ORKA Naturals: Lavender & Vanilla Trio

Here at The Amazing Blog, we love to feature new and upcoming brands. Today we’re highlighting ORKA Naturals, a natural skincare brand based on organic, handmade and naturally sourced ingredients. The first products that we tried are their Lavender and Vanilla Trio, which include a Soap, Body Butter and Lip Balm.

ORKA Naturals is a British natural skincare brand, founded in 2020 by Kate Varvedo. Growing up in Budapest with her family, she fell in love with nature while collecting and learning about the local flora and fauna. As Kate grew older, her passion and awareness of the environment made her decide to launch her own skincare brand, using natural ingredients and age-old remedies. This is where she has taken her skincare brand right back to basics. Kate said, “I want to make it the principal of my business to go back to nature to look after our bodies via using locally sourced, natural commodities, reducing the volume of plastic and chemicals used, and increasing sustainability.” ORKA Naturals uses locally grown botanicals (or grown by Kate herself) and locally sourced packaging to be more sustainable to the environment and support small businesses. Here is where Orka Naturals uses folk medicine and natural remedies, this is the basis for how each product is created, relying on nature and old customs rather than modern techniques and machine production. All products are certified by The Vegan Society and Cruelty-Free with the Leaping Bunny logo.

Lavender & Vanilla Trio is one of ORKA Naturals’ bundle skincare sets. It includes their Vanilla Lip Balm, St. John’s Wort, Lavender & Vanilla Body Butter, and the Relaxing Lavender Soap with Pink Himalayan Rock Salt. The Vanilla Lip Balm is made with plant-based candelilla wax, which is primarily used as a skin conditioner and protectant, plus it gives a glossy shine to the lips. We like how it kept chapped lips at bay. They tell us that the vanilla extract here is a good source of B-vitamins with pantothenic acid, which play an essential role in maintaining healthy skin. Vanilla has also been used since ancient times for healing wounds, burns and cuts and is found in this Lip Balm and the Body Butter.  St. John’s Wort, Lavender & Vanilla Body Butter, is a waterless formula offering a rich soft butter made with moisturising ingredients like mango and organic cocoa butters, sunflower oil, and lavender essential oil. When these four ingredients are combined, they help hydrate, calm irritated skin and reduce signs of ageing.  Sunflower oil, in particular, offers excellent protection from sun damage and also rejuvenates the skin cells. The fragrance is bright and relaxing lavender; not only does it smell good, but it has many added benefits like reducing dark spots, acne, and inflammation. When we used this body butter, if left skin softly scented and supple. The St John’s Wort oil infusion is another ingredient found in both the balm and butter. It has anti-ageing and antiseptic properties that aid dry, itchy or irritated skin. There’s no better way to complete this set than with the Relaxing Lavender Soap with Pink Himalayan Rock Salt. This soap is a hand, face, and body soap made with coconut oil, olive oil, shea butter, sunflower oil, and English lavender. But for us, the winning ingredient to this soap is the pink Himalayan rock salt which exfoliates the skin and massages the body. We found this bar so calming to use; it aids restful sleep, soothes skin irritations, and eases muscle tensions. Our favourite of the trio? A hard choice, as we liked all three; however, as we love body butters, so the luxurious St. John’s Wort, Lavender & Vanilla Body Butter probably had a little more sway! If you’re looking for an environmentally aware, sustainable and health-conscious skincare brand, ORKA Naturals will be for you. It’s an upcoming skincare brand that honours ancient formulas by using only vegan ingredients with wild or organic herbs. To purchase this Lavender & Vanilla Trio of cruelty-free and vegan products, see their online shop here for £22.30.

Zuzka Natural Beauty: Rose Petal Cleansing Milk

When we did a poll at The Amazing Blog on how we cleanse our faces, it seems that some of us like to use a face wash in the morning and then a cleansing milk in the evening to remove makeup and city grime efficiently. We haven’t featured a cleansing milk for a while, so today, we’re featuring a newly discovered brand  Zuzka Natural Beauty and their Rose Petal Cleansing Milk that promises to melt away daily dirt either with damp cotton wool or warm water.

Zuzka Natural Beauty is a UK botanical and vegan skincare company. All products are formulated by the founder Susan Kohutova herself, a medical herbalist and beauty specialist with over 30 years standing. The inspiration for the brand name Zuzka comes from Slovakian for the founder’s name, Susan.  Working with multiple luxury cosmetic brands as a consultant or therapist has helped Kohtutova gain invaluable experience, enabling her to create her own beauty brand, where she shows a passion and understanding for nature and organic ingredients. As a medical herbalist, wherever possible she always tries to use organic botanicals in her skincare, with the idea of making them suitable for all skin types. Apart from the skincare, there are also mineral makeup and hair products, through to grooming products for men. Zuzka specialises in anti-ageing solutions and products to help acne-prone, oily, sensitive, or dry skin types. The products are also cruelty-free with zero animal ingredients and sustainably packaged with recyclable materials, which are mainly in aluminium bottles that have been described as having ‘the look of being functional, practical and purist.’ For the ingredients, they use organic herbs, plants, and flowers, all free from pesticides, chemicals, and synthetic ingredients like mineral oils and artificial fragrance. The brand recently won Lux Life Health Beauty and Wellness Award in 2020, for Best Botanical Cosmetic Company. Not only does Kohutova have a beauty brand, but she has also founded The Zuzka salon in Dorset, where clients can enjoy a peaceful beauty treatment and explore her botanical garden, where Zuzka herbs and plants are grown to use in their products. 

This Rose Petal Cleansing Milk conditions skins whilst removing all traces of makeup and grime. This cleanser has a thick milky consistently, leaving skin looking healthy and radiant while still cleansing and soothing even the most delicate or sensitive of skins. The cleanser contains absolutely no water and is oil-based, which helps retain and maintain your skin’s natural oils rather than dry out your face. It can be used on all skin types. The key ingredients to this product are organic rose essential oil infusion that is great for mature and sensitive skin. This cleansing milk also has whole aloe vera leaf that helps soothe and calm; and rosehip oil to reduces inflammation and gently exfoliate. The formula combines oils that include frankincense, organic beeswax, kokum butter, sunflower seed oil, borage seed oil, hemp seed oil, comfrey oil, hydra oats and many, many more. These natural oils are beneficial for hydrating and healing normal-to-dry mature skin.

The completely natural, light floral fragrance is refreshing, and the cleanser is soothing and easy to apply with its uplifting rose fragrance. It feels luxurious; in the evening, we simply massaged a small amount over the face and neck in a circular motion and wiped away with damp cotton wool (especially around the eye area). We found it brilliant for removing stubborn makeup as it worked deeply into the pores to remove any impurities, which helped balance and brighten skin. As we always say, ‘simplicity is best’, and this natural and organic cleansing milk delivers precisely what it promises as ‘A skin conditioning cleanser and makeup remover’. It is a super-gentle cleanser that left skin soft, hydrated and clean.  If you have sensitive, dry or mature skin, then we think this luxurious cleansing milk is a must to add to your skincare routine. To purchase the 150ml Rose Petal Cleansing Milk for £20, see here.

Holistic Highland Hemp: Organic Acacia Hemp Honey

On The Amazing Blog, we love to search out lots of new and different products that incorporate CBD, due to all the good benefits that it offers.  Today we’d like to introduce Organic Acacia Honey here which has been blended with a full-spectrum hemp paste extract, which has cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids from Holistic Highland Hemp.

Holistic Highland Hemp is one of Scotland's leading suppliers of full-spectrum CBD oils, capsules, pastes, chocolates and honey. Founded by Kyle Esplin in 2012, Holistic Highland Hemp is a member of the Scottish Hemp Association (where Esplin in chairman), their aim is to work with all hemp and CBD providers, to help support the growth and development of the industry. Esplin started Holistic Highland Hemp after an illness caused him to turn to natural alternatives when conventional medications failed to treat and bring relief to his condition. Esplin now works with clients looking to optimise their health and wellbeing through natural methods, such as CBD. Esplin is passionate about sharing his knowledge and experience to help others take a more holistic approach to self-care and self-improvement. Holistic Highland Hemp prides itself on the integrity of their CBD which they put into their products. Esplin said, "All of our CBD products are regularly tested to the highest quality laboratory standards, allowing us to make sure we offer only the highest-grade CBD." This is an award-winning brand where in 2019 they won a Silver in the category of ‘Best Edibles’ at the Hemp & CBD Expo. All products compliant with the UK regulations and contain less than 0.01% of THC. 

Organic Acacia CBD Honey is blended with Holistic Highland's hemp paste, where both ingredients are sourced from the EU, but all blending, branding and packaging is done in Scotland. The mixing of the raw honey and the 8% full-spectrum (CBD) hemp extract is combined at low temperatures in order to help preserve the benefits of both the CBD and raw honey.  Full-spectrum CBD, we often talked about previously, with all for all it’s glorious cannabinoids that not only help to alleviate anxiety but can offer pain relief too. Honey itself is antibacterial and anti-fungal agent, a powerful prebiotic rich in antioxidants, and can even help to reduce bad LDL cholesterol. We tried the Hemp Honey with 250g of CBD (which has 1mg of CBD per gram of honey). The choice of an acacia honey here stems from its light and sweet taste, which complements the strong savoury hemp extract flavour. This Hemp Honey is intended to be taken straight and is particularly good for those who find the hemp extract's flavour alone too strong and earthy. It's versatile and easy to use, where you can simply spoon it straight from the jar. However, during this hot weather, we found it blended beautifully with vinegar, olive oil, and mustard as a simple salad dressing, or it paired rather well with toasted dark rye bread with lashings of butter! Watch this space, as Holistic Highland Hemp tells us that they hope to introduce Scottish honey soon to help reduce their carbon footprint. The 250ml Hemp Honey is available to purchase here in two CBD strengths: 25mg for £10.99, and a 250mg option available for £29.99. 

Choate BODY: The Trio Set

Everyone has their own individual skincare needs, and trying to find one product that works for all can be a bit of a challenge. Today on The Amazing Blog, we’re featuring The Trio Set from Choate BODY that offers mix and match sets from their organic skincare range.

Choate BODY is a US-based organic skincare brand, that was created in 2017 when its founder Rhandi Foster, couldn’t find the right products to help manage her eczema, dry and sensitive skin. Choate BODY produces products that are handcrafted with only organic ingredients and are primarily aimed at those with problematic skin. Foster aims to “encourage self-acceptance, which is something we all have to work through to be the best version of ourselves. We aim to help you see that you are enough even on your worst day and to remind you that good things can come from a bad situation, in my case, bad skin. We’re in this together.“  Based on her personal experience, Choate BODY has designed and created a different collection to suit each skin type.  They offer four main collections, which include several different products. The Restore for anti-ageing provides anti-ageing products while also being suitable for combination skin. The Calm for dry skin contains products that are crafted specifically for dry, sensitive skin. The Clarity for oily skin focuses on oily skin and the unique needs for this skin type. The Balance for acne, as it states is for acne-prone skin. Each collection details the specific, natural ingredients that provide the best solution and tailored the skin type need. Products are handmade in small batches with a brand mission to ‘soothe and smooth’, providing the freshest and cleanest ingredients for their products. Apart from the skincare and grooming products, they also have candles, clothing and accessories.

Choate BODY sent us one of these four options from The Trio Set, which was ‘Clarity’ for an oily skin. Each one of The Trio Sets, includes a Smooth Body Butter for hydration, the Matcha Peppermint Facial Cleanser, and a face and body scrub specific to the individual’s skin type.  The two products which are  always included in each of The Trio Sets are the Matcha Peppermint Facial Cleanser designed to relieve inflammation and balance your skin’s oils and pH levels. Combined with its antioxidants, this cleanser will naturally soothe the skin while ridding it of free radicals. The Smooth Body Butter  is a daily hydrating moisturiser that aims to soothe itchy, dry skin. This offers a protective layer of healing moisture for soft skin by utilising raw butters, organic oils and chamomile to help with eczema and psoriasis.  With the Clarity option, the specific face and body scrub included is the No.1 Lemongrass Eucalyptus Face and Body scrub which is made with brown sugar, matcha green tea, honey, turmeric, french green clay, lemongrass and eucalyptus essential oils. The primary focus of this scrub is to reduce blemishes and remove dead skin. Again, It is packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, and helps balance oil production while brightening and balancing the skin tone. 

Apart from the Clarity  that was sent to us. The other three options to choose from here in this collection are Balance for acne with the No.2 Tea Tree Sea Moss Face and Body Scrub scientifically formulated with tea tree oil, Irish sea moss, activated charcoal, honey and turmeric to lift dirt, oil and dead skin that clog pores. These ingredients also work to reduce inflammation and minimise the appearance of scarring whilst also soothing the skin.  Calm for dry skin has the No.4 Lavender and Honey Face and body scrub with raw honey, chamomile, burdock root and lavender oil to help calm inflammation from dry, itchy skin. The combination of the light and delicate scent of lavender will leave you feeling relaxed and calm while restoring moisture, exfoliating, ridding dead skin cells, dirt, oil and rough skin. And last but not least is the  Restore for anti-ageing with the No.3 Patchouli Hibiscus face and body scrub which provides a rejuvenating experience using a blend of pure patchouli and hibiscus flowers, this scrub will rid dead skin, dirt and oil that clog the pores, it will also helps regenerate new skin cells and restore elasticity naturally to help minimise the appearance of wrinkles.  What we like about The Trio Set is its natural ingredients, and their ability to mix and match, enabling us to get the products to suits our different skin types. All Choate BODY products are available here and The Trio Sets are available for purchase here for $77. Either through one-time payment options or a subscription-based purchase option, saving you an initial 15% off your first order and 10% off on all remaining orders.

Inlight Beauty : Skin Aid Kit

With the lifting of travel restrictions, at The Amazing Blog, it's a toss-up between a week's campervan tour around the Yorkshire Dales (as the seasides' will be heaving!) Or perhaps a quick flight to one of the 'green list' destinations. This is where one of our favourite go-to skincare brands, Inlight Beauty, have recently launched a compact Skin Aid Kit ready to take care of any skin related emergency, that will fit neatly into our hand luggage or rucksack.

Inlight Beauty started in 2007, and is an established UK luxury organic skincare brand based in Cornwall. Their founder and formulator is Dr Mariano Spiezia, a medical doctor, clinical herbalist and homoeopath. He combines orthodox medicine with the power of nature, and has been working for over 30 years using science, alchemy and wellness, to create these organic products. Dr Mariano Spiezia is considered the father of the organic beauty movement in Britain; indeed, Inlight Beauty was the first UK beauty brand to receive the Cosmos Organic Certification and are still the only UK brand to be certified across the whole range. The brand uses only the finest 100% organic and genuinely natural products which are ethically sourced. This award-winning brand's products are all handcrafted in Cornwall, from crushing and mixing the ingredients to pressing, filling and packing. Their ethos focuses on organic, plant-based and cruelty-free ingredients free from synthetic as SLS, parabens, phthalate, alcohol and palm oil; plus, all packaging is mainly recycled and recyclable. The brand uses only clean, green and renewable power because sustainability is very much at the brand's heart. Every formula is water-free, where they offer a wide range of products for the face, hair and body with oils, masks, creams, serums, butters and balms. Each Inlight product contains a Bio Lipophilic Matrix®. This Matrix has been the result of years of Dr Spiezia's research. The Matrix combines science and alchemy using pure organic/cold-pressed plant oils for impressive results. These super concentrated oils are energised using a patented technique where science meets alchemy to heighten the oils' vital force.

 We have written about several of their products here and were thrilled to receive their newly launched Skin Aid Kit which consists of five 7ml pots of their popular balms, in a sustainable organic cotton zip-up bag, which are suitable for all the family. Here are the benefits of each balm:

The first one is Calendula and Damask Rose Soothing Balm,  was a clear Winner in Wellbeing Awards at The Beauty Shortlist in 2019. It is for soothing delicate, red or sore skin and suitable for all skin type and ages, including baby skin! The main benefits of this balm are for calming, protecting and moisturising. It is safe for mums and babies and can be used on sore nipples if breastfeeding and for the baby's nappy rash. The key ingredients are calendula, which has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits and commonly used for soothing skin conditions such as acne, psoriasis and eczema. Damask rose oil is also one of the star ingredients here, which has regenerative and antioxidant properties. Another ingredient is plantain, which contains bioactive compounds – such as allantoin – which provide its properties whi,ch are antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, helping to soften and hydrate the skin. It's also combined with evening primrose oil which reduces skin inflammation, allows the skin to retain moisture.  We used this balm as a hand balm for healing dry and sore hands – from too much hand washing!

The Propolis and Tea Tree Rescue Balm is for break-outs and acne-prone skin. As with the other balms, is it oil-based, which means there is no water in the formula. The star ingredients for this are propolis, tea tree and Frankincense. Propolis comes from the bees; it is a natural substance that helps acne thanks to its healing properties. Tea tree reduces itching and irritation and also has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. Frankincense is made from the resin of a tree (the boswellia tree), ideal for aiding sunburn, rosacea with its anti-inflammatory properties. Thanks to these organic ingredients and that of neem oil, this balm also has potent antibacterial to add to the mix and suits all skin types, including sensitive ones. This is truly a skin rescue balm that can assist with break-outs and any problem-prone skin. We found it particularly good when we put a tiny bit on an areas of skin irritation, which stopped any blemishes from developing.

The Rosemary and Hypericum Recovery Balm is designed to help ease joints and muscles soreness from over-exertion. The key ingredients are rosemary, hypericum (St John's wort) and ginger. Both the rosemary and hypericum, amongst their many benefits, have anti-inflammatory compounds, which are thought to help boost the immune system and improve blood circulation and help relieve joint pain.  The ginger is also used for relieving joint pain; its warming on the skin is an excellent anti-inflammatory and has the added bonus of boosting overall immunity. We used a little on calves and knees after exercise to ease any anticipated stiffness. 

The Turmeric and Calendula Relief Balm is yet another Winner in the Wellbeing Awards at The Beauty Shortlist in 2019. It is handy for dry, red and itchy skin; it can also help those prone to eczema, dermatitis or psoriasis skin. The balm contains powerful nourishing ingredients like olive, castor and black cumin oils. When combined with skin conditioners like calendula, turmeric, plantain, chickweed and mallow, they offer an unbeatable blend of skin conditioning properties. There is no suggested application frequency; it is to use as and when the skin needs it. We found this invaluable for helping to calm an eczema break out.

Finally, there is the Arnica and Hyssop Trauma Balm for bruised, sore and swollen skin. The balm promotes recovery for any knocks, bumps or bruises, thanks to the star ingredients of: Arnica, hypericum, (St John's wort), hyssop and meadowsweet. Arnica has been used for centuries to help speed up recovery from bruises and swelling. Hypericum and hyssop have anti-inflammatory properties, and are suitable for healing minor burns, small cuts, or even frostbite. And meadowsweet is a flowering herb of the rose family; its antibacterial properties are often used to reduce redness, itchiness, and rashes. This balm will help skin recovers from and knock, bangs or minor skin traumas. Thankfully, we've not had to put this to the test, but have it on hand for when we do! All balms are formulated with sensitive and problem skin in mind, you too can purchase this brilliant topical 'first aid' with the Skin Aid Kit here for £37.