SELF - Boost of Protection Sunscreen SPF 30

The sun is now getting lower in the autumn sky, but this doesn’t mean that the UV rays are getting any weaker! We thought we’d review a few natural SPF products in the next few weeks, as some of you may be jetting away for a quick boost of Mediterranean sunshine. As regular readers will know, we’re big on our sun protection and always try to find some of the best and most natural products to suggest. We’ve been itching to try the natural skincare SELF who has its renowned SPF 30 Boost of Protection Sunscreen.

This natural skincare brand SELF hails from Belgium and launched in 2016 by Isabelle Ulenaers. Previously a psychologist, she now juggles her life between being a mother, wife and entrepreneur. The brand story started with her daughter, who has eczema and problematic skin. None of the prescriptive creams or so-called natural skincare worked. So, Ulenaers decided to take matters in her own hands, and SELF was born. The products are suitable for all skin types and are made from a list of natural and hypoallergenic ingredients. She personally oversees every formulation from the origin of the plant to the final product, and pushes her ideas to the limit, only using certified recyclable and sustainable packaging. We think that SELF is a safe, natural, ethical and transparent skincare. A multi-award winner; with Beauty Shortlist Awards in 2016, 2017 and 2019 and Natural Health International Beauty Awards in 2019. It is a vegan, cruelty-free and every product is gentle enough for even pregnant women and babies. All SELF products are free from parabens, artificial colours and odours and other synthetic components. They chose to work with recycled materials for and currently use plastic components such as polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

The Boost of Protection Sunscreen SPF30 a powerful and moisturising sunscreen, made with 100% vegan ingredients. We like that it offers optimal protection from the sun while also maintaining the moisture in the skin. Developed primarily for sensitive skin, this water-resistant sun lotion protects against UVA and UVB rays. It is very reef and environmentally friendly and contains euphorbia cerifera (candelilla) wax which helps reduce the appearance the stretch marks and signs of ageing. The avocado oil has a high percentage of vitamin E, as well as potassium, lecithin, and many other nutrients boosting in collagen levels. Which in turn, accelerates the healing process of issues like sunburn. The sesame seed oil blocks up to 75% of UV radiation and will shield and protect. The freshness of cucumber extract soothes and alleviates any pain from sunburn. It is rich in minerals, potassium and sulphur, and these ingredients cool the skin and keeping it refreshed. Finally, theobroma grandiflorum seed butter will absorb damaging UVA / UVB rays offering natural sun protection. The other ingredients such are coconut,  macadamia (palmitoleic acid), Argan oils are all full of antioxidants, vitamin E and essential fatty acids all of which are incredibly hydrating. The shea butter, has vitamins A, D and E and allantoin, an excellent moisturiser and protector against dehydration. These ingredients work as skin firming agents and is a UV protector. Then there’s aloe vera known for soothing burns, healing and boosting and protecting. Finally, there are essential oils with mandarin and geranium. Mandarin helps with both dry and oily skin, the geranium has anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and cleansing properties and is remarkably effective against fungal skin infections. We love that this Boost of Protection Sunscreen is water-resistant, pH neutral and leaves no white residue. And that they claim that it is 100% safe for all sensitive skins, even for those having chemotherapy. I’ve been using this throughout the summer and it’s light, absorbs quickly, and has a very subtle natural fragrance. It’s easy to use, plus if I feel the need for applying foundation, it works brilliantly as a primer under makeup. Would I buy more? Absolutely! See here to purchase your 100ml bottle for €38.00.

Beckford's White Pearl Rum & Coconut

We can feel the autumn nights drawing in, which of course, now gives us a good excuse to have a warming tot of rum! The Amazing Blog is back with Beckford’s Rum but this time with their new addition of White Pearl Rum & Coconut – yum!

Beckford’s Rums are named after and in honour of the one Beckford from history that Society can be proud of. Henry Beckford was a freed slave who attended the world's first anti-slavery congress by invitation, it was held in 1840 in London.  An ardent abolitionist he was accepted into polite society and became a beacon of light emerging from a dark past. An impression of Henry features on all our bottles and our premium Rum is also called “ Henry”. This range of four Beckford Rums offers the drinker a blend of anything from Rum & Caramel (see here), Black Pearl Spiced Rum & Spiced Pineapple and now the delicious White Pearl Rum & Coconut which we’re sipping now. All their rums have environmentally friendly credentials, as they’re produced in small batches with recyclable packaging and cork stoppers.

This elixir of White Pearl Rum & Coconut is as clear as crystal and with no caramel-like hue. We found this to be a much purer drink than the Rum & Caramel and far less like a liqueur. You may ask, what's the difference between light and dark rum?  When rum is first distilled, it’s always clear; light, silver or white rum is aged for less time than the other varieties. So think of this like a ‘virgin’ rum. Apart from being gluten, vegan and nut-free it’s made with only the finest premium Caribbean rum and baby coconuts. This White Pearl Rum & Coconut comes in a very palatable 25% ABV. Smooth as silk on the palate it tickles the taste buds and with its addition of coconut also gives it a  fantastic aroma. They suggest having this in pineapple juice or pink lemonade – but we preferred this drizzled over some vanilla ice cream! We got sent a 20ml bottle but you can purchase a 70ml bottle here for just £ 25.00. 

Azzedine: Raw Moroccan Rose Water & True Moroccan Rose Serum

Nature never ceases to amaze us. For centuries it has blessed us with its most exceptional ingredients for our body and soul, and today, at The Amazing Blog, we’re diving deep into the beauty of the rose. And what better country to talk about this majestic rose than Morocco, where they’ve been cultivating this queen of flowers for centuries. This highly-scented rose is from the Damask Rose variety and was originally grown in the Dadès Valley for dried flowers and rosewater. In the 1940s the French built distilleries in the area to produce rose oil which has been widely used in perfumery and skincare ever since. Each year during April and mid-May, the M'Goun Valley, also known as the Vallée des Roses produces between 3-4k tonnes of wild roses. This precious Moroccan rose has intoxicating rosy notes accented by spicy facets. Today, we want to introduce you to another of our #amazingfinds with the award-winning pure organic rose skincare range from the newly launched brand Azzedine.

The festival of roses is an annual three-day celebration in Morocco derived from the Berber traditions. Every year, thousands of people gather with garlands of fragrant roses, and a queen rose is elected to reign over the valleys for the year. The brand Azzedine, is a family run business and a recent start-up that brings the essence of Morocco rose right to your doorstep. When you close your eyes, and spritz their Raw Moroccan Rose Water, you can almost imagine yourself immersed in a sea of rose petals, smelling every fragrant note that it has to offer. Sourcing the roses directly from Vallée des Roses at the base of the Atlas Mountains, you can feel the love, passion and absolute devotion that has gone into their products. Where local Berber women harvest the fresh petals, which are then immediately steam distilled. During this process, purified distilled water passes through fresh rose petals, and extracts all of the soluble elements. The water then condenses and drips into a collecting vessel which is then called rose water. Azzedine recently won Editor’s choice in the prestigious 2020 Beauty Shortlist Mama & Baby Awards and we couldn’t be more delighted to share with you their two products: Raw Rose Water and True Rose Serum. They are an organic, authentic, ethical and luxurious skincare brand beautifully packaged in 100% recyclable bottles and boxes.

It’s no secret that we have a weakness for all things rose….so let’s start with Azzedine‘s Raw Moroccan Rose Water.  Rose water has been used throughout the ages not only topically but also to ingest. In fact, this majestic rose has been used for a multitude of purposes. Drinking rose water (NB this Raw Rose Water is not for consumption) is said to relieve depression, bloating and constipation. It is also a remedy for colds, flu, and sore throats and thought to help respiratory illnesses too. However, we’re concentrating on topical application. We used this 100% pure organic Raw Rose Water as a refreshing spritz spray during the hot weather, as well as a toner after cleansing.  It is also good for maintaining pH levels and controlling any excess sebum production. However, it’s the antioxidant properties that we like the best, where it protects against harmful free radicals and environmental aggressors. It is also a skin calmer, soothing eczema, dermatitis and acne inflammations. We found that with just a quick spray, it invigorated the skin and aura throughout the day, keeping us looking and feeling fresh. It is ideal for travelling, as a chemical-free perfume, on your hair, or tension-relief for tired eyes and is also gentle enough even for those with a sensitive skin. The aroma of roses is said to be a powerful mood enhancer and helps in the fight against ageing skin, keeping fine lines and wrinkles at bay. 

The next product from this Azzedine duo is their True Moroccan Rose Serum. Made primarily with raw organic Moroccan rose essential oil, all sourced from distilled pure rose petals, it smells unbelievably good and is super-soft on the skin. It’s mixed with natural texture enhancers and emollients such as cyclopentasiloxane,  dimethiconea, isopropyl myristate and finally, coco caprylate - all of which are considered true vegetable alternative for light petrochemical-based emollients.  The Serum is a great multitasker they recommend it as a mattifying primer before make-up or to applied to hair keeping it shiny and frizz-free, or even beards to keep them conditioned and smelling more fragrant!  We used it as a serum during the day under our SPF and then alone at night. We loved both the scent and texture – it left our complexions feeling like velvet. This together with a regular spritz of their Raw Rose Water made the perfect combination to keep our skin cool and hydrated during the heat of the summer months. We’re sure you’ll be just as charmed by these as we are. You can purchase this duo as a set here for £50.00 

Liolà Cosmetics - Nutrient-Rich Anti-Ageing Action Face Cream

With our new stay at home culture, the new make-up is no make-up! Skincare for us, at The Amazing Blog the priority beauty buy. And it would seem that we aren’t alone, as we ride through this turbulent time of the Covid19 pandemic. Lia Neophytou, the Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, recently commented: "With fewer out-of-home occasions for consumers to attend, as well as the transition to working at home, cosmetics has taken a backseat. Even when consumers do venture outdoors, the wearing of masks is further diminishing the need for cosmetics. All sectors in the cosmetics and toiletries industry are expected to return to growth in 2021, though will not recuperate their pre-COVID-19 value.” This is why today we’re want to introduce you to another of our #amazingfinds with the luxury and award-winning natural bio-peptide skincare by Liolà  Cosmetics from Italy. 

Liolà  Cosmetics is a luxurious range of skincare mixing the best natural ingredients with state-of-the-art biotechnologies. They were founded in 2018 by a group of like-minded Italian entrepreneurs with over 35 years of beauty experience, all of whom share the philosophy of simplicity, transparency and obsession for using only the finest natural ingredients. Here less is more, where they use minimal formulations to achieve a highly effective performance. Nature and innovative biotechnologies are at the sources of their quality actives; they don’t use any synthetic surfactants, parabens, silicones or mineral oils. They have the highest standards only using quality ingredients in order to deliver the experience of an authentic, tangible and luxurious experience. They also believe in is keeping a sustainable blueprint making sure that their products cohere to a practice helping to preserve the environment, as well as giving the customer the right product/quality ratio. In less than a year, they have produced four ranges with: Time Control, Black Diamond, Sport and 360 degrees. They have recently been recognised, winning Finalist at the Pure Beauty Global Awards 2020 with their Face Cream from the Time Control collection, which we are going to talk about today. All their products are 100% Italian, clinically tested, affordable and made with clean formulas. BTW you can scan the SKU on their products on the INCI Beauty App to find out their rating and explanation of ingredients.

The Time Control line is the hero range of the brand, only launched in 2019. It has bio-peptides which are substances formed by amino acids joined by covalent bonds known as amide or peptide bonds. Peptides act as a messenger between the top-most layer of skin or epidermis. Epidermal-dermal communication is important as it naturally breaks down as we age and is one of the causes of ageing. Here these bio-peptides are programmed to train the skin to fight the first signs of ageing, by toning and helping to diminish fine lines. We tried the Nutrient-Rich Anti-Ageing Action Face Cream which has a mix of 98% natural ingredients. The fragrance is fresh, it’s fast to absorb and light in texture, ideal for counteracting skin fatigue with it’s brightening and toning. It contains anti-ageing peptide which reduces the depth of facial wrinkles caused by the contraction of facial expression muscles, especially on the forehead and around the eyes. 

One of our favourite ingredients here is hyaluronic acid which will alleviate dry skin by hydrating and plumping due to its high molecular weight, where it helps to retain moisture between the skin cells. The Anti-pollution factor here is the vegetable-based ingredients with a synergic mix of a natural oxide-reductase enzyme and carefully selected soy peptides, small protein fragments produced by fermenting soybeans that neutralise the damaging effects of free radicals, pollution and UV. There is jojoba oil that aids in diminishing dryness and has anti-inflammatory properties which will reduce redness and also ease any irritation from eczema or rosacea. It also is rich in sweet almond oil which gives an emollient power to the cream as it improves the skin complexion and tone, helping reverse sun damage and restore the firmness of the skin making it look fresh. The black currant oil also has anti-inflammatory properties which will soothe irritation, nourish and protect. There are fatty acids with omega 6 and 3 which have protective properties, elasticising the skin lessening the effects of ageing. Last but not least, is the sunflower oil, here it’s a regenerator of damaged skin cells where it’s light, non-greasy and absorbs quickly without blocking the pores.

 Liolà Cosmetics advises applying morning and evening on clean skin. We found this to be a brilliant all-in-one Face Cream – no serum needed. When we tested this we found that it was nourishing enough to use alone, even on the driest skin type. It is expensive but if you work out ‘cost per wear’ using this alone without the need for a serum – we think it’s good value!  You can feel the luxury in every single detail, from the sourcing of ingredients to the presentation and packaging. Yes, we would buy more and for us, it’s a winner! We can’t wait to try more from this brand. To purchase your Nutrient-Rich Anti-Ageing Action Face Cream for see here.

Byre Bodycare: Skimmed, Semi-Skimmed & Full Cream Body Washes

It’s nearly the end of summer… and now the time for us at The Amazing Blog to look for pampering body products in preparation to help protect and hydrate our skin. We were curious to try a set of natural, milk-based body washes from Byre Bodycare. These are not only gentle on the body but also good for the environment with their recyclable bottles and tops.

The CEO Alicia Chivers and MD Quentin Higham of Byre Bodycare believe in supporting British farming as a vital industry, especially at this time of Covid19 and Brexit. After all, farm produce is at the heart of most of the food that we find on our table, which is why this brand values every single component from dairy farming, in particular, the whey. This is considered to be a waste product in the dairy industry with an annual waste of 870,000 tonnes as a by-product of milk and cheese production. Byre has taken this byproduct of whey to use as a key ingredient in their trio of luxury Byre Body Washes, which also contains 96% of naturally derived ingredients. We were impressed to learn that Byrne Bodycare supports the  Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution by donating a percentage from their annual sales to help supports farming families in adversity, which is why we’re delighted to talk about their natural range of bodycare today. 

There are currently three Body Washes in the range – just like milk they come in Skimmed, Semi-Skimmed and Full Cream. They are natural and all free from parabens, silicones, synthetic colours and mineral oils. They are very sensibly priced at a very reasonable £5 each.  Let’s start with the Byre Body Wash Skimmed, they say this is light, airy and creamy, and we couldn’t agree more. With its fruity fragrance, the sweet whey protein powder here contains collagen and amino acids which help maintain the skin’s elasticity and firmness. It is an antioxidant protecting against free radicals and helping to delay the signs of ageing. Whey protein also slows down the degeneration of muscles and also considered as a deep cleanser. It holds antibacterial properties that help in fighting acne and will restore the pH balance. This body wash is enriched with aloe vera known for being an excellent moisturiser and a fast wound healer. Also rich in vitamin A and C and these help to hydrate dry skin. The blend also includes poppy seed oil, a deep moisturiser that also reduces any inflammation. This natural body wash will condition and nurture the skin, leaving it feeling velvety and smooth. The second product in this range is the Byre Body Wash Semi-Skimmed which is smooth and whipped, slightly creamier than the Skimmed, with what we think is a meadowsweet/ floral fragrance. Alongside the whey powder, it contains aloe vera and vitamin E which will protect you from UV sun damage, calm and hydrate the skin. The poppy seed oil is beneficial for people suffering from skin ailments such as inflammation, eczema, prickly skin. Whereas vitamin C will even out skin tone and get rid of dark spots. This Semi-Skimmed Body Wash will stimulate your skin’s healing process keeping it smooth and rid it of rashes thanks to the richness of vitamin B5 and B6.  Just like they say, we are saving the best for last. The third product in this range won a silver medal in the 2020 Global Makeup Awards with their Byre Body Wash Full Cream. This is a rich, thick and creamy body wash and smells divine with its buttery vanilla fragrance. The key ingredients here are the nourishing sweet whey powder, aloe vera and poppy seed oil and oatmeal extract. The latter has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that will help treat dry skin and get rid of dead skin cells. It contains a natural component called saponins which makes the oatmeal a deep cleanser. Some customers have testified to it being a great product to use if you have skin conditions such as eczema or atopic dermatitis. We were impressed with how hydrating these all are and will certainly be buying more! You can find the trio of Byre Body Washes here for £5 each for 250ml