SKN-RG – Waterless Intensive Repair: Cleansing Ritual Daily Detox Cleanser & Night Therapy Oil

Our regular readers will know that at The Amazing Blog we’re fans of the organic vegan performance skincare brand SKN-RG, (you can read our recent feature on their Alpha Serum here). Today we want to talk about their range of  'Waterless Intensive Repair’ which features six products that are not only made with 100% natural and organic ingredients, but the packaging is composed of eco-friendly compostable bamboo, this separates from the other glass parts, making it all ready for recycling! The two products that they kindly sent to us to try were their Cleansing Ritual Daily Detox Cleanser and the Night Therapy Oil.

Winners of Beauty Shortlist’s 2019 Mama & Baby Awards with their Cleansing Ritual Daily Detox Cleanser this balm-like formula caught our eye. They say that this range is ‘no fuss, no mixing and plastic-free’ and we couldn’t agree more. This cleanser features key organic ingredients such as eucalyptus, safflower, babassu; together with hops, copaiba and astragalus which tackle breakouts, spots, oily skin and blackheads, all without drying out the skin. It has herbal adaptogens which are enhanced and energised by SKN-RG's award-winning method of extraction the Quanta® Wave Technology which is used for all of their products. The adaptogens help the body to resist stress whether physical, chemical or biological, enabling the skin to adjust, rejuvenate and restore. To apply, work a 2 pence sized dollop of the balm into the palms to activate, then massage over the face and rinse with a warm damp washcloth. The 30ml Cleansing Ritual Daily Detox Cleanser can be purchased here.

SKN-RG's Night Therapy Face Oil is designed to calm, soothe and de-stress and also aid in a restful night's sleep. With key ingredients such as macadamia nut, ylang ylang and blue chamomile; these lead to feeling skin rejuvenated when you awake. This oil provides deep overnight moisture while lifting, firming and fighting blemishes. This weightless, quick-absorbing oil can be used day or night, we suggest applying it before bedtime after washing your face with SKN-RG's Cleansing Ritual Cleanser. We think that this Face Oil is money well spent at £49.50 for 30ml, it can be purchased here. 

We applaud SKN-RG for their innovation helping to lessen the carbon footprint with their solar and green chemistry. They also continuously strive to look for alternatives like plastic or animal-free products, particularly with their packaging, which is approved by both the Soil Association and the Vegan Society. We’ll be reviewing more soon.

Gloh - Beauty Powder

What’s the secret to achieving glowing skin? We think a good place to start is from the inside out and here at The Amazing Blog, we love skincare that is made simple. Meet  Gloh who have a Beauty Powder targeted to bridge the gap between skincare and supplements, and which aims to help maintain a youthful appearance.

Gloh is a new Scottish supplement brand launching with its hero product ‘Beauty Powder’; which in simple terms, is a drinkable skincare product. ‘Gloh’ is an interesting play on words, promising to give a ‘glow’ and to be a real game-changer for anyone wanting to up their skincare regime. It’s a powder that comes individually wrapped in branded paper sachets, all presented in comment-worthy and elegantly styled peachy-pink box, making it very pleasing to the eye. This digestible skincare has key ingredients of hydrolysed marine collagen peptides (therefore not suitable for those who have fish allergies) and hyaluronic acid. The other goodies included are vitamins like B7 (D Biotin), B2 (riboflavin) B12 (cyanocobalamin), B6 (pyridoxine) and A (retinol). These combine with citric acid, natural peach aroma, beta-carotene and steviol glycosides. 

As regular readers will know we’re fans of all things collagen, not only for our skin but also for our joints and bone function; so this product certainly piqued our interest. Gloh claims to have ingredients to support the skin giving it an appearance of being more firm and plump with a collagen boost that hydrates and supports cell health. To start, mix one packet daily into a glass of water, it tastes like sugary peach water and can be drunk alone or added to juices and smoothies. We experimented by adding this packet to a plant-based banana smoothie which gave an added burst of fruit. It doesn’t matter if your skin is oily or dry, the powder is ideal for all skin types. The Gloh box contains 28 sachets for a 28-day supply. Suitable for almost everyone (with the exceptions in FAQ here ) and yes we’d recommend this, although with only a 28 day supply to try, it’s difficult to say if we saw a difference. We think that you probably need three months-worth of the product to see proper results.  Why not treat yourself and get your skin ‘Gloh-ing’, available here for £24.99. If you hurry, as of today they have 20% discount!

SOS - SPF 50 Sun Serum

Despite only being allowed outside our homes for a limited amount of time, at The Amazing Blog we know how important it is to protect skin from the dangers of the sun. Today we're talking about SOS SPF 50 Sun Serum where they use only simple, effective non-irritating and simple ingredients. Regular readers may remember that we wrote about their hero product the gentle cooling and repairing SOS Serum here.

Scientist and chemist, Bruce Green founded SOS Serum and has contributed to the formulations of many cosmetic brands in the UK & North America, and he also sits on several EU advisory committees. With a long dedication to the skincare industry, although he is now semi-retired, his fascination with skincare still continues, particularly with his understanding of skin sensitivity which is a common problem for most people. Which is why he set out to focus and create on his own range of skincare with this issue in mind. All of the SOS products are made in the UK and are cruelty-free and vegan.  

Based on science, this unique SOS SPF50 Serum formula is significantly higher with the SPF and has fewer ingredients than its rivals. Not forgetting to mention that in our experience it's hard to find a high SPF sunscreen that is designed for all skin types, including extremely sensitive or eczema-prone. This is where SOS SPF 50 steps in, it’s made primarily with a combination of mineral-based filters (zinc oxide & titanium dioxide) and plant stem cells, which protect the skin from the harmful rays. With its key active ingredients such as soybean stem cells to help reduce wrinkles and increase the skin's firmness and vitamin E to soothes and calms, these two essential ingredients attack free radicals on the skin, whilst protecting skin from further sun damage. 

SOS SPF 50 Serum has a non-greasy and white-free application suitable for the face or body and all ages (including children), the product is also fragrance-free, without parabens, SLS, or mineral oil. Sun protection isn't the only benefit; with the moisturising hyaluronic acid (vegetable - low molecularweight) it can help eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, bites, wind-chapped and sun-damaged skin or allergic flare-ups. The product blends directly onto the skin and without a trace and with the leaf extracts combined with peppermint provide immediate relief upon application.  We recommend using this product in the morning for day-long protection, it's easy to use and perfect for providing good moisturising relief. The retail price for the 50ml serum is £15.00 and found here. 

There are three other products in this line such as the SOS H2O Day Serum with anti-ageing properties, the SOS Protect a broad spectrum hand sanitiser and SOS Serum (which we previously reviewed) for skin repair.

Berrichi - Day Age Defence & Night Power Defence

We think it’s important to use different types of skincare for day and night and at The Amazing Blog, we’ve discovered a great natural skincare brand Berrichi with their Day Age Defence and Night Power Age Defence, both of which contain very special extracts from green and red microalgae. Berrichi firmly believes in the philosophy that clean and natural is best for the skin, which is a philosophy that we can certainly get behind!

Berrichi is a brand that hails all the way from Estonia, it was founded by Berit Joosep, whose struggle with dry skin and inflammation prompted her to look for natural alternatives. Thus Berrichi was born where it started life made small batches in Joosep’s kitchen, where she drew inspiration from books on herbal culture and ancient beauty techniques. Today Berrichi is a multi-award-winning skincare brand, exporting globally and recognised for leading the way with ‘clean beauty’ and its unique botanicals.

The two products that we reviewed were their Day Age and Night Power Defence creams, both which are recommended to be used together. They feature some of nature’s strongest antioxidants, with their unique microalgae-based astaxanthine an extract derived from the green algae haematococcus pluvialis, the carotenoids contained in the astaxanthin protects the cells from free radicals (a natural antioxidant 500 x more powerful than vitamin E. and 800 x more effective than CoQ10). The red algae furcellaria which is found in the Baltic sea is a strong neutraliser of free radicals, anti-pollution and removes toxins. These are blended with other ingredients of cacay, avocado, apricot, jojoba and kukui oils, all of which help the skin to bloom. You may be questioning the ingredient of algae; well we learned that it has long been a hero ingredient for centuries in Asian beauty with its moisturising, calming and anti-ageing properties. This powerful combination of botanical ingredients penetrates the dermis to give the skin an even texture, aiding skin tone and supporting elasticity and immunity.

Let’s begin with The Day Age Difference, which won Editor’s Choice at The Beauty Shortlist Awards in 2018. It offers 24-hour hydration for a soft, youthful glow while calming irritated, inflamed or hypoallergic skin. The Day Cream is light and absorbs quickly, making it ideal to use alone or as a makeup base. It retails for 36€ for 50 ml here.  Then there is The Night Power Defence, which has a thicker formulation for slower, deeper overnight absorption. The Night Power Defence cream provides deep nourishment, hydration and regeneration, leaving the skin firm and balanced. It helps to slow down the signs of ageing while improving collagen production and the removal of toxins. It can be purchased for 39€ for 50ml here.  

Both products are free from parabens, sulphates and vegan, organic and cruelty-free. We think that they make a perfect combination for city living protecting us from pollution, whilst also delivering long-lasting hydration. Keep an eye out for Simon’s review of their Smoothing Age Defence which will appear shortly. We can’t wait to try more from Berrichi and they certainly get the thumbs up from us!

Jinmee - Hydrapuff

Have you found yourself with more product on your hands than on your actual face? At The Amazing Blog we certainly have, and it’s just such a waste! Meet Jinmee who have pioneered a new way of thinking about cleansing with something sustainable, practical, and high quality. They have developed a product called Hydrapuff, the new super absorbent skincare sheets.

Founded by Karen Hong and produced in Korea, Jinmee was created when she realised the amount of product wasted on hands or cotton pads particularly as these thick pads soak up more product than it is actually applying to your skin.  She came up with these clever Hydrapuff sheets which are super thin and multi-purpose. They hydrate the skin, maximise product use, reduce waste, she came up with the Hydrapuff, as an affordable and high-quality product that works through simplicity, honesty, and self-care.

Hydrapuff are super-absorbent skincare sheets that come in a double-layered sheet. For the first step of your routine, keep your Hydrapuff intact, folded in half to give it extra thickness, it can be used with all your favourite skincare products. These sheets not only hydrate the skin but also as mentioned reduce the wastage. Once you add a skincare product to a sheet, it transforms into a gel-like tissue that adapts to your skin, which means applying the entire product onto your skin, not on the cottonwool or bin! You can apply your choice of toner, cream cleanser or oils, start by cleansing your face with the Hydrapuff sheet and your chosen product, and then gently wipe away your makeup or daily grim. Hydrapuff can also serve as a mask, by applying a serum or product onto the sheet and split the Hydrapuff in the middle. Then, place with your product on cheeks or the desired area allowing it to sit for 5 to 10 minutes (remove them before they get dry), pat your skin gently and done!

Hydrapuff is suitable for all skin types, made from a natural rayon and pulp blend with 60 sheets in a box. The sheets are vegan, cruelty-free, bio-degradable with recyclable packaging,  making them tick all the boxes and getting the thumbs up from us. We loved this multifunctional product which has saved us up to 50% less waste with our serums, cleansers and toners. Get your Hydrapuff here for only £6.50.