Rose oil

UXB - Shower Creams

After a tiring day, nothing feels more refreshing than stepping into a steamy, hot and aromatic shower. The Amazing Blog has reviewed a variety of shower products and certainly weren’t aware that hard water showers could actually strip away natural oils until UXB warned us. This company has given this matter a lot of thought and strives to combat this issue with its handmade line of nourishing Shower Creams. The steam from the shower activates the ingredients formulated in these Shower Creams, allowing the skin to become porous and absorb the rich oils and ingredients. This British brand was founded by Simon who found his inspiration on holiday in Turkey: “Cleansing is the cornerstone of skincare. Without clean skin any other actives you apply will not soak in. Also, when the skin is wet in the shower or bath it is more porous and receptive to actives...  It took a year of formulating and a lot of mistakes to come up with our first shower cream range. We’ve purposefully made a liquid cleanser for ease of use.”

Inside the creams are vitamin-rich oils, specific for each skin type that heal and trap moisture. Whether you suffer from dry, oily, mature or polluted skin, UXB has designed a shower cream targeted for you. Simon very kindly sent us all four of his shower creams to try. The first one we tried was the Frankincense & Argan Shower Cream fights dry and ashy skin. The formula uses argan, avocado and tamanu oils to soften rough areas. Combined with frankincense and black peppers, the essential oils continue to restore skin, producing a healthy glow; and also consists of glycerin that keeps moisture. This formula proved to be great hit with the boys in the office as it has quite a robust fragrance. We also like that when you breathe in the essences of frankincense, black peppers, rosemary, with a hint of the bergamot citrus, it helps to aid relaxation. All products have a pH level of 5/6, the natural acidity of the skin. Purchase a bottle here for £6.

Those of us with slightly more oily skin tried the Brown Rice Milk & Raw Honey Shower Cream. This is made from Dead Sea salt to cleanse with its antioxidant properties. The raw honey is antibacterial and anti-inflammatory that opens blocked pores. The combination of low comedogenic oils still locks in moisturise, while reducing existing sebum. It helps the skin feel less oily without drying it out or going into hyper oil production. This caramel and sage-scented product is deliciously moreish, it almost smells good enough to eat! Buy here for £6.

Next the Juniper & Açaí Berry Shower Cream, this aids polluted and sun damaged skin by strengthening it with the benefiting properties of acai, juniper and black cumin seed oil to mop up stubborn pollutants. This has some of nature’s most powerful antioxidants for this cream and it went on holiday with one of the team. It was reported back that this cream wash was so gentle that it soothed her sunburn and kept the skin flexible and moisturised allowing it to healing and recovery. This is definitely the one to pack for your sunshine holidays. What we also liked was the invigorating yet subtle zesty fragrance from tangerines and oranges. You can buy a bottle here for £6.

Finally, the fourth shower cream: Rosehip & Comfrey Shower Cream which is designed for more mature skin to hydrate, moisturise and revitaliseRose oil is both hydrating and soothing, while hints of vegetable glycerine locks in moisture and helps to plump the skin. The warmed dried comfrey (rich in Allantoin which protects and softens) and gotu kola leaves soaked in pure sunflower oil (which has been used Indian skincare for centuries for its toning properties) give this shower cream it’s richness. The rosehip oil regenerates the skin and primrose oil builds a barrier that creates plumper skin. The combination of rose, ylang ylang and lavender essential oils give the shower cream a floral fragrance and more of an aromatherapy twist than the others. This particular bottle was a great hit with girls in the office. To purchase see here for £6

All shower creams should be applied when skin is damp. Just lather a generous amount all over your body, leave for a few seconds and then wash off. They all left us feeling squeaky clean but none of these UXB Shower Creams dried out our skin, which in turn meant we economised, no need for body lotions or oils!

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.