Hammam Ritual - Luxury Black Soap with Argan Oil

Here at The Amazing Blog, we love learning about international beauty secrets to allow us become more diverse while simultaneously helping our beauty routine. Our latest cultural beauty discovery is the Moroccan black soap from Hammam Ritual. The products and company are based in France, but the products they make are inspired by Moroccan culture and tradition.

Historically, a hammam ritual is a weekly practice where Moroccan people go to a community bathing area in order to cleanse themselves and catch up on local gossip. Black soap in particular was a product commonly used during these ancient cleansing rituals, and its benefits are still praised today. It can be used as a scrub or a cream, and it works to exfoliate, hydrate and soften the skin with ease.

The soap is 100% natural and plant-based, made up of water and crushed black olives and occasionally enhanced with eucalyptus. It works even on sensitive skin, while it eliminates toxins and impurities.

At the office, we tried the Hammam Ritual Black Soap enriched with Argan Oil, which you can purchase here for €19 (it's coming directly from the European website in France, but we hope it will be available in pounds soon). We loved the light scent and ultra-moisturising power of the soap, which left our skin super soft and smooth. 

Lucy's Lotions - Body Butter & Rejuvenating Night Oil

Do you ever find yourself wishing that you could tell your skin how to behave? Here at The Amazing Blog, we're often plighted with bad skin days. More often than not, they make their unwelcome appearance when we're heading to an important meeting or daunting first date. Thankfully, Lucy Gordon, founder of Lucy’s Lotions, felt the same way, and she has created a collection to help us finally take charge of our complexion woes.

When Lucy was younger, she spent her weekends creating unique skincare blends with her aunt, who is an aromatherapist and herbalist. Suffering from acne later on in life, this gave her the drive to create her fabulous vegan Vitamin E and Grapefruit Range.

From the range, we tried the Rejuvenating Night Oil and Body Butter. The Rejuvenating Night Oil contains a luxurious blend of 6 oils, including Argan and Avocado Oil. These oils promote cell renewal and help soothe and repair damaged skin. Smoothing the oil onto my face in the evening, it was fantastic for brightening my complexion. During winter, my hands became particularly chapped too, so I decided to experiment, massaging the oil onto my mitts. It was such a great discovery - it sunk right in and the tiny cracks on my hands were all gone the next day! The Body Butter contains Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter and Aloe Vera, which reduce the appearance of scars and stretch marks, soothe damaged/sensitive skin and intensely hydrate. I use the butter after shaving my legs for a wonderfully soft and soothing finish that smells divine.

Want to banish those bad skin days? Head on over to the website and purchase the Rejuvenating Night Oil for £26.00 here and the Body Butter for £16.00 here.

Friday Favourites - Nut Butters Feature

We here at The Amazing Blog love when we come across a healthy snack we don’t feel guilty indulging in. This is why we decided to look for some delicious and health nut butters to make your meals and snacks fabulous and guilt free.

Soil Association approved, the Primrose's Kitchen Almond and Chia Spread is a delicious butter alternative to the tasty peanut butter we all know and love. It’s still just as nutty but it’s actually better for you! You can spread it on bread, add it to dress or use it in baking. The key ingredient, almonds, is our nut of choice because they alkalise the body and make the perfect high protein snack when combined with Chia Seeds. Not only is this spread organic, but it is also gluten, wheat and sugar free.

Mix it up a little bit and purchase Primrose's Kitchen Almond and Chia Spread here. 

Instead of a spread, we decided to try Meridian nut butter bars. They come in two flavours, Almond and Peanut, and let me tell you, they are literally crammed full of nuts.   
Each delicious nut bar is 55% nuts, providing an excellent source of nutrients and energy.
These bars prove to be a satisfyingly tasty choice for people on-the-go because they are high energy snacks and super healthy. Each bar contains 8 and 7f of protein respectively – significantly more than mainstream cereal and nut bars. All Meridian nut butter bars are suitable for vegans and are gluten, dairy, soy and wheat free. They would make a healthy addition to any lunchbox so purchase these Meridian bars and other butters here.

Get your taste of Moroccan sunshine in a jar. The Berber tribes’ answer to nut butter, Alassala’s Amlou Paste is a traditional Moroccan food that can be used as a spread or a dip for bread or crackers. Winner of a Gold Star at the Great Taste Awards 2013, Alassala Amlou Paste sets itself apart by being pure and natural with no added honey or sugars. Made with only 72% ground, semi roasted almonds and 28% Organic Argan Oil, the paste is perfect for both sweet and savoury dishes. It is a great source of Vitamin E and essential fatty acids, as well as having anti-inflammatory properties and the ability to lower cholesterol. Its distinct almond flavour makes a delicious, healthy addition to any recipe. Moroccan’s thought it to be the ideal enhancement to any romance, and it has certainly made its way into our hearts and our kitchens.

If you’re looking to add an exotic twist to your nutty snacks, Alassala Amlou Paste is available in two sizes: 226 grams RRP £14.99 and 113 grams RRP £7.99. Alassala also has a selection of recipes available here. The Amlou Paste is currently stocked at The Hale Clinic’s Nutri Centre online, and at other independent Health Stores and Speciality Food Stores. You can also buy Alassala’s products online.

This all-new brand of natural nut butters is changing the game when it comes to providing customers delicious and nutritious products. Pip & Nut have recently launched their line with three yummy, irresistible flavours: Peanut Butter, Almond Butter and Coconut Almond Butter. Each one is free of palm oil, refined sugar, preservatives, additives and emulsifiers. Their motto is, “if it’s not natural and a squirrel wouldn’t eat it, then we don’t use it.” The brand has already been mentioned in an article from The Grocer about healthy January comfort foods available at Selfridges. The founder was mentioned in an article by The Guardian about sacrifices start-ups need to make when they launch. Talk about go-getters!

You can find these tasty nut butters on display at your nearest Selfridges, until the Pip & Nut website is fully up and running. The containers are £5 each, and since each jar is loaded with health benefits and great taste, they are worth every pound.

Friday Favourites - Hand Cream Feature

Working in an office, the team here at The Amazing Blog often struggle with dry hands. Air conditioning and constantly juggling papers parches our mitts to no end, so we’re always keeping an eye out for nourishing and soothing hand care products. Being the beauty junkies that we are, there are a number of hand creams that pass through the office, but we’ve decided to pick out a few of our favourites to share with you.

The most notable thing about Odylique’s new Lemon Butter Hand Smoothie is its sweet and distinctive smell. Needless to say, if you aren’t a lemon lover, this probably isn’t the lotion for you. However, if you are a common user of zingy scents, the lemon and vanilla fusion will keep your senses indulging in lemony bliss. Don’t worry, the smell of the product is strong, but it is effective as well. The combination of cocoa and coconut butter, along with virgin avocado oil, is sure to fully moisturise your hands and keep them from cracking. It is also 100% natural and 93% organic. This product is available online for £12.99.

We usually moisturise our hands with a cream rather than a balm. However, when we heard about the drive behind the company Kahina Giving Beauty, we decided to try their Fez Hand And Body Balm. The founder Katharine L’Heureux uses Organic Argan Oil to protect, nourish and enhance the quality of skin in each product her company produces. Kahina donates a percentage of its profits to support programs that improve the lives of Berber women who extract the Argan Oil used in the products. If that wasn’t enough, she personally ventures to Morocco to pick up the oil to ensure that the women who are extracting it are being treated as they should. To read more about her story and the drive behind this charitable company, visit their website. You can pick up the hand balm for £35 here.

We have featured Touche By Flavien on our blog before, but that’s because we just can’t get enough of the products! Luckily, along with its other great skincare products, the company provides a hand cream as well. The Rosa Rubiginosa & Prickly Pear Regeneration Hand Cream is full of skin conditioning botanics which are sure to help tackle the pesky signs of ageing on your beloved hands. The Rosa Rubiginosa scent is unique in a sense that is has traditionally been referred to as “the fountain of youth.” In our opinion, this fact speaks for itself in the wondrous results it provides. Purchase the product for £38 here.

Here in the office, we find British heritage a fascinating subject, and admire the work of organisations like the National Trust, who work to preserve our national treasures. We were delighted when we discovered that Tisserand Aromatherapy had collaborated with the company, bringing a range of bath oils and lotions carefully created with the National Trust’s ethical and environmental ethos in mind. Their Rose Garden Hand & Body Lotion combines a beautiful blend of Rose Essential Oil and Sandalwood, which evokes scenes from our favourite Jane Austen novels. The floral cream also contains Shea Butter and Jojoba Oil, ideal for nourishing skin, and is perfect for preserving our delicate hands. You can pick up the Hand & Body Lotion here for £8.

Alassala Argan Oil and Amlou Paste

  If you read our blog often, you will probably know that there are a few foods that The Amazing Blog girls are always happy to try because we love them so much. Well today, we have an oil and paste which has the same main ingredient as some of our favourite hair care products; Argan. The Alassala Argan Oil and Amlou Paste comes from the same brand which brought us the wonderful Face and Body Oil and you can read our post on that here.

The Amlou Paste is a spread, which tastes great on bread or melba toast. We decided to pair it with some oatcakes we had in the office, perfect combination. With no exaggeration, this big jar of paste was gone in two days, and that was only being shared between myself and one other member of the team… So you would be right to assume that it tastes delicious; it definitely shut us up for a couple of hours! It is made from roasted almonds and Organic Argan Oil, so is very good for you whilst being extremely tasty too. The paste is rich in Vitamin E so is a great mid afternoon healthy snack to fill you up, so put away that chocolate and those biscuits as this will give you a much better healthier boost. Its density resembles that of peanut butter, as does the taste, however a much less processed version where you can really taste the almond. I recommend replacing your morning breakfast spread for your toast or crumpets with this paste because of all the benefits it has.

Alassala also have an Argan Oil for culinary use, as well as their one for skincare. Its delicate flavour has high levels of Vitamin E, Omega 3 and 9, and also plant sterols to make it the perfect oil for reducing cholesterol levels. Even more impressive, it's ethically produced using traditional methods, which means everything about the product is good; the taste, the production, the packaging, everything! There is so much you can do with this healthy oil as well, from dipping into it with beverage snacks, salad dressing, seasoning, dressing on pasta, fish, meat and so on. Many possibilities! It’s a guilt free way to enjoy a meal which needs a little oil to spruce up the flavour.

The delicious Amlou Paste £7.90 for 113 grams, or £14.90 for 226 grams and  is available from The Nutri Centre, Selfridges Oxford Street, and at any independent health store, as well as online here, and on their website here. The oil is £11.99 for 100ml or £18.99 for 250ml, and can be bought from all these places too so why not pick them both up whilst you’re there. They will make a great addition to your party beverages this festive season.