Rosenserien Wash and Shave Gel for Men

While a product that contains essential rose oil may sound like it is designed specifically for women, Rosenserien, an award winning brand, has totally changed my mind. Based in Sweden, Rosenserien is a natural skincare brand that has products for the entire family. Their natural products nearly all contain rosa damascena flower oil which offers a wide array of benefits for the skin. Having heard so much about this brand from the rest of the team and enviously seen the girls sporting a health tan using their natural Self Tan see here. We boys at The Amazing Blog were thrilled to have tried out a product of our very own from this range, with their Wash and Shave Gel for Men and were delighted with the results.

First of all, this Wash and Shave Gel has a refreshing, sporty scent that is perfect for any man. While combining a face wash and a shave gel into one, this two-in-one product cleanses and softens the beard hair before shaving. It is 100% natural, 100% vegan and contains more than 75% certified organic ingredients. The key ingredients include aloe barbadensis leaf juice, mentha piperita leaf water (peppermint), argania spinosa kernel oil (argan), hamamelis virginiana leaf extract (witch hazel), and rosa damascena flower oil. To use this product you simply wet your face and neck and massage the gel into your skin, until you get to have a nice lather. Then you can shave and rinse with warm water. Afterwards, you’ll notice that this gel leaves the skin feeling refreshed, clean and smooth. Even if you are not shaving, the product still makes for a great face wash and is suitable for all skin types. You can purchase a 100ml tube of Rosenserien’s Wash and Shave Gel for Men here for £24.

Friday Favourites - Natural Cleansers

What’s more important to you… A skincare regime in the morning to pep up your skin? Or perhaps in the evening, to help get rid of the daily grim? When we did a quick poll in the office and found that we all tended to lean towards an evening ritual. Although maybe one or two of us might admit to having fallen asleep with our make up on - oh what a sin! Of course, when this is the case we’ve paid the price; you know the look of dark panda eyes, streaky cheeks and an irritated skin breakout. Today we at The Amazing Blog explore four natural, cruelty-free and gentle cleansing products to help you up your cleansing game - whether its for the day, night or both.

First and foremost, we all know that we’ve got to remove our make up. Nadur is an Irish natural and vegan skincare brand that has a wonderfully gentle and effective make up remover. Nadur was a Pure Beauty Global Awards 2018 Finalist, and they are committed to crafting non-toxic and well-designed products that are safe for the environment and the user. The name ‘Nadur’ means nature and comes from the ancient celtic/viking alphabet ‘Ogham’, with their 20 symbols that represent sacred trees. They focus on the ‘acid mantle’ (the skins natural defense mechanism) and their products are a careful blend of science and artistry using ‘green chemistry’.

We tried their Genie Rinsable Oil Cleanser & Makeup Remover and were pleased to find the naturally ethical formula is non-greasy and hydrating. This cleanser and make up remover hybrid works well for normal, oily, combination, and dry skin. To use it, smother over dry skin, wetting the face to emulsify it, and gently work it in. Give your face a rinse, and you’ll feel squeaky clean, without the tight sensation. This water-soluble solution is gentle on the skin’s natural protective barrier because of the inclusion of organic jojoba oil, which means the skin’s moisture levels are restored. We particularly like all the antioxidants and minerals, such as pomegranate seed, that help to rejuvenate the skin. The Genie Rinsable Oil Cleanser & Makeup Remover is vegan, gluten, cruelty-free, non-toxic, and 100% natural. Its faint floral, nutty fragrance comes from the sweet almond oil and ylang-ylang flower extract. Purchase Nadur’s Genie Oil Cleanser & Makeup Remover 200ml here for £25.00.

Let’s move from Ireland to Britain, to explore Nakin Skincare. We’re particular fans of this new British brand which focuses on natural anti-ageing products, and recently featured their Active Dew Face Cream here. As a nominee for Best New Skincare Brand in the Pure Beauty Awards, founder Cris Beetham said: “Our whole ethos is about effective natural skincare, for people who want great skin without the use of harsh chemicals.” And we certainly do! Hyaluronic acid, seaweed and plant extracts, healing butters, and reviving oils are some of the powerful ingredients in Nakin’s products that help to enhance your skin’s natural beauty. All of their products are cruelty-free and are without parabens and artificial colour and fragrances.

We took their Natural Anti-Ageing Advanced Cleansing Milk for a spin. This cleanser is 98% natural and wheat and gluten-free. We particularly enjoyed using this product because of how gentle it is on sensitive and dry skin, and it proved to be a great hit with our Exec Editor. The Cleansing Milk is easy to apply, simply massage in circular motion before removing with a cotton pad - it’s brilliant for removing stubborn make up. The hyaluronic acid and pomegranate fruit extract help to fight the key signs of ageing. The seaweed extract also helps to even skin tone. The completely natural, light floral fragrance is refreshing but more importantly we liked that this cleanser was effective. If you’d like to try Nakin Skincare’s Natural Anti-Ageing Advance Cleansing Milk, it can be purchased 150ml here for £15.00.

If you’re in the mood to try something different, then Speak Skin Beauty has got you covered. They are a natural skincare company founded by Nisa and Tiara, who wanted to make a difference. Their mission is to empower women with fair and reliable information on skincare ingredients, to allow them to make an informed decision; and wishing to make a positive impact on their community and environment. Both had struggled on their journey to find a suitable skincare for their complexions; Nisa with dermatitis and Tiara for her ever-changing, hormonal skin. This skincare brand is all about advocating good clean and conscious products. They carefully choose their ingredients to ensure that their products are appropriate for even the most sensitive skin. We love how they are minimising waste by getting rid of unnecessary packaging. We received their 01 Cleansing Powder in a charming fabric mini tote all made from recycled material. This packaging makes the product all the more meaningful in our eyes. They’re strictly cruelty and paraben-free, and make all their products in small batches.

Speak’s 01 Cleansing Powder system was new to most of the team here, as they hadn’t used a powder cleanser before. It is a gentle, soap-free cleansing powder that has only four ingredients: organic oats, lavendar extract, kaolin clay and sweet almond oil. It’s simplicity at it’s best. The scent is particularly enticing, the fragrance of this almost poultice-like texture is lead by the combination of lavender and oatmeal. The oats help to soothe the skin; the lavender calms redness; the sweet almond oil prevents dryness and hydrates, and the kaolin clay diminishes sebum production. This cleanser proved very popular with those of us who have more oily skin with frequent breakouts, as it helps to calm and stabilise. Mix the powder in the palm of your hand with warm water to make a paste, then apply by gently massaging the paste on the face, rinse off, et voila! You too can purchase Speak Skin Beauty’s 01 Cleansing Powder 60g here for £8.88.

Last but by no means least, we found Skincare with Compassion, an organic skincare company founded to be entirely cruelty-free and vegan. Based on the Island of Jersey, founder Emma Froch explains that the brand is “dedicated to changing the way in which people think about skin care” by advocating natural and animal-friendly products. Emma’s thirst for expertise in the skincare industry began over nine years ago when she realised that cruelty-free and vegan products were in short supply. She made it her mission to formulate 100% natural and non-animal derived products, working with beauty experts to discover ethical ingredients without nasty additives. We certainly admire the ethics of the company and were thrilled to try the Geranium and Thyme Purifying Face Wash.

This face wash is designed for those with oily or spot prone skin, a welcome discovery for certain members of The Amazing Blog team who suffer from hormonal blemishes. It contains 83.7% certified organic ingredients, including four superpower botanicals: geranium, thyme, lavender flower and rosemary. The geranium provides the benefit of minimising the look of wrinkles whilst still leaving your face feeling moisturised and supple. The thyme is a powerful force against bacteria, helping to eliminate and calm sebum levels. Similarly, lavender flower has antibacterial properties, reducing blemishes and fighting against the dark spots and scars that we are often availed with (as if having the spot in the first place wasn’t bad enough!) Finally, rosemary is antiseptic, helping to reduce redness and puffiness, by balancing congested skin. All in all, a robust set of ingredients that not only soothe our skin, but smell light and fresh.

To see the results for yourself, apply a small amount of the cleanser to wet skin (we suggest opening your pores with warm water first) and gently massage. You’ll be met with a silky foam, which needs only to be rinsed with warm water to remove. To purchase a 100ml bottle of Skincare with Compassion’s Geranium and Thyme Purifying Face Wash for £18, then click here.

There is a natural cleanser here to suit almost every skin type. We think that all four of these cleansers are fabulous alternatives to the plethora of chemical-infused cleansers, that are so readily available on the high street. Please let us know if you get try out some of our new finds, otherwise we hope that we’ve inspired you to go and search out new cleansing alternatives.

All Naturals – Organic Soaps

Julita Geary suffered from eczema all her life. She tried dermatologist-recommended products, but they didn’t quite do the job. To make matters worse, Julita learned that there are over 90,000 chemicals used in today’s skincare industry, and only a portion are tested for long-term effect. Once her daughter was born and had even worse eczema than her, Julita decided enough was enough.

All Naturals was created with the intent to provide consumers with eco-friendly, non-irritating soaps. Their sixteen soaps consist of key ingredients such as olive oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, castor oil, sweet almond oil, jojoba seed oil, and rosa canina (or rose hip) seed oil. The soaps also contain shea butter and cocoa seed butter, refreshing essential oils, botanical extracts, herbs, and scents. As regular readers will know, The Amazing Blog is very fond of products with uncomplicated ingredients. We particularly like All Naturals products are cruelty-free and vegan, plus every bar of soap has a rich lather and is made using the cold process technique. This process guarantees that the loveliness of natural ingredients is preserved as much as possible.

All these soaps are suitable for face, hands and body and are free from preservatives, parabens, silicones, detergents, PEG’s polyethylene glycols, petroleum products, SLS sulphates, propylene and alcohol. There are also ethically handmade in Nottingham. When it comes to our bodies, there’s nothing like simplicity, and the All Naturals soap bar formula removes skin toxins, defends against skin cell damage, moisturises, and provides relief from skin irritation. These are things we like to hear.

We tested out four of their 100% organic soap bars. The Neroli Orange Blossom soap bar is great for skin in need of hydration. It is full of omegas, vitamins, minerals, and natural moisturisers, with a light citrus scent. The Almond Blossom and Oatmeal, is gentle, and aids dry skin by soothing it. We loved the sweet nutty fragrance. The Linden Blossom and Honey helped to ease tension, as we enjoyed its creamy lather. This bar is great for all skin types, and can also be used on the face. Lastly, is our favourite, the Olive Oil and Calendula, designed for eczema. Some members of our team deal with eczema, so it was particularly special to find a natural, fragrance-free soap that caters towards those needs. Each of the All Naturals soap bars can be purchased from Boots here £4.99 each or for a more extensive collection of products from Amazon here.

EliRose Skincare - Nourishing Organic Serum

As regular readers will know, we at The Amazing Blog team are particularly careful about the skincare products that we use, always erring on the side caution. Very happily, we recently discovered a new skincare launch:  EliRose Skincare, a luxurious British brand that is certified organic, vegan, and cruelty-free. Their niche area is to cater to those who suffer from excessively dry skin, eczema, and acne. The Canadian founder Claudia Bussieres wanted to find an 100% organic product, but felt deceived by so many products’ labels. Claudia commented it appeared that 'natural' beauty companies all prioritised product longevity, shelf life, and regulation for cash flow as being more important than the side effects. As a solution, she worked with a team of chemists for over six year, developing her first product the Nourishing Organic Serum, and the start of creating a line of skincare with trusted ingredients.

Since some members of our team have sensitive skin and eczema, they were thrilled to try EliRose’s Nourishing Organic Serum with the hope they would experience some relief. The lovely floral fragrance immediately caught our attention. The serum is loaded with beautiful organic oils, such as Bulgarian rose otto oil, evening primrose oil, jojoba oil, sunflower seed oil, pomegranate seed oil, jasmine essential oil, geranium leaf oil, and rosehip seed oil. Combining these oils has a balancing effect, which helps to maintain moisture, prevent hormonal acne, and increase collagen production. This non-greasy formula is a Pure Beauty Global Awards 2018 Winner and made without gluten, PEGs, GMOs, Parabens, silicone, mineral oils, and artificial fragrances. The Nourishing Organic Serum’s soothing formula also applies smoothly with quick absorption time.

You can purchase the Eli Rose Nourishing Organic Serum 30ml here for £68.00.

Gourmet Chocolate Pizza Company

The best part of our day is treating ourselves to something sweet – especially if it happens to be confectionery! We’re not ashamed to admit our penchant for all things chocolate - after all they say 'a little bit of what you fancy, does you good'. So when we at The Amazing Blog had a delivery of a Gourmet Chocolate Pizza, let’s just say, it didn’t last long…the team devoured it within seconds, and we’re not joking!

Based in Nottingham and started by Helen Ellis in 2007, the Gourmet Chocolate Pizza Company’s sole purpose is providing those with a sweet tooth, like us, with a delectable chocolate treat. The bases of their chocolate pizzas use handmade Belgian chocolate, with an assortment of toppings. Whether you have a fondness for milk, dark or white chocolate, their 21 different flavours will undoubtedly satisfy all of your cravings. To top it off, the pizzas come in a variety of sizes (4”, 7”, 10” and 12”) making them a perfect gift for any occasion. Additionally, you can customise each of the pizzas to suit your preferences: see here. We love the fact that you can design this chocolate gift from scratch. The process is simple, just click and select the chocolate you want, then choose the toppings and the size etc. 

The Gourmet Chocolate Pizza Company sent us their Strawberry Sensation, a delicious pop of fruit flavour on a creamy base. As we devoured the slices, the chocolate melted and the fizzing popping candy awakening our taste buds! The Strawberry Sensation is made from smooth Belgian milk chocolate, topped with chocolate curls, freeze-dried strawberries and white chocolate rice balls. We highly recommend this chocolate pizza - it was truly moreish. If you’re now suitably hungry, you can purchase one here: 7” for £10.50, 10” for £14.50, or 12” for £17.50.

Whether it's a birthday, anniversary or to wish someone congratulations for a job well done - we think these Gourmet Chocolate Pizzas are rather a novel way to say 'I'm thinking of you'.