YOPE - Green Tea & Mint TGA Soap & Hand Cream

The winters here in London are no joke, and we find ourselves in a constant cycle of washing our hands just to avoid getting sick, and then applying hand cream as the hard water dries them out. We’ve been looking for the perfect natural products to use at the Amazing Blog to keep our hands clean, healthy and soft. Enter YOPE.

YOPE was founded by Polish husband and wife team Karolina and Pawel Kosowicz after a need arose for natural personal and home care products at affordable prices. Together, they set out to create a line of products that are safe for their young children to use and accessible for families of all backgrounds to enjoy. Their mission didn’t stop there – they wanted to ensure their products were also environmentally friendly and sustainable. Over 90% of the ingredients are natural and minimally-processed, with 100% of them being safe for people and pets. All YOPE products are beautifully scented with distinctive fragrances and we loved how the scent lingered on the skin and created an uplifting feeling. Ooh and did we mention the adorable branding? Look out for the soft pastel colours and small animal illustrations covering the products. 

The YOPE Green Tea & Mint TGA Soap Formula was made to be gentler than even the most gentle hand soap on the market. TGA is a special combination of plant-based surfactants that are safe for every skin type and age. It supports the skin’s natural lipid barrier keeping our skin silky smooth all winter long! It’s formulated with pure botanical extracts, soothing allantoin and regenerating vitamin B5. This is a hand wash that we’d feel comfortable sharing with the whole family!

After lathering up with the Tea and Mint Natural Liquid Soap with TGA Formula, we recommend following up with the Tea & Mint Natural Hand Cream. This refreshingly scented hand cream contains no parabens, silicones, colour additives or mineral oils.  After applying it, our hands felt super soft with the argan, coconut and olive oils. We recommend reapplying after every hand wash to prevent dry and cracking hands. Not to mention, the green tea extract promotes the production of collagen fibres in the hand helping to keep them young-looking. Interested in purchasing YOPE soap and hand care products? The Tea &Mint Hand Cream can be purchased here for £5.99 for 100ml. The Tea and Mint Natural Liquid Soap can be purchased here for £5.99 for 500ml, both are on special offer now, saving you £3 on each product.

Charlie Miller - Haircare

There’s no disputing the fact that going into a salon, will always give us our best hair days at The Amazing Blog, however, we don’t always have the time to sit in the chair and get pampered. So, finding a renowned salon brand of haircare that allowed us to ‘good hair days’ at home has to the answer. We were highly recommended (by those in the know) to try the new Charlie Miller Shampoo and Conditioner and we couldn’t wait!

After working in the hair industry for many decades, the Millers knew exactly what they wanted to achieve with their luxury haircare line. Charlie Miller, the founder of Charlie Miller Hairdressers, started his career over 50 years ago as a hairdresser and followed on by opening a chain of salons. Now, his sons Jason and Joshua Miller have sparked a second-generation evolution to the family haircare business by launching a brand of take-home hair products.

Charlie Miller Haircare was launched at the end of 2018 with hopes of providing the luxury Charlie Miller experience without having to travel into the salon. With 3 shampoos and 2 conditioners, the haircare line has something for every hair type. All of the products are formulated with jasmine extract, organic calendula flower extract and organic sage oil to help lock in moisture, soothe dry scalps and encourage new hair growth. The Hydrate Shampoo and Conditioner work best when used in tandem to help hydrate, moisturise and comfort the scalp. The Hydrate Shampoo and conditioner left our hair feeling so healthy and smooth with great texture and shine! This was our favourite in the range.

The Volume Shampoo and Conditioner work together to provide extra body to limp and flat locks. Just massage into scalp, rinse out and blow-dry and style to reveal fullness from root to tip. We loved how much bounce (and no frizz!) we had after testing out the Volume Shampoo and Conditioner. Charlie Miller even has a Silver Shampoo that has hues of blue to help neutralise and remove yellow tones in highlighted or platinum hair.

Did we mention their fragrances? We loved the subtle floral fragrance with hints of lemon, green tea, and jasmine. It’s a light and uplifting scent, perfect for keeping hair fresh all day long. Each of the shampoos and conditioners are sulphate and paraben-free, so you don’t have to worry about harming your precious tresses.

Want to have the Charlie Miller’s hair experience at home? Then see the whole line of Shampoos and Conditioners which can be purchased here. The Shampoos retail for £17.95 per 250 ml and the Conditioners retail for £18.95 per 250ml.

Charlotte Harley Candles - Candle & Diffuser

Are you looking for a natural way to increase your focus and productivity in the workplace? Or maybe you just want to return home to somewhere that is calm and aromatic. At the Amazing Blog we’ve found the all-natural home fragrance brand Charlotte Harley Candles. It’s particularly at this time of year when lighting candles helps to brighten up the mood. What we like about Charlotte Harley Candles, is that we can breathe in a big (scented) sigh of relief, as they are made from eco soy wax which is deemed to be cleaner and with a longer burn time.

Charlotte Harley was inspired to start her own candle brand in 2012 when she was pregnant with her first child. After learning that the traditional candles she’d been burning contained quite a lot of toxins, she set out to create her own brand without all the nasties. Hand-poured in small batches right here in the UK, each candle is uniquely made with eco soy wax, aromatherapy grade essential oil and organic cotton wicks. That’s it!

We were kindly sent both the Sweet Orange & Ylang Ylang Candle and the Lime & Basil Reed Diffuser. The Sweet Orange & Ylang Ylang Candle she describes as a ‘sunny blend of happiness and warmth’ and we couldn’t agree more. With the uplifting scent of orange and the aphrodisiac properties of ylang ylang, it’s the perfect scent for a night of romance. The 30cl candle has a burn time of approximately 45 hours, so you don’t have to worry about your favourite scent burning out too quickly.

The Lime & Basil Reed Diffuser is made with the highest quality essential oils and a non-toxic natural base. The lime and basil combination is glorious! With this fragrance we found it to be energizing and increase focus. Perfect for putting in the office to boost productivity and concentration. Each Charlotte Harley diffuser lasts for up to 12 weeks or more if kept out of direct sunlight. Not only that, we love their simple and elegant design which will enhance any home decor.

If you want to find a special Christmas gift or fill your home with the heavenly scent of Charlotte Harley Candles (and reed diffusers) with none of the nasties, then look no further. Charlotte Harley Candles can be purchased on her website with a price of £22 for a 30cl Candle and £20 for a 100ml Reed Diffuser.

Jeffrey’s Tonic

With the party season nearly upon us, we’re always looking for a fresh take on our favourite cocktails in order to impress! At The Amazing Blog we love a good gin and tonic just as much as the next person, however, we’ve found ourselves getting a little jaded with just plain tonic water, which is normally on offer. That’s where our #amazingfinds and discovery of Jeffrey’s Tonic comes in.

Jeffrey’s Tonic started when Mike and Maureen Robinson received a book for Christmas all about gin, tonic waters and syrups. After experimenting with the recipes and getting glowing reviews from family members, it finally clicked to the Robinsons that this might be something they should share. The distinctive ingredients are what make Jeffrey’s Tonic stand out. The syrups are made from cinchona bark straight from Ecuador. While most other syrups use quinine a extract, Jeffrey’s uses bark straight from the tree which gives it a distinct amber colour. Discovered in Peru, cinchona bark is known for its anti-fever properties. Did you know that Robert Talbot used cinchona bark to cure King Louis XIV of France of malaria?

Jeffrey’s Syrups come in 4 varieties and it is recommended that you mix them in a 1:5 ratio with soda water. The Not So Plain Tonic Syrup is simply made with cinchona bark and organic Sicilian lemon juice. We recommend pairing it with complex or fruity gin for an interesting cocktail. The Original Recipe is the first recipe that Mark and Maureen made, with cassia, nutmeg and allspice, The Original is a great addition to any Christmassy drink. We recommend adding a splash to your whisky cocktail for a round, bold flavour. The Lime, Galangal & Orange pairs perfectly with your bubbly prosecco or with soda water for an adult soft drink astThe galangal gives depth to the delicious citrus flavours. Whereas the combination of their Yarrow, Rosehip & Elderflower provides a really delicate flavour, perfect for pairing with a floral gin or dry prosecco!

If you want to add an original twist to your drinks this season, the individual Jeffrey’s Tonic Syrups can be purchased here for £7.00 for 200ml. Apart from being able to purchase them individually, we also like the Gift Set with all four varieties of Tonic Syrups, and think it makes the ideal stocking filler this Christmas, as it’s only £14 for four 50ml samples here.

Kalahari – Mafura Body Balm & Manipedi Hand & Body Moisturiser

The changes of seasons and central heating always makes our skin dry, flaky and dehydrated. As the skin is the largest organ of the body, it’s probably the one that is most forgotten about, hidden under layers of clothing during these cold months.  At The Amazing Blog we take winter skincare very seriously, which is why today we wanted to bring you our latest #amazingfinds with the South African based salon brand Kalahari Lifestyle We initially met Kalahari Lifestyle at a London trade show and found ourselves intrigued by their products. They very kindly gave us the Kalahari’s Mafura Body Balm and Manipedi Hand & Body Moisturiser to review.

Carina Franck, Founder and Director of Kalahari Lifestyle had always shown an interest in nature and through exploring ancient formulas and secrets for natural health from the Kalahari Desert, she built up a strong connection with the local Khoi San families. Their lifestyle and secret remedies inspired her to create a range of natural skincare and body products that would encapsulate the African itself with harvested authentic botanical ingredients. These are plant oils and extracts, from reputable Phytotrade organisations and certified sustainable resources, with stringent eco-awareness protocols ensure the safety of the vulnerable African ecosystems.

Let’s start with Kalahari’s Mafura Body Balm which is an ultra-moisturising balm with mafura seed butter, shea butter and baobab seed oil. These exclusive blends of African key ingredients help to reduce signs of premature ageing as they contain an enzyme that exfoliates, and a complex of vitamins A, D, E, F and other multiple antioxidants to deeply nourish the body. These natural ingredients will make your skin look much brighter leaving you with a delicious subtle sweet and fruity fragrance. Kalahari Lifestyle suggests applying it after using your shower gel paying extra attention to those drier areas like elbow and knees. We found that this Body Balm to be very long-lasting (all day!) effective and intensely replenishing. We’ll be buying more!

Now let’s talk about their Manipedi Hand & Body Moisturiser, this comes in a smaller tube making it ideal to carry with you and applying on the go. This moisturiser contains grapeseed oil, which is high in Omega-6 and linoleic acid that helps to unclog pores and has both antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Also containing guna beans and ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, these seeds contain between 40% and 60% oil that is rich in triglycerides mainly ricinolein acid; the combination of which makes it an excellent skin hydrator. We enjoyed using the Hand & Body Moisturiser with its gentle illuminating shimmer (from the mica and titanium dioxide) on our décolleté and shoulders which gave us an even more of a radiant glow.

If you too want to give your body a little love this winter, get your Kalahari Lifestyle products in select salons. Or purchase the 200ml Mafura Body Balm for €43 here and the 50 ml Manipedi Hand & Body Moisturiser for €19.90 here .