Skin Shop

Bath Feature - Friday Favourites

As usual, the new year brings with it the cold chill of Winter, and sometimes the only cure for the gloomy weather is to stay inside for a cosy night in. The ultimate winter warmer? A bath! Here at The Amazing Blog we adore using products to make our baths more luxurious and relaxing. Here we've gathered our favourite bath products to perfect your bathing routine.

The first option is a natural treatment by the brand Oat Soak, this product is a bath treatment made from colloidal oats. Oats are a great treatment for soothing itchy skin and restoring smoothness. However, raw oats aren't the easiest thing to add to a routine, which is why Skin Shop has developed a solution.

Oat Soak is made from a finer form of oats, making Oat Soak a pleasant spa treatment in your own home. We recommend sprinkling the oats into your bath tub whilst running the water and separate this evenly and then soak for 15-20 minutes. To achieve best results use this product once a week and your skin will regain moisture and strength.

For a relaxing bath treatment at home grab this product here for £1.95.

The first option is a natural treatment by the brand Oat Soak, this product is a bath treatment made from colloidal oats. Oats are a great treatment for soothing itchy skin and restoring smoothness. However, raw oats aren't the easiest thing to add to a routine, which is why Skin Shop has developed a solution.

Oat Soak is made from a finer form of oats, making Oat Soak a pleasant spa treatment in your own home. We recommend sprinkling the oats into your bath tub whilst running the water and separate this evenly and then soak for 15-20 minutes. To achieve best results use this product once a week and your skin will regain moisture and strength.

For a relaxing bath treatment at home grab this product here for £1.95.


We love bathing here at The Amazing Blog, and a therapeutic bath is even better. How great would it be to have all the effects of a spa at home? Atlantavive has done it with its Ocean Oak Bath Soak .

The Ocean Oak Bath Soak has a curative power thanks to its natural properties and traditional methods coming from West Irish Coast. Opening the wooden box, you will find 400g of Ocean Oak brown seaweed in a hand crafted Sinaway Soak bag. This cute package offers so many benefits for your skin directly coming from the nourishing and healing qualities of the ocean.

The seaweed will not only give a golden colour to your bath but will also help in alleviating eczema, inflammation, skin burns, insect bites and remove your skin’s toxins. It also claims to diminish wrinkles, dryness and fluid retention. This 100% organic skincare product is not only great for its consumers but for the environment as well, as the natural reproduction of all ingredients is respected. Additionally, you can repeat this relaxing experience for 2 to 3 times with the same pack!

Get your Ocean Oak Bath Soak spa treatment from Atlantavive here for £25.53.

When enjoying a bubble bath it is nice to add a little bit of luxury. These products are perfect, especially if you have had a long week of work. Bath salts and a relaxing body oil are all you need to achieve bliss, and 100 Acres Apothecary have some lovely offerings.

The first product we received from this brand was the Peppermint and Fennel Bath Salts. They smell gorgeous, and from the outset you can smell the peppermint oozing in the products that are all all made in the English countryside.  If you need to relax the body and mind, this product will help you to pamper yourself. For an added treat, use the Lavender and Jasmine Bath and Body Oil, which smells lovely and aromatic. The oil is comprised of natural botanicals and essential oils, which will leave your skin intensely nourished and soothed, resulting in baby-soft skin.

Relax the mind and body with these two gems from 100 Acres. You can get the Peppermint and Fennel Bath Salts here for £16.00, and the Lavender and Jasmine Bath and Body Oil here for £20.00.

 

Skin Shop - KALME Basic Skincare Set

Now that we're putting the winter months behind us, most people are lucky enough to bid farewell to sore, chapped skin. For skin prone to rosacea, ruddiness and easy flushing, however, taming your skin is a constant battle, whatever the weather. We here at The Amazing Blog hate looking like Rudolph as we walk around outside. Lucky for us, Skin Shop’s KALME Skincare Set is helping to rid us of our red faces.

The KALME Skincare Set contains a brand new and patented extract of young caper buds that has been scientifically proven to help combat the symptoms of red skin and sensitivity by up to 70%. The new KALME range offers a plethora of benefits, which help to combat ruddiness and sensitivity, protect from UV damage, provide 24-hour moisturisation and a strong antioxidant action thank to its ingredients Derma Sensitive, NanoSun, Indinyl, and NDGA. I often suffer from redness around my nose, which flares up at the most unfortunate times, but after one use of the range, I noticed a significant reduction. My favourite product from the range is the Day Defence SPF25 Cream which, although not quite as moisturising as I would expect, is great when layered with an oil, offering sun protection to prevent any more redness appearing.  It's certainly a saviour when it comes to sore, angry looking skin.

The KALME Skincare Set (Basic) costs £39.95 and includes a SPF25 Day Defence Cream, a Night Repair Cream & Water-Free Cream Cleanser. Have a look at the Skin Shop website to stock up on the collection, and banish your bad skin days.

Skin Shop - KALME Undercoat

When you have sensitive skin, taking care of it can often be quite a balancing act. Trying to find the right creams and lotions to soothe at the same time as keeping the routine as minimal as possible can be quite a daunting task. Luckily, we here at  The Amazing Blog have discovered KALME Undercoat from Skin Shop, a great two-in-one that acts as both a gentle moisturiser and base for sensitive skin. With one less product in our beauty routine, our skin is much happier!

Designed with sensitive skin in mind, the KALME Undercoat acts as a barrier as well as a skincare staple, increasing the skin’s tolerance to a variety of cosmetics. Since skin sensitivity is often aggravated by a build-up of harmful additives, it's great to discover a product that provides a little protection. Free from parabens, the soothing cream provides instant cooling relief when applied. Skin Shop suggest leaving the product to sink in for about 15 minutes before layering on any more products, and I did worry that as an effective moisturiser, it may cause my make-up to slide around a bit. Quite the opposite was true, and my foundation stayed put all day. Not only that, any redness in my skin was calmed, negating the need for excess concealer. It's the perfect addition to my skincare routine, and has made quite a difference to my sensitive visage.

Pick up your own KALME Undercoat here for £17, and let your sensitive skin breathe a sigh of relief.

Friday Favourites - Lip Balm Feature

We at The Amazing Blog love a good lip balm for keeping our lips moisturised. This week, we picked our four favourite balms that will ensure your lips stay soft and smooth all day long.
 

Stress from work and bitter, weather-induced colds can mean unsightly cold sores, which can affect your confidence and your party-ready image. Thankfully, we have the liquorice lip balm from Skin Shop to keep cold sores at bay and our lips hydrated. The lip balm contains liquorice extract, so it helps to reduce the severity and duration of cold sores naturally. It evens works better than most traditional cold sore treatments, but doubles as a chic balm that comes in a stylish, circular container. The liquorice balm is free of parabens, perfumes, MI and SLS and is clear and natural with a faint liquorice aroma. To cure your cold sores fast and prevent new outbreaks from occurring, get your own container from Skin Shop here for £7.95 and get ready to see immediate results and flawless lips.

For a fabulous lip balm you can share with your lover, we love the unscented lip balm from Dr. Harris & Co. because of its modern packaging and super moisturising texture. The balm contains menthol and cocoa butter, which are restorative properties designed to make you lips as smooth as possible. It’s unscented and has a lightweight texture that is never sticky or overwhelming, and feels as soft as butter on your lips. The product is luxurious yet affordable and was previously featured in the British Airways First Class bag. To get your own Dr. Harris lip balm, head to their website here and pick one (or two) up for £4.95 and get ready for a kiss-worthy pucker.

CouleurCaramelLipBalmPhoto.jpg

Trying to find a solution to dry, cracked, winter-damaged lips? Look no further than the transparent lip balm from Couleur Caramel cosmetics for an easy, one-step fix. The lip balm is loaded with super-nourishing ingredients and comes in a cute lipstick-style tube, rather than a standard lip balm tube or pot. Since it isn’t sticky and feels ultra-lightweight, you can apply it as often as you desire from its lipstick-style tube to instantly smooth and soften your lips. It applies cleanly and is a wonderful base before using your standard coloured lipstick. Get your hands on your own nourishing balm for £15 on the Couleur Caramel website here and never worry about chapped lips again.

For a fresh and tropical twist on your everyday lip balm, we highly recommend the lime and coconut lip balm from Filbert’s Bees, a 100% natural body care company. The lime and coconut lip balm is only one of many different balms the company makes, but this flavour is one of their best sellers. It comes in a cute, little tin that makes it easy to take with you wherever you go. The organic coconut scent offers a smooth, buttery feel, while the zesty lime scent refreshes and awakens the senses. When combined, the two scents will transport you from your office to a tropical holiday whenever you use the product. To pick up your own Filbert’s lip balm, head here and purchase as many as you’d like for £3.85 each.

The Amazing Blog's Bank Holiday Essentials!

It is with heavy hearts that we note Autumn is now looming and Summer now drawing to a close.  This weekend we're all preparing for the bank holiday which is only a week away! This is the perfect break away for us all to get some ‘me-time’ and take in the last bursts of sunshine (we hope) getting away for a long  weekend with friends and family.  In anticipation, here at The Amazing Blog we have compiled a special collection of products that we think are absolute essentials for your bank holiday travel adventures.  Enjoy... Oh-lief is one of our greatest  discoveries - it hails  all the way from  South African. Thecompany was born ‘out of the desire to use products that would not harm the skin or the environment. Their products are made from locally sourced, 100% natural, organic and raw ingredients. We've all been blown-away by what we can only describe as their 'miracle cream' it's the Oh-lief's Natural Aqueous Cream. Originallyformulated for babies’ skin (but perfectly fine for adults too).  It is a brilliant multi-tasker - i.e.  as a  great cleansing wash or a highly moisturising body and face butter. Basically it's fantastic 'all-in-one'.  The product is a very thick, soft, hydrating cream and as we mentioned, 100% natural . The Natural Aqueous Cream retails at £6.83 and can be purchased from the Savant Health websitefrom the 1st September. It's perfect for everyone from baby to granny and will be ideal for any family who travel.

Natural-Olive-Aqueuos-Cream-250ml
Natural-Olive-Aqueuos-Cream-250ml

Vegesentials is another one of our new finds. With no  pre-packaged or GMI ingredients their new range of combined fruit and vegetable drinks are not only unusual but delicious and good for you too.  Absolutely perfect for the whole family to enjoy, they come in five different blended flavours. Our favourites were the Carrot, Mango, and Parsnip and the Celery, Apple, and Kale varieties. They are cleverly blended, and do not taste like a salad as some of you might think. They're great way to get part of your five-a-day and  for also putting into your rucksack or the car for the long journey ahead. They are available for £1.59 from the Vegesentials website as well as Whole Foods stores and Waitrose.

Vegesentials Full Range 2
Vegesentials Full Range 2

Another interesting product that we found is the healing Cardiospermum Gel. It is a clear to green-ish gel created from the Cardiospermum Plant (as name suggests). This is a wonderful remedy for people with sensitive skin as this plant extract and aloe extract in the formula are very soothing for sensitive and dry skin. We think that this would be good for anyone who over-suns themselves and needs some instant skin-cooling relief. The only thing you might want to be a little careful about is not to use this gel on broken skin - it stings! Again,  it's perfect for people who are travelling and who are spending time outdoors where we know skin irritations often happen. The Cardiospermum Gel is available from The Skin Shop website for £9.95.

CardioGel_enhanced_media
CardioGel_enhanced_media

For those of you heading off to the beach for the bank holiday weekend, you might like to think about a very special sunscreen. We stumbled upon a unique formula called Safe Sea by Lifesystems and Nidaria Technology which has an amazing Jellyfish Sting Protection. We have the 15, 30 and 50 SPF and are looking forward to taking this with us to the seaside as this is the year for record breaking shoals of Jellyfish on our UK shores -  therefore we think it most appropriate!  Safe Sea Sunscreen with Jellyfish Sting Protection was developed to help protect against the stinging mechansim of most Jellyfish, Sea Nettle, Sea Lice and Coral. It contains unique, patented ingredients that deactivate the stinging mechanism, leaving you safe and sound. Jellyfish and the like are becoming increasingly common both at home and abroad, but Safe Sea will help to take the sting out of any chance encounter. A truly amazing formula that you can purchase the sunscreen on the Purple Turtlewebsite for £9.95.

SafeSeaKids-150w
SafeSeaKids-150w

Packing snacks for weekends away is a must, as we all know there's always someone who will be moaning about being hungry on the journey. Pre-made granola is a perfect snack to bring along on these occasions, and we have found one that is sure to please everyone - even those  with dietary restriction. Nature’s Path Organic Gluten Free Nice & Nobbly Granola this is delicious and gluten-free, so it is perfect for those who cannot have the usual cracker type snacks. We tried their Pumpkin Seeds, Almond & Raisins with a Dash of Cinnamon  and their Blueberries, Raspberries, Strawberries & Yoghurt Chunks varieties.  Both of which we highly recommend, they were extremely moreish on the taste buds and we found ourselves continually nibbling straight from the packets - so also perfect for in between phone calls in the office! Plus, this granola will be brilliant to help fill any hunger pangs and keep you and your companions bolstered up for the trip. Visit the Nature's Path website for information on their stockists.

pumpkin seeds image
pumpkin seeds image

And finally for all those chatter-boxes on your journey, we've  found something to help you compete (after all you'll need something to keep your lips moist to respond to all their banter); its the wonderful Kukui & Shea Butter Natural Lip balm fromPure Thoughts This lip balm helps to soothe and protect with its unusual Kukui nut oil (well-known for its ability to heal dry skin). It's unscented and can also be used anywhere on the body to treat dry skin.  Pure Thoughts is a 100% natural skincare company that we have recently discovered. They do lots of other products too (watch out for our review on their Whipped Shea Body Butter). But we think that this lip balm is a real winner it smells lovely, the feel is just perfect - silky instead of sticky. It retails for £3.95 on the Pure Thoughts website.

Kukui Shea Butter Balm Group 2
Kukui Shea Butter Balm Group 2