Maiiro - Organic Lip Salve & Organic Soap

It’s now a known fact that seaweed has many wonderful benefits for both the skin and body with its vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. As regular readers of The Amazing Blog will remember we’ ve reviewed beauty brands like Seavite, Voya and Repechage all of which contain this magical ingredient from the sea. Today we’d like to introduce you to our latest discovery from the sea, a new British brand called Maiiro.

Created in Guernsey, Maiiro was inspired by the sea and shoreline, which is an ever-present part of life on this beautiful island. With one of the largest tidal ranges in the world, Guernsey’s pristine clean waters are home to an abundant and rich marine life. The brand was born from a deep desire to help skin look and feel better, naturally. Maiiro’s aim is to become an industry leader in terms of sustainability and recyclability, supporting the environment. They have reduced the use of plastics wherever possible, and are only using natural, organic and ethically sourced ingredients in their products. They’re entirely transparent and their packaging is 100% recyclable where some of the cardboard used is actually made from seaweed!

Maiiro’s key ingredient of seaweed, thus making the brand stand apart from others. Seaweed has long been foraged from their Guernsey shores and is a natural source for a powerful skincare ingredient containing antioxidants like CoQ10 or Vitamin C. Whilst on the journey to create Maiiro, they formulated their signature ingredient, Kelpogen5™ to harness the full power of seaweed. This is a skincare superfood that gives the complexion all the nourishment and protection it needs to look its best and is suitable for all ages and skin types. We at The Amazing Blog had the privilege to try out their Organic Lip Salve and the Organic Soap.

The Organic Lip Salve provides a lot more than just temporary relief to dry, sore and chapped lips. Apart from the Kelpogen5™ it also contains organic tamanu oil for healing and palm fruit extract to help prevent sun damage; all in a base of antioxidant-rich organic cocoa butter and shea butter. This veil of hydration helps the delicate skin on your lips to restore itself from within. We found that it was effective both in this current chilly weather, as well as the scorching heat (it got taken off to sunnier climes too!) We’re sadly only too aware of the temporary relief and increased long term dryness that some other lip balms offer. Which is why we like the Maiiro’s Organic Lip Salve as it doesn’t have this countereffect, priced at an affordable £21.95 here.

We also tried out their Organic Soap it’s a seaweed soap that suits all skin types and ages. With a gentle, low lather, this back-to-nature skin cleanser is rich in essential oils, botanical extracts and Maiiro’s signature five-seaweed formula, Kelpogen5™. With organic ingredients of essential oils tea tree and lemon as well as jojoba and tamanu oils combined with goji berry and fenugreek extracts, this seaweed soap leaves the skin feeling fresh, calm and comfortable - never taut or dry. It’s got a beautiful bright orange colour, which you certainly can’t miss on bleary-eyed morning. What makes this soap extra special is its packaging. We love the charming little blue wooden boxes it comes in. Let’s not forget to mention that it has no SLS, parabens, phthalates or added fragrance and is 100% organic and vegan. For those of you looking for a refreshing boost then look no further, you can purchase the Organic Soap here for an absolute steal at £11.95.

Codex Beauty – Bia Skin Superfood

Here at The Amazing Blog we’re always on the search for new and innovative products, particularly ones that will hopefully live up to our high expectations! One of our recent #amazingfinds is the Irish brand Codex Beauty, which has a collection of organic skincare that combines both science and nature.

Created by Irish herbal scientist, Tracey Ryan, who has combined Irish botanicals free from harmful chemicals with her latest cutting edge scientific technology. With Ireland’s small population and low level of pollution, a little known fact is that it has the highest proportion of natural vegetation in Europe, where plants grow rich and robust ready to use in Codex’s ingredients. What impressed us is that Codex are mindful of sustainability as well as what materials they use with their COSMOS-certified formulas.  So it’s good to know that their tubes made from plant-based polyethylene  (PE) materials; paper is sourced from sustainably managed forests for their cartons, which have renewable fibre certified by the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).

Knowing all this, we were excited to try their hero product Bia Skin Superfood. This organic plant-based product that has undergone pharmaceutical grade processing made with their BiaComplex™ and has already been through lots of efficiency trials too. Bia Skin Superfood is recommended for face, hands and body cream targets dry, flakey or any area which has irritation. Key ingredients are calendula and immortelle botanicals which both have incredible anti-inflammatory properties to help firm, soothe and protect the gentle layer of skin. The other ingredients are marshmallow, heart’s ease and comfrey which moisturise, offer protection and help to rejuvenate the dermis.

Unusually fragranced with the herbaceous immortelle (a subtly sweet and honey-like fragrance) what we particularly like is that this cream is gentle enough to be used on skin conditions such as rosacea, eczema psoriasis or sunburn. So, if you’re travelling and only have room for one cream – make it this one,  at 75ml it will fit snuggly into your clear plastic bag for carry-on.  It’s also vegan and cruelty-free cream comes in an elegant green tube at the retail price of £48 here.

Flow Cosmetics - True Expression Chakra Soap & Body Butter Bar

While make-up has the magical ability to brighten your eyes, contour your face and plump your lips. Enhancing your outer beauty, but feeling good on the inside can often be challenging. When you don’t feel at peace, refreshed and energised, it often reflects on your external appearance. Here at The Amazing Blog, we’d like to introduce you to Flow Cosmetics, a brand we recently discovered at a trade beauty show. They are made for your skin but with properties that impact your inner strength, peace and more specifically, your chakras.

Born in Finland, Flow uses active ingredients in its products which are native Finnish wild berries and herbs that are full of vitamins, antioxidants and northern robust energy. Nature has always been a strong and important part of Finnish identity. Finland has the world’s cleanest nature with blue lakes, free-flowing rivers, pristine forests and untouched wilderness. This unique northern energy is conveyed and Flow Cosmetics focuses on giving their customers bright and clear skin, a healthy body and a serene mind. All their products are activated with positive energy because the brand wants to help you empower and strengthen your own energy. Flow products contain therapeutic quality essential oils and the healing energy from crystals, hence making their products to be even more than just high-quality skincare. You can feel and sense the therapeutic effect throughout your body and being, providing care at all levels – body, mind and spirit – just like nature.

We tried out Flow’s new natural salt soaps and body butter bars that are inspired by the seven energy centres of the body. Each salt soap and butter bar represent one chakra with its aromatherapeutic fragrance and colour. Chakras are spinning wheels of energy/light and have the loving responsibility of taking in, incorporating and emanating energy to keep us functioning at optimal levels.

Let’s talk about the products we tried, the True Expression ‘I speak the truth’ Throat Chakra Aromatherapy Salt Soap which is twinned with the Body Butter Bar with clarifying Sage & Peppermint. When the throat chakra is in balance, it is easy to speak the truth and express your feelings clearly. This Chakra’s colour is azure blue and both products smell and feel amazing!

The gentle Salt Soap is suitable for daily use and for hair washing and is made from top-quality organic ingredients. It’s suitable for all skin types, especially for itchy and flaky skin. In addition to skin moisturising organic plant oils, the mineral-rich Himalayan rock salt and arctic wild blueberry seed oil to nurture the skin. Himalayan salt has skin cleansing, detoxing and moisturising properties whereas the blueberry seed oil offers antioxidant protection. The Butter Bar includes specific essential oils with peppermint, sage, roman chamomile and frankincense and is made with organic cocoa butter and organic coconut oil to nourish and soften dry skin.

Priced at €15 and €26 respectively, both the products will be sure to prove to be a worthwhile purchase. It’s a fun way to select from a range of Aromatherapy Soaps and Body Butter Bars is to choose the colour of the chakras that you’re drawn to,  see their official website here.

SOiL Organic Aromatherapy

Struggling to find the perfect way to unwind after a stressful day at hard work? Feel like that glass of wine or shall we say bottle just isn’t cutting it? Fear not, here at The Amazing Blog, we’ve got just what you need to help make your days more peaceful and harmonious.  SOiL Organic Aromatherapy is our new best friend and could soon be yours as well!

Born out of a family managed, organic essential oil farming operation in Zululand, South Africa, SOiLhas been expanding and distilling aromatic plants for their precious oils since 2001. As an eco-ethical range certified by ECO-Cert, SOiL was the first company in South Africa to sell a complete range of 100% certified organic essential oils, many of which they grow themselves on their organic farm in Zululand. As an ethical brand that focuses on steering away from petrochemicals, parabens and synthetic fragrances they identify with a strong sense of commitment to the planet and society. SOiL stands apart from other similar brands as they farm, process and market all their own products from start to finish. They ensure no chemicals or fertilisers are used in their farming process hence giving their customers the promise of safe, natural and sustainable products in all regards.    

Their Ultrasonic Aroma Diffuser is one of our favourites. Easy to use, safe and silent enough for you to hear a needle drop. It’s a low energy product that requires water and your favourite essential oil to be added to it. Even though the diffuser itself is sweet and smallish in size, the aroma will surely spread all across the room making you feel as though you’re in a spa. You get a timer on the device so you can manage how long you’d like it on and can also adjust the mist that it releases. With the essential oils of your choice, this diffuser is a winner in our eyes.

SOiL sells its very own collection of essential oils, each of which has unique and distinct properties that result in a number of benefits. The two that we tried out are their blends with Immunity and Energy. The Immunity oil in the diffuser is a great one for the office to help ward off coughs and colds, particularly with ingredients such as lemongrass, tea tree, benzoin resin and thyme help fight bacteria inside your body and further assist in building your immunity, as they say, prevention is better than cure! The Energy essential blend, on the other hand, is metaphorically speaking rather like a quick shot of espresso. Made with clary sage, lime, cypress and black pepper this blend is really a blessing. Perfect to get you ready for the day as well as serve as a pickup and invigorating blend after a long day, the Energy essential oil has also been a great hit in the office.

All their products are available online on their official website. The Ultrasonic Aroma Diffuser is priced at an affordable £39.95 here (although we see today it’s been reduced to £31.96!) and their essential oil blends are sold from £7.92 here.

Friday Favourites with CBD brands

We don’t know about you, but we’re intrigued by the wave of CBD products that have suddenly appeared. This is a topic often discussed at The Amazing Blog and something that we’re just starting to bone up on and today we hope to enlighten you a little too. We have three different cannabidiol (aka CBD) brands to talk about, and review. As far as we can gather the benefits of CBD are numerous and they need to be demystified in regard to the belief that they contain psychoactive properties – they don’t! The critical thing to look for is a brand that has good manufacturing practice.

As a rule of thumb, there two major types are of CBD which are either ‘full spectrum’ and ‘broad spectrum’. The full spectrum contains a tiny quantity of tetrahydrocannabinol (aka THC) which less than 0.2%; which gives the ‘entourage effect’, (meaning the benefit you get from ingesting multiple components of the cannabis plant) which is driven by all the natural cannabinoids and terpenes. These can assist with a range of conditions such as anxiety, inflammation and sleep disorders, whereas the broad spectrum has a process that reduces the cannabinoids and eliminates the THC. This type proves a popular choice with athletes or those in the public sector who may be subject to random drug testing, and don’t want to have any ‘false positives.’  Often there is a choice of 'filtered oil’ which is softer on the palate and easier to take, or a 'raw oil' which is processed by C02 extraction (no heat). The raw oil is best used for pain relief as it has an increased ‘entourage effect’ with the increased plant nutrients such as terpenes, flavonoids and phytosterols offering more plant matter and giving it a thicker consistency. The disadvantage of this raw version is that it has a very strong flavour (slightly more bitter and earthy tasting) and this extraction method is costly for brands. 

Let’s start with Brown’s CBD; founder Laurence Brown set up the company after experiencing the holistic power of CBD for the first time at university. This inspired him to forge ahead, start his own company and to offer great pharmaceutical quality CBD products at market leading prices. Brown’s CBD has a great select of CBD oils (full and broad Spectrum, filtered and raw) and they also have ‘water-soluble’ CBD which is ideal to be mixed with food, drinks or protein shakes plus up to 4 times more effective than the oil when ingested. 

We were sent their Golden CBD Hemp Oil 1000mg 10% CBD.  This is filtered oil and full spectrum made with organic hemp cannabis sativa CBD oil which is reliably sourced from in the EU.  It contains cannabinoids such as CBDA, CBDV, CBC, CBN, CBG & THC (0.2%). Although this is a filtered oil it is actually extracted by the C02 extraction method used for raw oils but this undergoes an extra filtration process which gives it a smoother taste and more of a golden colour compared to other filtered oils.  All of their bottles come in small dark UVA proof black bottles with a pipette. We strategically took this at night time to help aid relaxation and sleep. Using the pipette, we put 3 or 4 drops for sublingual absorption (under the tongue) and held it there for up to 60 seconds before swallowing. We have to say, from our experience, this is the first 10% CBD oil that we’ve found to be palatable and quite pleasant tasting. Did it help to take the edge off our day? Yes, I can confidently say that our tester’s sleep patterns definitely improved when taking it regularly.  You too can buy Brown’s CBD  Golden CBD Hemp Oils here starting from £39.99 for 10ml.

Next brand is CBD ONE  who have been at the forefront of launching CBD here in the UK. They offer a variety of CBD products ranging from oils, topical creams, and water-soluble products. They sent us their AbsorbPure+ this is a little different from the CBD oil and is in the form of a water-soluble paste that has a  mixture curcumin, vegetable glycerine, triglycerides, terpenes and bioavailable cannabis paste. Absorb has three products in the range, all of which are water-soluble and are for single daily use only. The key ingredient here is the ‘bioavailability cannabis paste’ which refers to how much of the active ingredient your body can use – here they say 99%. This product also contains THC with levels below 0.2% with the actual CBD content at 800mg making this Pure+ a high concentration paste with over 50 servings per 10ml syringe and delivery 16mg of CBD per dose. They claim that this is 10 times more effective than an equivalent oil-based product.

We used this by mixing it with water or fruit juice and have to say that the paste was a tad spicy and earthy and perhaps not the most delicious taste, but with the curcumin, it helps add a double whammy for those looking to aid from joint and muscle pain.  They also say that you can pump one dose straight into the mouth and swallow (we weren’t that brave!) One of us dosed up on this regularly in the mornings, prior to going to the gym. They have had various ongoing joint pain and did find with taking this regularly that there was a certain amount of relief. If you’re looking for a high concentrate water-soluble CBD then this is for you see here for 10ml £69.99amd 20ml £128.78.

Finally, meet Hemptouch a Slovenian brand that we’ve had our eye on for a while having first discovered the brand when they won a prestigious Wellbeing Award from our client The Beauty Shortlist for their CBD Spray Chocolate 300mg  and CBD Oil Amber 500mg. Silvija Špehar is the co-founder biologist and herbalist who has used hemp in her formulas to enhance, balance and nourish from the inside out with both the sublingual, ingestible formulas and her skincare. Ethical practice and sustainability are at the heart of the brand where they use locally sourced butter and hemp in their ingredients.

They very kindly sent us several of their products, the first of which is their Water Soluble CBD Spray – Lift & Inspire. Ingredients here are glycerine, water, matcha extract, hemp extract (cannabis sativa L) vitamins E, D and natural orange flavour. It is free from gluten dairy or sugar and contains no THC. There are 150 sprays in the bottle and each spray contains 1.3mg of CBD. This Lift & Inspire is designed to enhance focus and sharpen the mind. The CBD here helps to lower fatigue and protect from inflammation, the matcha helps to support energy levels and vitamin D is a natural mood booster.  We could taste the orange and matcha which takes the edge of the earthy hemp. It needs to be taken orally and we had 3 or 4 sprays daily under the tongue (they say that you can also spray on the inside of the cheek) and hold for a few seconds.  When we’ve been flagging, it gave us a much-needed spurt of energy and is perfect for keeping on the desk when you’re having a bad day and are in need of raising your spirits. For £31.99 you can buy this 20ml spray bottle here.

The other two CBD products are skincare and applied topically. We loved the Intensive Lip Balm, with its ingredients of raw hempseed oil, beeswax, vitamin E and cloves. NB: This raw hempseed oil has no THC. This tastes deliciously of cloves and is silky smooth on the lips, plus when applied we found that it lasts and lasts. Perfect for these winter months to keep handy in your coat pocket to protect lips from the wind chill factor. Available here in a 4.5ml tube at £7.99. 

The Balancing Face Cream is specifically designed for rebalancing oily and blemished skin and ideal for those who have breakouts or with very sensitive skin. It’s a botanically based with key ingredients of  CBD oil, hemp hydrolate, chlorella, orange flower hydrolate. The hemp hydrolate is a precious extract from the hemp plant, is and is what makes this cream unique. It improves microcirculation and leaves the complexion smooth and supple. With 2% in 50 ml of 5% CBD this gentle formula is dermatologically tested and proven to reduce the secretion of sebum. It has a subtle fragrance and when applied absorbs quickly barely leaving a trace. Great for using on face, neck and décolleté, morning and night, to help heal, purify and tone. Available here for £32.99.

We hope to have given you a bit of a starters guide to CBD. We’re certainly still learning, and in future weeks and months will be covering more from this extraordinary hemp cannabis sativa plant.