Eleni and Chris facemasks : Glow, Detox, Hydration

If you keep up with us here at The Amazing Blog, you'll know we're fans of the Scandinavian hair and skincare brand Eleni and Chris.  So naturally we were thrilled that we get to review all three of their new Sincell Face Masks. These sheet masks are perfect for a quick and easy pick me up for any age or skin type and can be easily catered to your skincare needs, whether you need some added Glow, a Detox, or a bit more of a Hydration boost.  

What makes these sheet masks stand out amongst the crowd are the pure ingredients that are only found in the dreamlike landscape of Scandinavia. Your skin will quickly crave unique ingredients like the cloudberry extract found in the Glow Sincell Mask, which is renowned for its ability to increase cell production by 22% within 24 hours to smooth your skin tone, leaving you with nothing but a natural glow. Scandinavian glacier water and SEA3Oil are two more key ingredients carefully sourced in Scandinavia and then infused in the ultra-fine fibres of each mask to retain the delicate osmotic balance of your skin.

The Detox Sincell Mask is also packed with grapefruit, oat and liquorice root extracts, which protect your skin against all those toxins and free radicals. Last, but certainly not least, the creamy Hydrating Sincell Mask is sure to bring back that much needed moisture that the winter weather has sucked away. The apple extract, cocoa butter, hyaluronic acid and sage leaf extract will instantly rehydrate your skin while also improving its ability to keep that moisture in its place.

These user-friendly sheet masks go on dry skin; no water necessary means one less step. These sheet masks give a great creamy consistency, they also don't contain any fragrance or mineral oils which is a huge plus. Leave on the face for 15-20 minutes, remove and gently massage any excess into the skin. Eleni and Chris recommend using the mask 1-2 times a week for good results. If you’d like to get your hands on these revolutionary sheet masks first, you can purchase them individually for £9 or a 6-pack for £49 here.

Nano - Intensive Whitening Kit & Toothpaste

Here at The Amazing Blog, we know how important it is to have a bright white smile. Unfortunately, we don’t all have the time or funds for professional teeth whitening. However, we have found the next best thing, the Nano Intensive Whitening Kit by Whitewash Laboratories. As well as an Intensive Whitening Kit we also received Nano’s Whitening Toothpaste and Premium Whitening Toothbrush, and it’s safe to say we’re obsessed.

The products are designed by UK dentists and are clinically proven to be safe and effective, so you don’t have to worry about your teeth feeling sensitive afterwards unlike most teeth whitening kits. The kit contains 28 Intensive Whitening Strips (14 sets of 2) which can be used as a 2-week course, or as needed as a quick fix to top up your smile. The strips come in a fresh mint flavour and are formulated with a unique oxidising whitening ingredient; they’re completely safe on enamel and whiten teeth by 3.6 shades after just 1 application. The kit also contains 2 Intensive Whitening Gel Syringes and 2 Boil and Bite Mouth Trays; the gel was developed by dentists to be effective and easy to use. You simply mould the mouth trays to fit the shape of your mouth, line the trays with the Intensive Whitening Gel, place in your mouth for 35 minutes, rinse and voila! A bright, white Hollywood smile.

We also received the Nano Whitening Toothpaste and Toothbrush, which work amazingly in addition to the Intensive Whitening Kit. The toothpaste can be used daily to give your teeth a brightening boost and remove any new surface stains. Designed by UK dentists, the toothpaste contains advanced enamel care technology and Xylitol to help reduce sensitivity and prevent plaque formation. The toothbrush is made of whitening bristle technology which is proven to remove 35% more stains compared to normal bristles. You definitely need to give these Nano Intensive Whitening products a try, our smiles have never looked better! You can purchase the Intensive Whitening Kit here for £39.95, Whitening Toothpaste here for £11.99 and Whitening Toothbrush here for £4.99.

Rouge Bunny Rouge Cosmetics - Primer & Contouring Liquid

As beauty lovers here at The Amazing Blog we were so excited to receive some products from Rouge Bunny Rouge. They sent us their ‘Shadow Play’ Natural Defining & Contouring Liquid and ‘Prelude in the Clouds’ Aqua Primer, and it’s safe to say we are impressed. These products may become staples in our make-up bag!Priming the skin is an essential part of creating a flawless base, and the Aqua Primer is no exception. This water-based primer glides seamlessly onto the skin creating a smooth and luminous base. The primer contains lots of amazing active ingredients; such as Sea Buck-Thorn Berry extract that is an amazing anti-oxidant and anti-ageing ingredient that promotes cell tissue regeneration. Iris Florentina Root Extract helps smooth out fine lines and wrinkles, while Saccharide Isomerate provides intense moisturisation. Bisabolol is used in the primer for its anti-inflammatory and anti-irritant capabilities, helping counteract any redness you may have. Additionally, the primer also contains Vitamin E and Retinol Palmitate to help improve skin texture, giving you that smooth and flawless look. With all these amazing ingredients you can see why this primer works; if you want to create the perfect base for your foundation you need to try it.

Contouring has quickly become a staple part of a lot of our make-up routines and the ‘Shadow Play’ Natural Defining & Contouring Liquid is a super easy product to use to create a perfectly chiselled face. The formula is easy to blend out and leaves a flawless finish; you can use little or build the product up to achieve your desired look. The product comes with an easy to use sponge applicator that glides effortlessly across the face, once dried the product is super long lasting! You don’t have to worry about this fading throughout the day and night.

You can purchase the Rouge Bunny Rouge ‘Shadow Play’ Natural Defining & Contouring Liquid here for €35.00 and ‘Prelude in the Clouds’ Aqua Primer here for €53.00.

The Handmade Soap Co: Lemongrass & Cedarwood Shower Gel and Lemongrass & Bergamot Body Butter

At The Amazing Blog, we value brands that care about our planet especially when their products and ingredients help to make this world a greener place. We came across The Handmade Soap Co, at our client's Supply & Buy event, where we engaged in a long chat with one of the founders Donagh Quigley.  This Irish artisan brand started in 2010 and has gone on to create some of finest natural bath and body products using only 'essential oil blends and nature’s pantry'. Donagh very kindly gave us their Lemongrass and Cedarwood Shower Gel and Lemongrass and Bergamot Body Butter to experience for ourselves.

Shower time is often synonymous for us with revving up for the start of another day. And we certainly enjoyed using this zesty and woody fragrance to stimulate the senses and help us on our way. The Lemongrass and Cedarwood Shower Gel is an amazing shower gel which cleared our heads and helped to give us focus for the day ahead. Formulated with natural and botanical ingredients including lemongrass, cedarwood, amyris, mandarin, patchouli and geranium oil; this shower gel gently cleanses the body while making it feel velvety smooth and wonderfully fragranced. 

The Lemongrass and Bergamot Body Butter was our favourite. This luxurious body butter is packed with the finest plants and botanic extracts including: Shea butter, cocoa butter, sweet almond oil, apricot kernel oil, aloe vera, bergamot oil, ylang-ylang flower oil and bergamot oil. What a list! This delicious blend makes a highly nourishing butter that pampers the skin and hydrates. The lemongrass and bergamot also gives an irresistibly fresh and zesty scent that lingers on the skin all day long.

The Handmade Soap Co's products are made with 99.7% of natural ingredients with the other 3% being only the binding agent and preservative (to stabilise the body lotions). We're happy to report that this brand is without parabens, petrochemicals and SLS. Even the card that is used for the packaging is from sustainable sources and printed with vegetable-derived ink! You can purchase the shower gel here for £10.64 and the body butter here for £17.76

Friday Favourites: Face Masks

There is nothing better for your body and mind than the occasional pamper day. It is utterly imperative to take the time to give your face and body the attention it needs. We at The Amazing Blog follow a strict rule of giving ourselves a full-blown pamper session at least once a month because it helps us take a moment to breathe, reflect and slow down. Today we've featured a wide range of faces masks so whatever you skin type or budget we think we've got it covered!

If you are like us, then you’re in need of some interstellar relaxation, and the only brand that can meet such space-age promises is Spacemasks. We love that each mask has a stylish star-studded cover so you could literally use it anywhere; at home or on the go. Each box contains five masks guaranteed to whisk you to a world of peace. 

These masks are the perfect way to get your well-deserved beauty rest. Scented with jasmine essence, these masks are incredibly soothing. Added bonus? They heat up when opened, which left us feeling warm and cosy. It was a fantastic way to literally melt away all the stress of the day and drift off to a more beautiful world as we slept.  It is so easy to use this product, just open the pouch and unfold the mask. Then gently place it over your eyes and fit the loops over your ears.  The mask will start heating up pretty quickly as the oxygen reacts with the iron particles in the product. Leave it on for 15 minutes as you drift off to a space far away from Earthly stresses. 

For a better night’s sleep, reduce eye strain and relieve tiredness you can purchase your pack of 5 masks here for £15.00.

The second mask for your next pamper day that we would recommend is the Retexturing Radiance Mask from Lucia Magnani Skincare. One of most luxurious range of skincare that we've seen in a while, we all fell in love with this beautiful faux tortoise shell pot. This brand has a fundamental philosophy that helps them develop all of their products. They believe that their products should help bring out everyone's inner beauty to equip you with a natural radiance and a confident glow. 

This mask has a unique formula based on the individual properties found in the waters and mud of Castrocaro Terme in Italy. It is enriched with antioxidants CoQ10, Alpha-Lipoic Acid and Vitamin E. The combination of these ingredients helps the mask to regenerate, strengthen and preserves the skin's structure. The mask works to keep skin looking youthful and radiant. The presence of minerals and other key ingredients with an astringent effect reduces the size of pores, signs of redness and skin irregularities. We found that our skin was looking brighter and more radiant after use, making it the perfect product to lift you when you’re feeling a bit worse for wear. 

The product is the most effective when used 2-4 times a week. Just massage directly onto cleansed skin and leave to dry for around 5-20 minutes before rinsing off. We'd certainly like to try more products from this skincare range. You can purchase the face mask here as part of their 6 part Ben Essere skincare set for £590 which contains all the brands signature products.

The next mask we wanted to introduce you to is the steinEY from Soley.  Containing Wild Icelandic Herbs and Volcanic Ash, this face mask will make you feel Scandi chic in 10 minutes.

The face mask contains minerals that regulate and balance skin, stimulate cellular metabolism and strengthen skin tissues while also reducing the signs of ageing. Packing in an exfoliating effect, the mask will also help to even out skin texture by removing dead skin cells, toxins and other impurities. The rich volcanic clay from Eyjafjallajökull and the Wild Icelandic birch promote the skin’s natural equilibrium, meaning you will be looking like your best self in no time. Mix ½ a teaspoon of the mask with ½ a teaspoon of water and apply evenly to clean skin with fingertips once a week. Leave it on until it dries and turns a light grey, which should take roughly 10 minutes. You can purchase the mask here for £38

Last, but by no means least, we wanted to introduce you to the Chlorella-Algae Mask from one of our favourite brands, ISUN.

This mask is suitable for all skin types and is ideal for people looking for a calming and hydrating gel mask. The mask contains superfood ingredients such as Chlorella-algae and Aloe Vera, which calms, nourishes, soothes and firms the skin. The lavender and rosemary oils in the mask help to enhance the skin-soothing properties and make this a sensory experience as well as a rejuvenating one. We think that this mask is particularly good for those with sensitive skins and the co-owner Tracey Annette suggested: "Chlorella Algae Mask mixed with plain Natural Yoghurt is also excellent for hyper-sensitive skin conditions such as Rosacea." We're already fans for iSuncare skincare and have to say that this mask left our skin feeling more toned and hydrated and we also liked how fresh-faced we felt all day long. You can purchase the ISUN mask here for £52.00

No pampering session is complete without a face mask and we hope you enjoy trying our favourites too. Make your next ‘me time’ all that bit more special.