here.  My favourite? It had to be the Exfoliating Face Wash (Citrus) – it left my face clean and fragrant from the city grim and is ideal for my newly acquired lockdown whiskers!