AYPA Terra Inka : Raw Face Mask with Maca, and Raw Face Oil with Buriti & Maracuja

Raw and organic face masks and oils have the power to transform how your face both looks and feels, and Aypa Terra Inka’s products are no exception. At The Amazing Blog, we first discovered this brand at the 2021 The Beauty Shortlist Awards. What intrigued us was it’s extraordinary Andean raw ingredients, returning us back to heady days of our student backpacking travels in South America! 

 Aypa  is a beauty brand that is rooted in the nature of Peru. The company has skincare, special treatments, and at-home spa products, all in addition to having a Spa in Spain. Mirella Crovetto, the founder of Aypa, was inspired to develop a skincare and spa brand that included an Andean essence in its products, which she was couldn’t find in anywhere else. So, she travelled to the Andes in her native Peru and studied from the indigenous communities their centuries-old alchemy to bring into her skincare, and thus her company was born. Aypa means ‘earth’ in the Inca Quechua language, and stands for the respect the native Andeans have for nature. The brand fuses native tradition with innovation — combining the respect for nature and knowledge of plants inherited from the Incas, with today’s insight and research. Crovetto said, “It’s an invitation to travel inside my dreamed Peru, connect with the soul of its earth and get in harmony with nature.”

We were excite to receive four of their products, but today we’re going to review the first two. This is the Raw Face Mask with Maca and the Raw Face Oil with Buriti & Maracuja, which are two from the four in the Aypa’s Raw Collection. Both products are 100% natural, raw, organic and contain fair trade ingredients, which are cruelty free, and vegan. Aypa’s Raw Face Mask with Maca is a powder-to-paste mask that contains Andean superfood powers. Some of the main ingredients in this face mask include maca, algarrobo, lucuma, maras salt, muña, and green clay. Maca is a root found in the high Andean lands of Peru that is known as “the Inca fountain of youth.” Containing minerals, vitamins, and amino acids, it promotes cell renewal, increases skin luminosity, and slows down the ageing process. Algarrobo is a fruit found in the Pacific Coast of Peru that contains minerals, vitamin B, tannins, and lysine. This ingredient heals, balances, and has antioxidant and antiseptic properties. Lucuma is a fruit found in the mid-coast of Peru that contains vitamin B3, betacarotenes, and minerals. This ingredient energizes, nourishes, and has firming and anti-ageing properties. Maras salt is found in the high Andean lands of Peru, and its 84 minerals have anti-inflammatory and detox properties. Muña is known as “the mint of the Andes” and has antiseptic and soothing properties. Green clay contains many minerals and removes impurities, tightens pores, tones skin, exfoliates, absorbs, and reduces acne inflammation. To use Aypa’s Raw Face Mask with Maca as an exfoliant, mix a few drops of water into a teaspoon of powder on your palm until it is a paste, massage onto your skin, and then rinse. To use this face mask as a treating mask, mix a few drops of water or Aypa’s Raw Face Oil with one teaspoon of powder in a bowl until it is a mud-like texture. Then apply to your face and neck, leave for 10–15 minutes, and rinse, we could almost ‘feel’ the raw goodness healing our skin!

Aypa’s Raw Face Oil with Buriti & Maracuja contains four Peruvian oils that are cold-pressed from whole fruits. These oils include buriti, maracuja, palo rosa, and palo santo. Buriti, which is found in the Amazon rainforest in Peru, contains beta-carotene, vitamin C and E, and fatty acids. Beta-carotene protects skin from photo-damage, vitamin C and E regenerate skin, and the fatty acids moisturise and rehydrate skin. Maracuja is found in the sub-tropical north coast of Peru. Containing omega 6, vitamin C, and antioxidants, it hydrates and boosts collagen production. Palo rosa, which is rose wood, is found in the Amazon rainforest in Peru and helps regenerates tissues, improve circulation, and has antiseptic properties. Palo santo, which is holly wood, is found in forests in the north coast of Peru. This oil reduces oxidative stress and inhibits the elastase enzyme, thus creating a more youthful appearance. To use this blend of oils, apply one drop to your face and neck or mix with your moisturiser or liquid foundation. Whether you have dry or oily skin this adapts and balances to suit each skin type. There is a deliciously sweet and earthy fragrance (probably the rose wood?) where you can tell that there’s absolutely nothing artificial about this Face Oil. It’s almost a dry oil, as it hydrated and left our skin glowy without a hint of greasiness.

If you too want to reap the benefits of these raw ingredients, you can purchase the 30ml Raw Face Oil with Buriti & Maracuja here for 69.00€, and the 50ml Raw Face Mask with Maca here for 45.00€.

Dr.K CBD: Nano Emulsified Joint Relief Balm

Do your muscles or joints ache? Are pharmaceutical pain relievers not doing the trick for your headache?  If the answer is yes, then we at The Amazing Blog think that Dr.K CBD’s Nano Emulsified Joint Relief Balm  may be just what you need!  As regular readers will know, we’re already big fans of Dr.K CBD with their Nano Emulsified Hand Cream, which we recently wrote about here.

Dr.K CBD  is a British company founded by Dr Ruchira Karunadasa and Manish Patel, who are longtime friends. They created Dr. K CBD to be a brand that respects its customers, behave ethically, and committed to putting quality above everything else. The CBD  they use is extracted using a proprietary supercritical CO2 extraction technique and is purified through the winterization technique. This process is clean and safe and produces an extract that contains 85% active broad-spectrum CBD and no THC. This broad-spectrum CBD extract contains phytocannabinoids and terpenes from the hemp plant, which give the human endocannabinoid system optimum support. The hemp plants that the brand use are grown organically without herbicides or pesticides.  As we mentioned previously with the brand, what sets them apart is the nanotechnology in their topicals. They claim that their Nano Emulsions are 5 x times more effective than similar creams due to the particles being much smaller and thus absorbing more easily. This turns active cannabinoids into nano-sized droplets; which causes high bioavailability of the CBD in the balm or cream. The brand is keen to flag up that this technology, as it allows the users to get more out of their products. Dr K CBD has oils, face and hand cream, rubs and balms that use CBD to help with sleep, pain, stress, anxiety and wellbeing. To ensure they are of the highest standard and consistency, the company’s CBD products undergo rigorous cannabinoid lab testing. The brand motto says, “Your choice, your body. CBD, done the right way!” 

The product we tried is the Nano Emulsified Joint Relief Balm, 60ml jar which contains 300 mg of broad-spectrum CBD. Among its other benefits, when topically applied, CBD is good for muscle health. It helps anti-inflammatory issues and relieves muscle tension, and some say that it can even help MS-induced muscle spasticity. We use CBD balms as pain relief (soreness from arthritis and overdoing it in the gym) and for headaches or migraines relief (an occurrence from too much blue light/screen time). We’ve been using CBD topicals for pain relief and nerve inflammatory issues for quite a while now. As we find in its topical form, the phytocompounds and compounds such as terpenes and flavonoids, are strong enough to provide almost instant relief when massaged into the area of pain. The CBD works in tandem with the endocannabinoid system (see here for a simple explanation) where it springs into action when it senses that the body is out of kilter and promptly stimulates a hormonal release, thus reducing the pain or inflammation.  

What we also like about this Nano Emulsified Joint Relief Balm is that it’s completely natural. In addition to broad-spectrum CBD, it has coconut oil, cocoa seed butter, beeswax, sweet almond oil, lavender essential oil and a few emulsifiers. Unlike other CBD Balms, that we have used, this has little or no scent (which we prefer). When these are combined with the CBD, they enhance its soothing qualities. This Joint Relief Balm is one to keep at hand for fast action to soothe aching limbs and joints and, more uncommonly, for combatting headaches or migraines – which is highly effective for us. This product is plastic-free, vegan-friendly, cruelty-free, natural and contains no heavy metals, pesticides, or GMO. To use this balm, simply warm up some of the balm in the palms of your hands, before massaging it into the area of pain. It is recommended to store this product at room temperature, out of reach of children, and away from UV light.  If you think you could benefit from DrK CBD’s 60ml jar of Nano Emulsified Joint Relief Balm, you can buy the product here for £29.99.

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.

Naturalicious: Hello Gorgeous Starter Kit

Are you looking for natural hair products that will finally work on your curls to remove the frizz? Well, look no further, because we at The Amazing Blog think Naturalicious’  Hello Gorgeous Starter Kit is the hair care for you! This Starter Kit is made for both tight and loose curls and includes only three simple cost-effective and multitasking products in place of what could be seven. 

Gwen Jimmere is the talented CEO and founder of Naturalicious. Having patented her 3-step Hello Gorgeous system, Jimmere has established her place in history as the first African American woman to have a patent for a natural hair care product. Naturalicious is a plant-based and award-winning hair care brand the and although the brand is US-based, they ship their products all over the world. Their core values include believing that every woman is the standard of beauty, that heightened confidence is transforming, in taking a stand, in delivering excellence at every touchpoint, and in innovation. Jimmere used to hate her hair but was inspired by the movie Good Hair and more specifically, the scene where Chris Rock dissolves a soda can with hair relaxer, to create something that was natural for herself and her son. Naturalicious says they are “All about… Finally finding… The confidence to go natural.” The brand has given back to the community during Black Lives Matter protests and contributed to the Minneapolis Freedom Fund, which pays bails for those who can’t afford to. 

The first step in the Hello Gorgeous system is the Moroccan Rhassoul 5-in-1 Clay Treatment, and there is a version for both tight and loose curls - it claims a recent win of Harpers Bazaar Best Product for Curly Hair. The Moroccan Rhassoul 5-in-1 Clay Treatment cleans, conditions, detangles and strengthens hair while keeping curls frizz-free. The most important ingredient and the reason why this product can do so much is the Rhassoul Clay from Morocco. Rhassoul Clay gently cleanses and conditions hair at the same time and has detangling and calming properties when combined here with the aloe vera and rich cocoa seed butter, grapeseed and avocado oils. To use this product, apply a generous amount to wet hair and then massage it into both hair and scalp, to cleanse and hydrate. The second step in the Hello Gorgeous system is the Moisture Infusion Styling Creme, which again comes with two versions for tight and loose curls. The Moisture Infusion Styling Creme moisturises, styles, and offers protection to hair from heated damage whilst giving curls a little bit of definition and hold. Some of the key ingredients in this product include sunflower oil, shea butter, and vitamin E, which naturally protect and keep hair healthy. Sunflower oil moisturises hair and can calm dandruff, shea butter hydrates hair and prevents breakage, and vitamin E can help improve both hair and scalp health. To use this product, apply a generous amount to your damp hair after washing with the Moroccan Rhassoul 5-in-1 Clay Treatment. The third step in the Hello Gorgeous system is the Divine Shine Moisture Lock & Frizz Fighter, and there is also a version for tight and loose curls. The Divine Shine Moisture Lock & Frizz Fighter is a light hot oil that makes the hair shine. We like how there are only three ingredients in this product with sweet almond oil, extra virgin olive oil, and safflower oil. The sweet almond oil strengthens your hair, the extra virgin olive oil makes your hair shine, and the safflower oil prevents frizz. This last step they suggest using once a month; get the bottle warm in hot water, apply the oil to your hair and scalp, wait 30 minutes, rinse and finally follow with steps one and two (this removes the excess oil). We were so impressed with this Starter Kit’s performance and used it on long, tangly, fine and frizzy hair - we found, in particular, the Morocan Rhassoul 5-in-1 Clay Treatment left our hair tangle-free and feeling soft. Although it’s primarily an inclusive hair care brand, they offer two types of products for tight and loose curls, (although the ingredients still seem to be the same?) We think that The Starter Kit is also good for anyone, like us, with fine frizzy and tangly hair too; plus, these three products really do rejuvenate and help damaged hair. Naturalicious is one of our #amazingfinds of the week. Note to the brand: Please, please hurry up and sell here in the UK soon… You can buy the Hello Gorgeous Starter Kit, which includes all three steps, here for $19.99. 

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.