Eco Soapia- Organic Sicilian Orange Hand and Body Wash

It’s a simple fact that you can’t make quality products without using quality ingredients, and we at The Amazing Blog have made this fact a way of life. As such we are always on the hunt for brands that also follow this belief and it has never failed us. This week we came across the legendary brand Eco Soapia who has turned making soap into an art form. Three generations of soap making knowledge have been collected to make this brand as perfect as it can be. 

With a large selection of choices, we decided to try their Organic Sicilian Orange Hand and Body Wash. Unlike conventional soaps which are created using cheap and chemically laden ingredients, which harm skin, Eco Soapia uses only organic ingredients that are Soil Association Certified.  There are no sodium lauryl sulphates, parabens, GMO’s, DEA’s, MEA’s, artificial colours or fragrances. What’s more, the product is cruelty-free and  has been approved by the vegetarian society. The soap, based on an original 1930’s family recipe, left our skin feeling cleansed and clean. The soap has a fresh and citrus scent that lasted all day. 

For centuries the vegetable-based Castile has been considered the soap of European royalty, so treat you and your skin to some luxury. You can purchase the Sicilian Orange Hand and Body Wash here for £6.95. 
 

Shea Butter Body Conditioner – Peini

Peini is where science meets African cultural traditions. Peini is the result of a British skin care brand collaborating with a West African Farmer’s Cooperation. It is an organic and natural skin care range that focuses on incorporating naturally-occurring beauty enhancing ingredients into their beauty products. “PEINI” means gift in Dagbani, and we here at The Amazing Blog were very excited to receive the Shea Butter Body Conditioner.

This brand was created and introduced to the UK market by Sarah Nicholas-Kyei after many visits to her husband, Kwaku Kyei’s, homeland. Peini uses sustainable farming for their ingredients, hiring Ghanaian widows, orphans, women farmers to bring ancient skin care practices to the UK. The products are all toxic free, green and use naturally-sourced shea butter, coconut oil, olive oil, palm kernel oil, sunflower seed oil that are indigenous to Ghana. These nourishing ingredients deliver natural, edible vitamins E, A, F and K. The results are beautiful products that are Paraben-free, SLS-free and are cruelty-free, which means that these products can be used on even the most sensitive of skins, including newborn babies.

The Shea Butter Body Conditioner is rich and thick, providing you with a deep and long-lasting moisture. However, we are pleased to report that the skin is not left sticky and coated. The body conditioner is absorbed almost instantly, so after applying you can almost immediately get dressed and begin your day. The conditioner improves skin texture and tone, boosts collagen production and the abundance of vitamins recover and defend the skin.

You can purchase this wonderful body conditioner for £8.50 from the Peini website here, or from Amazon UK here and trust us, this a gift you won't regret buying for yourself. 

Face Masks by 7th Heaven

7th Heaven is a brand all of us at The Amazing Blog have fond memories of. They were the brand you would buy for sleep overs as a child, then as you got older for nights in with friends and a bottle of wine. They have a wide range of masks available and all of them are fun, affordable and effective. 7th Heaven very kindly sent us a diverse selection of their products to the office and let me tell you, it has been a fun week of selfies and fabulous skin.

What we really love about 7th Heaven is the variety of products they offer. Whatever you are looking for they are bound to have it. They have sheet masks, mud sheet masks, peel off masks, thermal masks, and the classic mud masks. Each mask informs you if it is natural or safely man made (meaning minimal chemicals and all non-harsh.) 7th Heaven has been going strong for over 30 years now, and have always been dedicated to standing against animal testing. They are a founding member of the Cosmetics Industry Coalition of Animal Welfare and are incredibly proud that all their products are cruelty-free.

It was hard to pick a favourite, so instead, we narrowed it down to our top three. From the peel-off masks – which are endlessly fun – we loved the Cucumber Peel Off Mask which deeply cleansed and refreshed the skin. From the traditional mud pack collection, we particularly enjoyed the Avocado Oil Mask which exfoliated our faces as well as moisturised them. We particularly enjoyed the Hot Spring Sauna Masque, which had an unusual warming sensation we could really get behind and would definitely use again. This pack employed volcanic minerals to gently warm and exfoliate the face. Everyone in the office has loved the growth in sheet mask’s popularity, so the combination of the traditional mud pack with this new craze instantly intrigued us and left our skin feeling smoother and more nourished.

You can purchase 7th Heaven products from a variety of places, including Boots for £1 per mask! 

Beauty Kitchen:Seahorse Plankton 5 Minute Miracle Mask & The Beauty Boosting BB Cream

Organic, natural and cruelty-free are the three things we value above all else at The Amazing Blog, not forgetting to add the word 'effective' then they’re our top four. We think that there is nothing as important as treating your skin with carefully chosen and natural products, in particular for those of you with sensitive skin. Beauty Kitchen is a brand who are dedicated to this quad of beliefs. We came across this new brand at the CEW product showcase for their 2017 awards earlier this year. They only make 100% effective, natural and affordable products that are tested on people never animals. We were lucky enough to be sent two products from their Seahorse Plankton Skincare Treasures collection, where a percentage of their profits go to The Sea Horse Trust. The two products were The Beauty Boosting BB Cream and the 5 Minute Miracle Mask.

The Beauty Kitchen Seahorse Plankton 5 Minute Miracle Mask is 100% natural. It contains biologically proven seahorse plankton microalgae for an instant skin detox which will cleanse, stimulate, firm and plump the face, neck and décolletage. This product was a finalist at the CEW Awards 2017 and we know why. The mask left our face looking refreshed and glowing and was the perfect way to aid a chill-out on a rainy Sunday afternoon. To use, just apply a thin layer to the face, neck and décolletage before sitting back and relaxing for 5-15 minutes. Remove with warm water and for further skin stimulation uses a linen face cloth or a Konjac sponge. Applying the Beauty Boosting BB Cream before makeup, led to perfectly even coverage and tone for our foundation. By using it alone it added a slight tint to the face and it effortlessly balanced our complexion. Providing excellent coverage, the BB Cream also compliments all skin tones and types, acting as a base from which to add.

To purchase your next new sustainable beauty products click here. Both the BB Cream and Mask are available for £14.99.

Lipstick - Uslu Airlines

With the sun out in full force today, all of us here at The Amazing Blog are in the holiday mood.Unfortunately fo us, holidays are a long way off, but that's not going to dampen anyone's mood as we are sampling Uslu Airlines fun airport-inspired lipstick line. Renowned makeup artist Ferdie Uslu founded the brand and adopted the airport motif after creating her first line around airbrush makeup techniques.  Working with air inspired the brand to name their products after airport codes, giving them a playful cosmopolitan feel, which perfectly reflects the brands exciting and distinctive image.

Each lipstick has a unique shade that embodies the destination they are named after. For example, the pink AMM lipstick is named after the AMM airport in Jordan, which was itself named after Queen Alia. Going into a work meeting with this elegant, reserved and natural pink shade on will make you feel like a queen too. Meanwhile, the dark-plum PAO lipstick mirrors Palo Alto, the edgy home of countless trendy tech companies. What we love about these lipsticks are the different looks you can achieve with them. Apply one layer for a tinted, subtle day look and add a few more layers for a richer, bolder evening look. The versatility means that you only have to carry one lipstick around with you, and if you're a lipstick addict like we are, this is a big plus.

What's more, Uslu Airlines’ lipstick line is cruelty-free and contains Vitamin E, which acts as a repairing oxidant meaning that as well as making your lips look gorgeous, it nourishes them too; this is a far cry from the often drying nature of other mainstream lipsticks. The company is based in Berlin, so, unfortunately, all the product prices are in Euro's, but fear not you can use PayPal to purchase these amazing lipsticks.  Prepare for take-off by choosing from Uslu Airlines’ lipstick line here from about £21.00.