Cheerful Buddha: Naturally Flavoured CBD Drops

As we at The Amazing PR  are fervent supporters of CBD, we thought we’d share with you some more THC-free products that we’ve recently tried. Taking CBD oil sublingually is one of our favourite ways to ingest it because it’s a fast and easy way for the body to absorb all the goodness. The Cheerful Buddha CBD drops that we’re featuring today, taste absolutely delicious with naturally flavoured Peppermint or Chocolate & Hazelnut. We had to keep reminding ourselves not to overdose!

Cheerful Buddha was recently founded in 2019, and is one of the few UK based CBD companies offering home produced, manufactured and tested products. The hemp is grown by one of the country’s rare Home Office licensed Sativa growers. The founder and CEO of the company, Claudia Marcela Guevara Gonzalez explained more about the brand in an interview for Natural Products online: “We have worked tirelessly to create a stylish and superior product that steps above the hippy stereotypes of the cannabis plant. Cheerful Buddha embodies the scientifically proven health and wellbeing benefits that CBD naturally brings.” Being able to spread positivity and promote feelings of well-being, and inner peace is what motivates Claudia, who by her own admission is a quite spiritual person who identifies with the Buddhist principles of peace, love, and positive existence. The brand carries a whole range of CBD-infused coffee, drops, and chocolates, so it’s easy to find a CBD product that suits. All of these are broad-spectrum and offer the entourage effect with their terpenes, flavonoids, and waxes, but THC free nevertheless. The cannabidiol is extracted through a high standard critical CO2 extraction and of course, to guarantee top quality and respect of dosage restrictions, all batches are third-party laboratory tested here in the UK, and the results are made available directly on Cheerful Buddha’s website here. The hemp-derived CBD oils are also all gluten-free, non-GMO, organic and lactose-free. We think that transparency is key when purchasing any CBD products.

In the Cheerful Buddha Naturally Flavoured CBD Drops, the carrier oil is MCT oil, which is the best carrier for cannabidiol, as it is sustainable – no deforestation required like that of palm oil. Also, more importantly, it allows faster absorption of the product and does not affect the amount of CBD ingested. This allows the body to fully benefit from the percentage of CBD present in the oil, which is about 500mg per 10ml bottle. These oils not only contain cannabinoids including CBD, CBN, CBL, and CBCVA, but also the aromatic cannabis terpenes like pinene and limonene. In addition, they contain a wide variety of other healthy constituents such as the vitamins B1, B2 and D, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, trace minerals zinc, calcium and magnesium. The best part is, that for those of you who want to benefit from CBD’s many positive effects but cannot stand the hemp taste, these drops are available both in Peppermint, and Chocolate & Hazelnut flavours. The flavours and sensations are different: The Chocolate & Hazelnut tastes chocolatey, sweet, well-rounded and absolutely de-li-cious! While the Peppermint one has a creamy smooth mild minty taste which leaves a freshness. Overall we found that these two oils did their job, and helped to take the edge off the day with their dose 500g of CBD in 10ml. We loved both but we’d have to say that we did have a preference for the yummy taste of the Chocolate & Hazelnut drops. Why not try these to help you find your inner calm with either of these two Naturally Flavoured CBD Drops which are available for £34.95 right here.

Setunea – Dead Sea Mud Body Wash & Honey Infusion Soap

Finding natural, clean and simple artisan soaps has been our recent mission at The Amazing Blog trying to declutter the bathroom and find good multitaskers. Today we’d like to introduce you to Setunea who use ingredients and methods dating back to the biblical times with their olive oil-based soaps and body washes. 

Founder of Setunea, Waleed Kamhieh was curious about how the market would receive sustainable, all-natural, and organic soaps. “Setunea was born out of an idea of introducing a centuries-old olive oil soap recipe to the modern consumer and try to meet the growing global demand for chemical-free organic products.” He decided to launch the brand at a Natural Products Global Exhibition in London during 2018. Seeing that their 100% chemical-free products were a hit, especially with people looking for sensitive skin-friendly products, they decided to carry on sharing the wonders of olive oil from Nablus, a city located between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal near the Dead Sea. This is where olive farming and manufacturing has been part of the local heritage for almost a millennium. All of Setunea’s products are sustainably farmed and manufactured, as the olive oil is directly sourced from family-run farms where products are handcrafted by a family business that has continuously produced olive oil soap since 1611. The pure extra-virgin, cold-pressed olive oil constitutes 80% of the soaps. This olive oil is packed with nutrients and super-antioxidants and the skin will never feel tight or dry after using a Setunea soap no matter how sensitive it is. And if it does, Setunea promises to refund you under 30 days. Best of all their products are vegan, cruelty-free and formulated without any other chemicals, and their packaging is made from recyclable paper-based materials.

Let’s start with the initial product that caught our eye their Dead Sea Mud Body Wash. A rare blend of Dead Sea mud and olive oil, this unique two-in-one cleanses and heals the skin. Dead Sea mud has been used for healing the skin since biblical times; it has an extraordinary calming result on highly sensitive and problem skin with conditions like psoriasis, eczema, or keratitis. This minimalist formula has only four ingredients: Olive oil, food-grade lye (soda), water, and Dead Sea mud. The salt minerals work together here with the purest olive oil to gently cleanse the body restoring the skin’s PH balance and effectively hydrating and fortifying the dermis. If you have trouble coping with one of the skin conditions (mentioned above), we recommend this as your next go-to gentle body wash. This formula comes in a recyclable plastic 250ml bottle. It has slightly vanilla/nutty fragrance and is a translucent pale brown-olive greenish and lathers up well. To use, put a small amount on damp skin and massage in, then rinse off. We found that our skin felt cleansed and incredibly soft after use - its another one of our #amazingfinds. This gentle 2-in-1 is available for purchase at 250ml with a price of £9.00 here.

The next product that we tried is from their traditionally hand-crafted collection of Natural Olive Oil Soap. The Honey Infusion Soap bar is also clean in composition with simple ingredients of olive oil, honey, coconut oil, glycerin, food-grade lye (soda), and water.  The making these soaps are by a century’s old method, where the saponification process takes place in a large heated vat where the olive oil, lye and water are carefully combined for several hours before the mixture is laid out on a horizontal surface in a flat layer. Once the soap is hard enough, individual squares are marked out, hand-cut by an artisan who then expertly carves out each bar of soap. Finally, the soap bars are stacked in drying towers. Because this manufacturing process includes drying the soaps for five months, the bars do not reduce or turn to mush like industrial soap bars – so well worth the extra price point! This lightly honey-scented soap lathers nicely on the skin, leaving it smooth and thoroughly hydrated, even several hours after drying. Like the Dead Sea Mud Body wash, this Honey Infusion soap bar is excellent for dry, damaged, and sensitive skins. Note that being a soap with a clean formula, it can be used for the whole body: hair, hands, and body wash, just like the full range of Setunea’s Natural Olive Oil Soap bars. It is 100g wrapped in recyclable packaging, where you can purchase this highly nourishing soap for £5.00 here or a choice of their two full collections of six bars for £25 here.

The Health & Beauty Botanical Handbook by Pip Waller

Now that we’re all working from home, at The Amazing Blog regular walks in the countryside and gardening have become even more precious, as we get back to nature and using our kitchens as never before.  Herbal lore and remedies have been used by humans over the centuries.  In London there are a number of wonderful apothecary’s gardens growing medicinal plants, The Chelsea Physic Garden is only a ten-minute walk for us and has over 5,000 different varieties of edible and medicinal plants.  We have found ourselves inspired by this Health and Beauty Botanical Handbook which is full of information and recipes.

The Health and Beauty Botanical Handbook is written by Pip Waller who is an experienced medical herbalist and plant spirit practitioner. She has taught at the Academy of Natural Health in London and was a clinical supervisor for the UK-based National Institute of Medical Herbalists Training Clinic.  Pip is also the author of Holistic Anatomy - An Integrative Guide to the Human Body (North Atlantic Books, 2011) and The Domestic Alchemist. She has successfully taught anatomy, physiology and pathology to students of natural medicine since 1991. Her teaching style, which is informal yet extremely informative, comes across well in this book.  Pip Waller shares her invaluable herbal know-how for natural wellbeing.

The book helps to turn the kitchen into a pharmacy providing plant-powered health and beauty recipes. From making tinctures and tonics to syrups and creams, this world-renowned herbalist shares over 350 recipes for pure well-being and holistic health.   An introduction to the power of plants is followed by growing tips and profiles; guidelines on how to set up your kitchen to make the recipes, and techniques for making everything from tinctures to tonics.  It starts with some information about herbs and making herbal recipes, then the recipes themselves and a herb dictionary. Although this book doesn't have any photographs, it's illustrated beautifully. Each recipe has a little blurb and there are extra notes and cautions throughout the book too. The ingredient dictionary at the end is helpful for anyone inexperienced in making herbal remedies. One of the best things about this book is that each recipe lists tell us how long it keeps for, and instructions on how to store, which is great for peace of mind so you know you're only consuming/using fresh and safe products. 

This book has inspired us to try out some of the recipes and read up about herbs and their healing properties.  This is the perfect time of year for the Soothing Sloe C Syrup as sloes are now in the hedgerows (the fruit of the blackthorn) this can help with bronchial conditions, colds, catarrh and inflammation of the throat.  The Weight Loss Spice Tea is also good to try with ginger, cardamom, turmeric and cayenne pepper to help burn fat. The Rosemary Vinegar Hair Rinse can be used in multiple ways, as a rinse to increase shine and restore the hair’s protective acid pH or as a drink to improve circulation.  Totally fitting into our way of life now. You too can buy the book a here from Quarto Books, the price is good value at £12.99. We think that this book is a great introduction to gaining a better understanding of plants and herbs and their uses.  Now we have it, we’ll be dipping into it as we go foraging! 

Gold Haircare: Metamorphyc Dream Shampoo & Come True Conditioner and Ten-in-One

In our never-ending search to find green and sustainable products (that also care for the planet) at The Amazing Blog we happily stumbled across this multi-award-winning professional haircare Gold Haircare that offers all of the above.  Although they are a salon-based professional haircare they supply the consumer too.

Gold Haircare is a Danish company created by hair specialists and founded in 2009 by Victor Moreno and Marco Merie. Both these two haircare professionals have challenged the professional hair industry by redefining the standards of haircare with their green credentials. This is a new generation of haircare designed for a luxury performance that also takes into consideration sustainability and caring for the planet. This is where Gold Haircare meets with the stringent environmental regulations in Denmark, a country known to be one of the most advanced in terms of green credentials and sustainability. All of the products are formulated to be cruelty-free, natural, with renewable and sustainable ingredients. There are certainly no parabens, ammonia, and Resorcinol (a toxin that is often found in hair dyes) or sulphates to be found here Gold Haircare is vegan and ISO 16128 certified which guarantees that all shampoos are formulated with at least 60% natural ingredients and their conditioners and masks are with a reassuring 90% too. Furthermore, the company is a member of PETA, and strongly supports two other environmental organisations: The Nature Conservancy and Oceana. In just ten years of trading, this brand has gained global recognition as one of the most innovative Danish haircare brands, and in the last couple of years, it has carved out space in the beauty and fashion sectors. This year, Gold Haircare competed in the Global Green Beauty Awards 2020 and were a Gold winner in the Best Hair Masque with their Luxury Hair Masque. Every year Gold Haircare organises their exclusive Gold Show, where the Gold international artistic teams from all around the world, meet to compete showcasing some of their artistic and cutting-edge hair designs. 

 The two of the three products we’re talking about are the GOLD Dream Shampoo and the GOLD Come True Conditioner, are from the Metamorphyc range. We note that these were also awarded at the Global Green Beauty Awards were these two products with Silver and Bronze in their respective categories. This range is designed to bring hair an innovative two-stage regenerating programme working together with their other products ‘healing bond’ and ‘vitamin miracle’. The key ingredients in this range are marula seed oil, porcelain flower, and purple orchid; which when combined help to boost strength and protect the natural structure of the hair. This collection is specifically designed to enhance inner hair strength with a coating of oils that help to lock in and ensure long-lasting colour. The gentle shampoo and conditioner here both have a pH of 5 and 4 where they intensely moisturise hair, scalp as well as protecting colour with its incorporated UV filter. The GOLD Come True Conditioner also gives control to curls together with moisturising and nourishing. To apply start with the shampoo, using a small amount on damp hair, massage then rinse away. Follow this directly with the Come True Conditioner which needs to be left in the hair for 3-4 minutes, then again rinsed away. We found that our hair felt incredibly soft and revitalised with a glamorous and healthy-looking sheen. It also left the hair smelling fresh with a subtle vanilla/floral scent. You can purchase the GOLD Dream Shampoo 250ml for £27.95 here and the GOLD Come True Conditioner 250ml for £30.95 here.

The third product that was kindly sent to us was the GOLD Ten In One. This spray is an all-in-one mist that can be used either on wet or dry hair, to untangle, control frizz or simply as a prep for a blow-dry. It has oils like sunflower and argan as well as hydrolysed wheat protein all of which offer a high concentration of omega-6 acids, vitamins A and E, and antioxidants to moisturise and protect the hair. We sprayed this on dry hair and found it to be a lightweight and perfect for achieving a velvety lustre that controlled static, all without weighing the hair down. To use on wet hair, spray from a 20cm, untangle the hair with a comb, style the hair, then blow-dry, straighten or let the hair dry naturally. Or on dry hair, apply on the palm, then gently apply from mid-length to the ends. We mustn’t forget to mention that this Ten In One was also awarded the Best Argan Product and is available for £24.95 here. We think that Gold Haircare products are perfect for anyone looking for high-performance luxury haircare with an environmental conscience.

Karmameju - HERO Age-Defence pH Solution 02

With the current cold weather, our skin at The Amazing Blog feels like it is continuously bombarded by external aggressors, plus with our regular use of disinfecting products and hand sanitisers doesn’t help! Bearing this in mind, we’ve been delving into highly active skincare to help protect our skin. This week, we had the opportunity to test out and learn about a rather unconventional product called HERO pH Solution 02 from Karmameju.

The Danish brand Karmameju is all about natural beauty, health and a positive attitude all of which means a great deal to its founder, Mette Skjærbæk. It is a brand based on results, quality, transparency - which we really appreciate - and respect for the human body, with a call for self-care. Her ten years spent in the fashion and beauty industries as a model, and ‘Bachelor of Science in natural health’ completed in New York, all inspired her to create her own skincare line in 1999. This is a brand based on natural ingredients but also provides tangible results, which she couldn’t find with other brands that she tried. A little over 20 years later, Karmameju carries a whole line of face, body, sun care, hair, fragrances and home spa accessories. For Mette, it’s key that her skincare products must act as ‘skin food’, nourishing skin with organic and highly active ingredients that can also be easily absorbed by the dermis. We’ve noticed that the brand is very candid about their ingredients and actives used, as well as their research process, which is quite refreshing! Karmameju uses natural plant extracts which act as efficient bio-actives combined with clinically proven high-performance dermatology approved ingredients. Thanks to smaller batches produced, the presence of preservatives, emulsifiers, and surfactants – which are still needed to stabilise a formula and help it perform – are greatly minimised. To ensure that the clients will have significatively visible effects using her products, they’re all tested in-vitro in their laboratories in Italy to measure effects like the moisture levels or collagen boosts are reached.

The HERO pH Solution 02  is a clear, serum-like liquid and a unique skincare product which they describe as, “an essential protective barrier and ‘a knight in shining armour’ for the skin’s immune system.” We’d define it as something of an ‘innovation in a bottle’! Acting as a ‘pH stabiliser’, it is an all-round product that can be used on the face, the body, or even the scalp. Most commonly it’s used as a serum, replacing the first step of a skincare routine after cleansing or showering; or for skin-boosts throughout the day. So how does it work? As its name suggests, the very few but powerful natural and dermatology actives work together to help your skin to achieve the perfect pH so that it not too alkaline (i.e. tending towards the maximal pH of 14), which leads to overly dry skin. Or acid (leaning towards the minimal pH of 0), which can activate uncontrolled sebum production and acne. Balanced skin thrives with a pH value of approximately 5, meaning that the skin pH is slightly acidic. Having the correct balance here not only keeps external bacteria, fungal infections, and free radicals (like pollution) at bay, but it also retains the necessary moisture, natural oils, bacterial flora, and enzymes. This ensures a healthy cell renewal process and overall wellbeing for the skin. Ingredients in HERO are: Aqua/water/eau, glycerin (vegetable), pentylene glycol (natural source), pectin, hydroxyacetophenone (found in Norwegian spruce trees) and citric acid. The glycerin will improve smoothness and suppleness and will swiftly increase hydration. Pentylene glycol is moisture-binding and antimicrobial. Pectin fights against changes to the skin structure associated with ageing.  The hydroxyacetophenone is a skin conditioning ingredient with a specific phenolic antioxidant capable of neutralising several different types of free radicals. Finally, the citric acid works by exfoliating the upper layer of dead skin cells to help clean pores, even skin tone.

Although we may not realise it, every day we inflict micro-aggressions to our hands, face, scalps, and body because simple things like washing up or taking a long hot shower can disrupt the acid balance. And that’s without mentioning the chlorine in the swimming pools, shampoos, face cleansers, or detergents! HERO used daily will ensure a rebalancing and stabilising action, where the pH instantly restores its natural protection. Suitable for all skin types, it is recommended for dry and sensitive skins prone to disorders like eczema, dermatitis, or rosacea to help treat redness and irritation. This clear and unscented formula is easy to use. Simply pump a few drops on a towel-dried scalp after washing, or a dry face, hands and body after cleansing, a long shower or washing up; gently massage into the area and leave it to absorb. We particularly liked using it for hands (drying from hand sanitiser) and on the face prior to applying our moisturiser or makeup. To purchase the HERO pH SOLUTION 02, see here bottle retails at €27.