Vedic Essentials: GoodNight Food Supplement

Here is a question for you; how are you sleeping at the moment? With the global pandemic 2020 has been a year of uncertainly and we’re all feeling very sleep-challenged! Because we value our beauty sleep, here at The Amazing Blog, we’ve been searching for calm amongst the chaos and trying out a new remedy, meet Vedic Essential with their GoodNight Food Supplement.

Vedic Essentials is a new brand established in 2019 here in the UK, with their main focus around the ancient practice of Ayurvedic medicine, which has been used for over 3000 years in India. Vedic Essentials continue this Ayurvedic legacy but with a bit of a twist, as they infuse it with modern science too. They believe that ‘without health, nothing else matters’ and instead of letting someone else take control of your well-being, it metaphorically speaking puts you behind the wheel with their supplements. They specialise in producing high-quality supplements and remedies, and unlike modern medicine, they focus on the body’s power to heal itself using natural ingredients and herbs. In the practice of this Ayurveda, there is order and disorder in nature and the body. Therefore, good health is considered as order, and a disease is a disorder. Thus, to help maintain this balance in the body, Ayurveda focuses on the mind, body and consciousness to get them to work in harmony to maintain a balance. 

We were excited to receive their GoodNight Food Supplement that we are going to be talking about today, which we subsequently learned have been flying off the shelves! These capsules have a blend of six key natural ingredients. First, we have chamomile known for its ability to reduce anxiety and stress, therefore promoting better sleep. Chamomile has long been recognised for its calming properties. Then there is soothing blend in the ashwagandha one of the most important herbs in Ayurveda, apart from helping the body manage stress and anxiety, it is probably best known for fighting insomnia and stimulating the brain against depression. The reishi mushroom here is to boost the immune function and help with fatigue. Schisandra berry is proven to reduce cortisol levels in the body (the stress hormone) and is effective in controlling changes in serotonin and adrenaline providing you with a goodnight's sleep. The fifth element in this blend is the Maca which will improve your mental well-being and mood, and finally, there is Hops extract, which promotes a better sleep cycle. Besides these six key ingredients, this GoodNight supplement is rich in 5-HTP derived from griffonia, which has been proven to increase the feel-good hormone serotonin and is a naturally occurring amino acid that induces a calming effect on the brain. There’s magnesium, known for its ability to relax the mind and contribute to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. Last but not least, it contains vitamin B6, which helps in maintaining a positive and relaxed mood. 

We took one capsule in between supper and bedtime, the effect was gradual where it took about three or four days to kick in and have an optimum effect, quietening the mind and offering a better quality of sleep. We’d recommend these as an excellent aid to help the body and mind regulate and rebalancing itself, this GoodNight Food Supplement is suitable for vegans are gluten-free and non-GMO, and you can find them here for £17.99.

H Drop - CBD Oil : Calm After Storm & Sixty Breaths

It’s no secret that we’re big fans of taking CBD oil, particularly during these uncertain times. It’s something at The Amazing Blog we take on a regular basis for an improved mood and enhanced sleep quality. CBD interacts with the serotonin receptors (these play a role in regulating our mood) and are thought to help promote a more positive mental state and a healthy functioning nervous system. As we always like to support small indie brands, today we’d like to introduce you to a new launch, the Dutch company H Drop. What makes them different to other CBD companies is that they have perfected the art of creating Full-Spectrum CBD ingestible oils without THC.  I know, that this sounds like a contradiction in terms, however, please keep reading. 

The H Drop story started the 19th century when Rochus Sliupas started his medical practice fighting cholera and tuberculosis outbreaks. Today, his great-grandson, also Rochus Sliupas, continues the family mission working in the wellbeing sector. Their organic hemp is sourced from European fields and extracted in German/UK labs with an ISO 9001 certification and manufactured in accordance with the HACCP guidelines. This means that they comply with the strictest standards of processing raw materials, quality control, packaging and distribution of the products. H Drop has a range of three CBD products Joys of Spring,  Calm After The Storm and the capsules Sixty Breaths. They even have a CBD dosage calculator if you’re unsure of the amount to take. 

So, let’s talk about their Full-Spectrum THC-free… Confused? We were… we will try to explain, Broad Spectrum (which is always THC-free), is made by mixing only few selected cannabinoid isolates and a very limited number of the beneficial hemp components. Whereas H Drop has perfected one of the most advanced extraction methods with CO2 chromatography technology, which is one of Europe's first! The CO2 extraction means that the CBD is a raw oil and not extracted at high temperatures, ensuring that the enhancing properties of the plant are not damaged. This method also allows them to detect and carefully remove 99.9% of THC molecules from the naturally extracted Full-Spectrum oil. Therefore, leaving this H Drop extract still containing all the beneficial cannabinoids (CBN, CBV, CBG, CBC), terpenes and flavonoids which are found in hemp flowers, except for the intoxicating THC. You can also see their laboratory results here. Got it?

H Drop sent us Sixty Breaths and Calm After the Storm CBD oil in Natural and Orange flavours. Before embarking on your CBD journey, we highly recommend starting with their CBD dosage calculator, as an example, putting in weight at 60 kg it then gives you a choice of the effect desired: Mild, moderate or strong. With this specified weight factored in, the dosage can vary from 15mg – 45mg per day. They also recommend dividing the dosage throughout the day, starting low and gradually increasing it if needed. The ideal dose of CBD will depend on many factors like weight, body chemistry and the condition you’re treating. They suggest not exceeding more than 200mg of CBD per day and if you’re currently taking medication, always consult with your doctor first.

Sixty Breaths are ingestible CBD oil capsules an excellent choice for the novice as the CO2 extraction raw oil can sometimes leave a strong, bitter or earthy taste, which can be most off-putting to the uninitiated. This raw CBD oil is suitable for pain relief as well as mood enhancement and has an increased entourage effect with all the plant nutrients. These capsules are made from organic hemp oil which has the added bonus of omega 3, 6 and vitamin E. The dosage again depends on your weight, it could vary from 2 to 5 capsules per day. These were perfect for the CBD newbie in the office who at 10mg of CBD per capsule, per 25kg of weight took 3 capsules morning, noon and night. The bottle contains 60 capsules (600mg of CBD) which offer approximately 30 days supply for an average moderate serving. Next, we tried the liquid Full-Spectrum THC-free CBD oil that comes in a 10ml brown glass bottle and pipette, which has a much higher concentration at 15%. As mentioned, this Calm After The Storm comes in two flavours the Natural and Orange. I preferred the Natural to Orange, as I like the pure and natural taste of CBD and much to my surprise, this raw oil was smooth, mild and not at all bitter. I took 6 drops a day (45mg of CBD) spreading it throughout the day and increasing this at night with an extra 4 drops which took the level up to 75mg. This helped improve my sleep patterns, made me more relaxed and seemed to stop me waking with sudden anxiety attacks, which I’ve recently been more prone to. It contains exactly the same ingredients as the capsules but stronger, the 10ml bottle contains 1500mg of CBD. The verdict? For me, I would buy more as it had the desired effect of giving me a calm mind,so it’s become another of our #amazingfinds.  I quickly want to mention that we also loved the simple recycled cardboard packaging filled with hemp fibre. There’s a nice touch with Braille on the sides translating their motto of Hemp (fully organic), Help (GMP certified) and Health (CO2 extracted). To purchase your H Drop: Sixty Breaths 60 capsules for €65 see here and Calm After Storm 10ml bottle for €89 here.

Sanda – Rose & Cardamom Aromatherapy Eye Pillow

Sometimes with this ever-changing world in which we live, it’s hard to remember to stop, take a moment, be mindful and b-r-e-a-t-h-e. Today at The Amazing Blog we’re excited to introduce you to something new with the Sanda Aromatherapy Eye Pillow. These therapeutic and calming eye pillows focus on evoking feelings through their scent. The calming and uplifting scents produced help to relieve stress and anxiety, perfect for this #stayathome moment and their Aromatherapy Eye Pillows are also very eco-friendly. 

Jo Bennett, the founder and designer behind Sanda, started the company after working in the textile industry and becoming a certified yoga instructor. This is when she had a light-bulb moment, deciding to merge her two passions, thus creating her Aromatherapy Eye Pillow. Launched this year, Sanda Aromatherapy Eye Pillows serve as a reminder to everyone to take time out of their day to decompress. We love that they’re handmade here in the UK in 100% organic linen, dyed botanically and contain only natural plant ingredients. Let’s not forget to mention too that their eye pillow sleeve is made from 100% recycled paper with vegetable printed inks. While the Eye Pillows are her primary product, Sanda also sells tote bags to store your eye pillow in or take to yoga class. Based on your preference, the pillows can be heated or cooled. To use warm - put the pillow in the microwave and heat for 20-30 seconds, and to use cold- let it cool in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. The pillows come in seven different scents such as the uplifting Orange & Cinnamon, Pine & Sage or Eucalyptus & Peppermint; or a relaxing Rose & Chamomile, Lavender & Rose, or Lavender & Chamomile.

We were sent the calming Rose & Cardamom eye pillow, and love its delicious smell of roses, which soothes and helps relieve anxiety. The cardamom helps to calm and promote emotional balance – which is rather timely for us at the moment! Upon touch, the pillow is incredibly soft and made up of only three ingredients: Flaxseeds, rose and cardamom. The linen cover is naturally dyed with madder root to give it a beautiful pale pink. Together these perfectly contour to the face and around the eyes, thus relieving tension and aiding relaxation. The pillow also stimulates meditation and peaceful sleep. There are both cosmetic and health benefits with the cooling technique as it helps reduce headaches and puffy eyes. We recommend adding this eye pillow, to help your relaxation technique during your day. Visit the Sanda to choose from one of their seven heavenly scented eye pillows. Or you can buy the Rose & Cardamom Aromatherapy Eye Pillow here for £22.00.

2020 Mama & Baby Awards are now OPEN

Calling clean, green parent and baby brands! The 7th annual Beauty Shortlist Mama & Baby awards are now open for entries. But hurry – the final deadline is May 8.

The hotly anticipated Beauty Shortlist Mama & Baby awards are back to celebrate outstanding ethical products for parents, babies, toddlers and beyond. 

Right now parents are more plugged in than ever to global health concerns. So there’s never been a better time to shine a spotlight on cherishable essentials that beautifully nurture, pamper and protect our families.

“There’s huge demand among parents for products that meet high ethical standards with an ingredients list that’s as pure and natural as possible,” says awards founder Fiona Klonarides.

“However, well-meaning mums and dads can find it tough to navigate the category. We need to direct consumers away from the big non-natural ranges cluttering the shelves of high street chemists and towards the gentle, ethical, clean natural brands – big and small.

“We’re not looking at a brand’s advertising budget. We’re finding out if their products perform for the most discerning audience possible: parents and their kids.”

Brands can enter now here .

Find out who’s won on Friday 12 June

These awards provide The Beauty Shortlist's definitive run-down of top-ranked natural, organic and earth-friendly baby products, plus beauty and wellness for mums and parents.

Experts, consumers and editors trust the awards to highlight excellence and ethics through a proudly independent judging process. 

For 2020, the global panel includes: 

– UK Katie Hill, co-founder of green living magazine My Green Pod (distributed quarterly with The Guardian to six million eco conscious consumers). 

– USA Makeup artist (Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Teen Vogue) and wellness coach Denise del Russo. 

– AUSTRALIA Holly Spierings, creative director of award-winning make-up brand Eye of Horus. 

Looking for recommendations right away?

Here are three of our previous winners… 

1. Madara Organic Baby & Kids Cocoa and Plum Creamy Oil
Judges loved how the extra-creamy consistency makes massages feel soothing and special for everyone. Meanwhile the rich cocoa butter smoothes away dryness and nourishes soft and delicate skin.

2. Balmonds’ Skin Salvation
Natural balms are a positive boon for parents protecting against nappy rash. The beeswax base seals away the skin’s moisture while protecting against irritating dampness – making it a must for the baby bag.

3. Bloom and Blossom Matilda’s Miracle Detangler
A natural product that takes the fight out of bed-time or pre-school hair-brushing is a big win for parents. Judges admired the calming lavender scent and how it worked across all different types of hair (however tangled).

About the awards
Originally launched seven years ago by beauty writer and respected natural living expert Fiona Klonarides, the awards are a 100% independent guide to parent and baby products.

Each year they’re judged by a panel of unbiased industry experts with no sponsorship or advertising to sway their decisions. This unique, transparent approach with an intrinsic focus on “natural, eco and ethical” attracts entries from across the world – creating a uniquely level playing field for both big and small brands.

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.