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.

Chocolate Beauty for Easter

With Easter just around the corner, a few of us at The Amazing Blog are starting to crave those Easter chocolates and sweets, and we figured you might be feeling the same way. However, none of us can afford to eat all of that excess sugar, so instead we’ve prepared a few alternatives: chocolate inspired beauty products! All of these products either have cocoa infused in them or smell deliciously of chocolate, but have none of the calories so feel free to indulge. 

Christopher Courtney offers a luxurious Anti-Oxidant Chocolate Spa Body Scrub that you can use for a decadent pampering session at home. This exfoliator is rich in anti-aging properties and multi-vitamins to rejuvenate and revive dull skin. Key ingredients include: Cocoa Extract, Mango Powder, Pineapple Powder, Honey, Aloe, Apricot Kernel Oil, Dead Sea Salt, Calendula Oil, Marshmallow Extract, Nettle Extract, Rooibos Extract, Sweet Orange Essential Oil, and Mandarin Essential Oil. Your skin will be left feeling buttery soft and smelling like cocoa.

Pick up a jar of this luxurious scrub for yourself or as a gift to friends or family here for £31.

Everyone knows about the cult favorite Chocolate Bar Eye Shadow Palette by Too Faced, but have you seen the newest member of the collection? Introducing the Chocolate Bon Bons Eye Shadow Collection, a palette filled with 16 matte and shimmer eye shadow shades in the shape of little hearts. So cute we could just eat it! Each shadow is infused with anti-oxidant rich cocoa powder, so it smells absolutely divine too. The palette gives you 11 neutral shades plus 5 pops of color so you have plenty of room to experiment with loads of different looks. If you’re not that adventurous or just not sure where to begin, Too Faced also includes three looks in their signature Glamour Guide to help you get started.

These Chocolate Bon Bons are guaranteed to last you much longer than a few pieces of chocolate. Get it here for £37.

We know everyone goes crazy over Lush‘s holiday themed products, and we love them too so we definitely recommend picking up a few new bath bombs—but what we’d really like to focus on is the Cupcake Fresh Face Mask that’s available all-year round (you’ll be glad about this). It features Rhassoul mud, a highly absorbent ingredient that works with cocoa powder to draw out dirt and impurities—leaving you with a deeply cleansed face. Fresh mint stimulates and tones the skin whilst linseed and cocoa butter do the moisturising work for you. Only 10-15 minutes are needed for you to see a significant improvements in the texture of your skin!

This vegan friendly and cruelty-free product is available for £6.75 here.

We all hate the toxic smell of nail polish remover, so why not swap out yours with one that’ll satisfy your sweet tooth? Ciate’s new Choc Pot Dark Chocolate Nail Polish Remover is a nourishing and gentle formula that will quickly remove your existing nail polish so you can switch up your mani in a matter of moments. The non-drying acetone-free formulation is enriched with intensely hydrating Marula Oil, Vitamins B5 and E to condition and care for nails while leaving behind a deliciously chocolately aroma!

Get rid of that nasty smelling polish remover and get a chocolate scented one here for £6.

Chulo Naturals - Charcoal Spa Range

There's something a bit counter-intuitive about rubbing coal on your face, but so many brands offer activated charcoal masks that it has become the norm in the world of beauty. Used to unclog pores and clear away impurities, there's nothing better for perfecting a smooth and clarified complexion. Here at The Amazing Blog, our latest obsession has become Chulo Naturals new Charcoal Spa range, which offers a wonderful selection of skin clarifying products.

First used medicinally by the Ancient Egyptians, the antique ingredient helped to keep wounds clean. Ahead of their time in so many ways, the Egyptians had charcoal sussed for its detoxifying properties thousands of years before we thought to give it a try! Nowadays, its natural ability to draw unwanted toxins from the body make it the perfect natural ingredient to treat acne and other skin problems.

As opposed to only offering a mask, as other companies often do, Charcoal Spa have monopolised on the beautifying potential of charcoal. All 100% organic, the brand have a range of charcoal products, including the Detoxifying Salt Scrub,  Detoxifying Face Mask and Charcoal Soap. The Salt Scrub is perfect for exfoliating and brightening the complexion, whilst the Charcoal Soap is a wonderfully gentle cleanser, perfect for everyday use. My personal favourite is the Face Mask. Its deep cleansing properties have really helped to brighten my complexion, leaving my skin feeling super soft after use.

Want to explore the benefits of charcoal for yourself? Head to the website now to grab your own set of charcoal products for £25.00.

Obey Your Body - Bio Magnetic Facial Mask

Everyone’s heard of the Dead Sea, but do we really know what’s in it? The Dead Sea is one of the world’s saltiest bodies of water, making it too harsh an environment for animals. However, besides all of that salt, the Dead Sea actually produces minerals that are great for the body. Obey Your Body is one of the many companies that uses dead sea minerals in its products and we here at The Amazing Blog decided to give its Bio Magnetic Facial Mask a try.

Enriched with Tetrapeptide Decorinyl, the facial mask gives skin an instant firming lift. Containing energizing mineral-rich mud from the Dead Sea and nourishing and moisture-balancing plant oils, Vitamin E, Aloe Vera and Shea Butter, the facial mask acts as both a facial cleanser and conditioner.

Although the mask is a little pricey, it lasts for a very long time. My only issue would be the amount of oil in the product. I was expecting it to turn hard the longer it was on my face, but it just remained oily. However, my skin did feel soft afterwards. I think this product would be best for people with dry skin because I just have too much oil on my face already!

For the best results, apply the mask gently to clean and dry skin with the enclosed spatula. Make sure you do not apply to broken, irritated, or problem skin. Leave the mask on the skin for 3-5 minutes and then take the comb, wrapped in tissue or paper towel, and remove the mask from the centre of the face outward. Only use it 1-2 times a week with an interval of no less than 3 days in between applications

You can purchase the Facial Mask here for £253. 

Beetox Skincare

If there's something I choose (and love) to spend my money on it's skincare. Make-up is secondary for me and quite different. My colour cosmetics stash is reasonable, I wear the same look almost everyday, and to be honest I like that... even though the amount of lipsticks that I own should be banned - I tend to forget that I only have one pair of lips, not 50. However, skincare is something that I only really discovered and appreciated about a year ago since working at Amazing PR. And right now, I'd rather wear no make-up and have good skin than having average skin and wear the most amazing blue-toned red lipstick (my fave shade of lipstick). We should all take care of our skin, after all it is the largest organ of the body and we only have one face. So in my view taking care of your skin should be a priority.

Working in the Beauty PR industry has given me the chance to try many products.  Although, there are really very few that I can actually see and feel a difference on my skin. At The Amazing Blog we've been fortunate enough to work very closely with UK skincare brand Beetox. UMF20+ Manuka Honey and Bee Venom based - beautiful ingredients and definite winners.

Their range consists of a Moisturiser, a Mask and a Serum. The Moisturiser's consistency is thick and smells heavenly. It's probably one of the most luxurious moisturisers that I've ever used,  it's instantly absorbed by my perpetually dehydrated skin  plumping it up and making it feel very soft.  It moisturises my skin beautifully and leaves it feeling very comfortable and ready for applying my foundation. The Serum's consistency is somewhere between a gel and a liquid. When applied to the skin it gently tingles and I can feel my skin tighten instantly (not that I need it, I'm in my middle twenties...) don't get me wrong this feeling is a very pleasant one indeed. And the Mask... is my favourite product of all, it  really purifies and delivers moisture back into my skin making it the perfect combination with the Serum for my particular tricky (and temperamental) skin type.

I must mention with a word of caution that  Beetox does warn all their potential customers about possible adverse reaction to their products. So do bear in mind that one of the main ingredients about this range is Bee Venom (along with their powerful UMF20+ Manuka Honey); so if you're unluckily enough to have an allergy to bee stings please stay away from this skincare savour. None of us at the office are so we've all added Beetox's products to our regular skincare routines.

You can buy Beetox skincare from their website. Follow them on Twitter, and 'Like' them on Facebook.

Retail prices are: Face Mask £55, Moisturiser £39 and Serum £45. You can also buy the 'Multi Set', which includes three products for £139.