The Soap Loaf Company: Cosmeti-Craft Solid Deodorant Making Kit,

Even in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, at The Amazing Blog, we always try to make time for fun ways to combine our creative and practical skills - showing off our handmade products to friends! This time, we thought we’d try our hand at making a DIY deodorant from one of The Soap Loaf Company’s Cosmetics-Craft enterprising options with their award-winning Solid Deodorant Making Kit.

Founder Natasha Green launched the British Sheffield based brand The Soap Loaf Company  n 2012, offering a wide array of soaps, solid shampoos, bath bombs and bath products. Natasha developed an interest in soap-making and wanted to express her creative side after working for 11 years as a finance broker. She followed her passion and created The Soap Loaf Company to bring to market her own handmade toiletries and cosmetics, which led her to the launch of her workshops. Through The Soap Loaf Company, she began to host soap-making parties for children's groups and organisations. As the parties expanded with new products and ideas, she decided that it was time to attract the adult customer audience. In 2018 Natasha launched a sister brand Cosmeti-Craft, which went on to increase the products and output for workshops and parties for adults. Today, they host regular workshops all over South and West Yorkshire; the participants can follow tutorials to create soaps, bath bombs, moisturisers, shampoo bars, solid perfumes, scrubs, and many more. Cosmeti-Craft also has funded and charity rates for special needs groups, schools, universities, or charities. They tailor each workshop to offer support and resources, allowing each individual to express their creativity and sense of achievement, by creating a unique self-care Cosmetic-Craft product. The positive feedback from these has been overwhelming, Natasha told us that they often have reported how the workshops have helped engage and bring back joy into the participants' lives, boosting both morale and mental health. In addition to helping others, The Soap Loaf Company and its sister brand Cosmeti-Craft are determined to have a positive impact the environment. They focus on offering fully compostable packaging, reusing and recycling all materials from their suppliers, and ordering materials in bulk to reduce shipping frequency and CO2 emissions. They also collect bottle tops for a specialist recycling group, offer paper bags in store for customers, and reward customers with a 20% discount for bringing refillable containers when making further purchases. Recently Cosmetic-Craft has gained the attention of Virgin, Living Social, Uniquely Local, BBC Radio Sheffield, and Channel 5. Natasha herself, can often be found demonstrating the kits on Craft Store Sky Channel 673. All products and kits are organic, vegan and cruelty-free. They recently won a Bronze award in the Global Green Beauty Awards for Most Innovative Green Product with their Solid Deodorant Making Kit (below). We’ve also heard whispers that they’ll be making another announcements about a new award later on in the year…

The Soap Loaf Company kindly sent us their Solid Deodorant Making Kit to try out here; this is where the kit brings the workshop to you! It’s a bit like doing elementary chemistry and such a fun and easy thing to create. This kit gives you one finished solid deodorant, there are four key ingredients, together with two essential oils, and a reusable/ compostable container, and a fool-proof tutorial to follow. We like how they keep it simple; we won’t go into the details of how we made it (rather long-winded). Instead we’ll talk about the ingredients and our finished product.

Interestingly, we thought they’d use beeswax, but no, the kit provides candelilla wax instead, it’s a plant oil that becomes a solid wax once extracted. It's the best out of all alternatives to beeswax as it spreads and absorbs more efficiently and also offers more hydration. The shea butter in the kit also boosts skin moisture and soothes irritated inflamed skin. Did you know that most commercial high street deodorants contain sodium bicarbonate (AKA baking soda)? it’s a cheap surfactant and is used in deodorants to absorbs moisture and destroy odour. However, it can cause irritation and discolouration or staining on the skin. Instead of sodium bicarbonate, The Soap Loaf Company uses kaolin clay and magnesium flakes, as these ingredients are gentle, absorb moisture and control odour without changing the skin tone. Magnesium also has calming effects on the body and promotes cell growth and repair. The last ingredient is the fragrances; there are two different essential oils, we had the peppermint and orange essential oils - but there are many others to chose from. Combining these two (25 drops max is recommended) gives a refreshing aroma plus it offers antibacterial and antifungal properties, with extra bonus that these oils help to elevate the mood! This newly made deodorant does not contain artificial preservatives, palm oil, or chemical foaming agents, and it has a "use by" date of 6 months.

The kit itself also comes with very self-explanatory instructions and advice for creating the deodorant. With the completed mixture you fill the product container up to the top. Then leave it to set for 60 minutes - they suggest putting it in the fridge to speed it up. Any left over can be poured into a tin or heat proof container to use separately. Once set, your deodorant is ready to use - push up from the base and raise the deodorant mixture 1 cm and you’re ready to go! It feels soothing, smells great and best of all it’s been made with your own fair hands! If you fancy creating your own custom deodorant, or perhaps purchasing this kit as a gift. You can purchase the Solid Deodorant Making Kit here for £19.99 (as we did, without the online workshop) or at £29.99 with the online workshop. It’s another of our #amazingfinds and we found making this very relaxing and therapeutic to do. Watch this space as we’ll be trying out another of their kits very soon.

Mix Clean Green: Toilet Mix

At The Amazing Blog, when it comes to cleaning we to love finding eco-friendly and sustainable products. Meet Mix Clean Green, they care about what goes into their products and has super-concentrated waterless formulas. This, in turn, allows for the products to be sold in small containers, reducing the carbon footprint. This is something a little bit different for us to review, and we couldn’t wait to try out this award-winning Toilet Mix - as they’re the only company in the U.K. to produce a water-free, mix at home toilet cleaner!

Mix Clean Green is an innovative company looking to find eco-friendly ways to create sustainable cleaning products. It is a female-run British business, with Kate Deacon at the helm. Kate has children, and they were her inspiration for starting this company. Worried about plastic consumption, climate change and more, Kate wanted to create the most eco-friendly household products that she could. In an interview with MicroBizMag, she noted that “the overwhelming sense of greenwashing that you start to uncover when looking into ingredients in what we think of as eco-products…” This led to her passion for creating a truly eco-friendly and green brand of cleaning products. For those new to the term ‘greenwashing’ it is a concept defined as the “process of conveying a false impression or providing misleading information about how a company’s products are more environmentally sound.” Thus many brands today understand that consumers want green and eco-friendly products, so they create labels that seem like their products are planet-friendly without the ingredients to back them up. Kate found that beyond the ingredients in these greenwashed products, the process in “how they’re made or derived, and the damage they do” is also overlooked. Beyond the plastic-free products, Mix Clean Green has created palm-free, waterless, vegan-friendly, and non-toxic products. Mix’s clean, green and eco-friendly vision has definitely paid off, with the company winning multiple Green Home, Safe Home awards for the Beauty Shortlist Awards in 2021. With their evident passion for the environment and planet, we applaud Mix Clean Green for donating 5% of profits from sales of bottles and jars to Project Seagrass, which is an environmental charity that is devoted to advancing the conservation of seagrass through education, influence, research and action.” 

The Mix Clean Green’s Toilet Mix comes in a reusable tin, which contains the super-concentrate. This brilliant toilet cleaner just needs the addition of water to clean your loo. Mix Clean Green’s Toilet Mix “uses a cutting edge bio-surfactant” to help clean. These bio-surfactants are compounds that are synthesised from plants and microorganisms. These compounds are an excellent alternative to standard cleaning chemicals due to their “high biodegradability, low toxicity, multi-functionality, environmental capability and the availability of resources.” The Toilet Mix contains four simple ingredients of citric acid, bio-surfactant, organic lavender oil and organic lemon oil. This toilet cleaner utilises citric acid, which kills bacteria, mould and mildew while disinfecting and cleaning the surface. It’s also a great addition here because it is a naturally occurring raw material that makes it biodegradable and non-toxic. With these few ingredients, it uses makes it a no-brainer choice to choose over standard house-hold cleaners, like bleach. Bleach has been known to cause health-related problems as well as having negative impacts on the environment. We heard about the Mix Clean Green’s Toilet Mix, as it won the 2021 Beauty Shortlist Award for Best Loo Cleaner! It’s super-easy to use, inside each tin, is a paper funnel (it was a bit crumpled so we did show it in our photo) where we positioned the funnel over our own glass litre bottle filled with lukewarm water, then poured in the entire contents of 50ml tin (BTW you can also dilute it one teaspoon to 100ml). As advised, we left it for 30-60 mins occasionally shaking, before use. We blitzed three loos all in one go - giving them a quick pre-scrub before leaving the Toilet Mix overnight to do its work. The litre bottle of the mix lasted us about two/three weeks with regular use. The result? Well, let’s just say Mrs Hinch would be proud! It’s an impressive cleaner and even smells fragrant to boot. Available in two different container options, the starter tin or the refill zero-waste option. The zero-waste option comes in a “home-compostable pouch with a recyclable paper label.” The starter Toilet Mix in a 50ml tin is available for £6.50 here; or the zero-waste option is available for £3.50 here.  

Sakrid: Superfood Frenzy Organic Face Wash

At The Amazing Blog, we always try to feature skincare products with honest and straightforward ingredients - the ones that we know and trust. Today, we're introducing the clean beauty brand Sakrid, whose mission is “to lovingly remove harmful and questionable ingredients from everyday life” with their award-winning Superfood Frenzy Organic Face Wash.

A fierce supporter of clean beauty, Natalie Elliott is co-founder of Sakrid together with Nick Carlile. It’s a British beauty brand specialising in simple and natural ingredients for skin, body and hair care. As Natalie's mother fought breast cancer, she became aware of the toxic ingredients used within self-care brands. To her amazement, she realised that many harmful chemicals are approved for use in everyday products, so she began on her journey to reduce these ingredients in her, and her family's lives. Subsequently, Natalie went on to launched her own brand Sakrid, creating a skincare with naturally derived alternatives that she describes as ‘clean beauty’. For those not in the know, the clean beauty movement seeks to use ONLY naturally derived ingredients, which are deemed safe and cause no harm to health or wellbeing. This is where Sakrid skincare doesn’t compromise on quality and prides themselves on their handmade, organic, natural, vegan, halal, and cruelty-free products produced in the UK. Along the way, they’ve also learned a lot about packaging, recycling, ingredient sourcing, and supply chains; which is why Sakrid only partners with suppliers that share their philosophy by using only recycled plastics, chemical-free print materials, local providers, and sustainable supply chains. Not ones to settle, they're continually searching for ways to improve what they do for the environment and their communities. 

Sakrid kindly sent us their Superfood Frenzy Organic Face Wash, which recently won a Gold Award in the 2021 Global Green BeautyAwards for Best Vegan Skincare Product. They believe that the most important thing about a facewash is its "ability to deeply cleanse and also to enrich cell renewal to promote a natural, healthy glow," and Sakrid expresses this belief through the potent ingredients that they've added to this cleanser. The organic camellia sinensis (green tea) leaf extract is the first essential ingredient here (see our photo above). Full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits, it also helps soothe and calm the skin while protecting against collagen degradation and skin discolouration. anti-ageing, plus camellia sinensis aids in skin hydration. Other key ingredients include organic aloe vera for moisturising and calming; it has anti-inflammatory properties and can lighten up scarring because it contains a compound called aloesin. Next, there is kojic acid, which is sourced from different types of fungi. It inhibits the formation of an amino acid that is needed to produce melanin, the protein that creates pigment in our hair, skin, and eyes. Because of this function, kojic acid can also lighten the skin, minimising sun damage, age spots, and scars caused by injuries or acne. It also has antimicrobial and antifungal properties, which can help to prevent bacteria in the skin. That's not all, kojic acid acts as an antioxidant too, counteracting skin-damaging free radicals and helping prevent the ageing of the skin. The last of these key ingredients is vitamin C, which promotes collagen growth and reduces the appearance of ageing. Since it contains antioxidants, vitamin C helps fight against UV light damage, and it can lighten up hyperpigmentation like kojic acid and aloe vera. The stabilisers and preservatives in the face wash are naturally derived (but not organic), allowing the skin to reap the benefits of the ingredients without having its normal function disturbed. To use the face wash, simply dampen the face, massage onto the skin, and then rinse with warm water. We used this morning and night, the gel face wash gently lathers up as it mixes with the water and feels very soothing on the skin. There is a mild zesty scent (probably the neroli plus the grapefruit and orange peel) which leaves the skin feeling fresh and clean. We also like that the tube is made of recycled plastic, which of course can be recycled again. It’s certainly well-named as ‘Superfood’ with the plethora of organic ingredients, not something we often see in a cleanser, plus it’s very well priced at £17.00 for the 150ml tube - we’d recommend this cleanser and it’s another of our #amazingfinds. To purchase the Sakrid Superfood Frenzy Organic Face Wash, see here.

HAVUKA: Spruce Resin Lip Balm, & A Piece of Spruce Resin Soap

Dry and flaky skin is something that no one wants, whether that's our lips, hands or even our scalp. So as we move into autumn, today at The Amazing Blog, we bring you two excellent Finnish skincare products by HAVUKA with their unique ingredient of spruce resin. 

HAVUKA is a family-owned, Finnish natural and artisan skincare. Their unique products utilise the natural resources from the Finnish landscape and Elias Lönnrot's recipes. Elias Lönnrot was a Finnish physician, philologist, and collector of traditional Finnish poetry. A well-known traveller, Lönnrot collected poems and folk stories from across Finland, which resulted in the creation of the Kalevala, one of the most significant works in Finnish literature. During his journeys, Elias discovered the healing powers of the golden and gooey resin from spruce trees, this is not to be confused with the thin, watery spruce sap. Spruce resin has been used in Nordic countries for many centuries to treat skin infections, insect bites, chapped hands, cuts, scrapes, eczema, burns and rashes, to name but a few. HAVUKA continues the path of Elias Lönnrot, and brings natural skincare products all made according to his original recipes, into the modern-day. Havuka wishes to preserve the knowledge that Lönnrot gathered and the recipes he created, so each product tells its origin and story through the eyes of Lönnrot. As a family-owned company HAVUKA has passed on the tradition of producing these natural products for three generations, and Timo Tynys follows in his family's footsteps as the current CEO. Even today, these sustainable spruce resin products are made from mainly locally-sourced botanicals, and are all collected by hand.

The Spruce Resin Lip Balm tells the story of how Elias was able to use spruce resin to create a natural lip balm. By mixing the resin from the spruce tree with fat, he created a 100% natural lip cream to soothe dry and cracked lips. Today each lip balm is hand made in Finland, with 100% natural ingredients. For many years, this natural resin has been used in Nordic folk medicine and therapy. Tree resin, like spruce, is not only helpful in treating dry, cracked skin, it has been proven to heal cuts, rashes, and burns. The spruce resin, in particular, has always been a source of fascination to us, as we love how it contains ‘various antioxidants and flavonoids’ which all work together to create a fantastic antiseptic-like substance. Spruce produces a resin as a natural defence mechanism to protect and heal itself from a wound, or bacteria, fungi, and other harmful microbes. These natural defence principles, can also be applied to skincare, in this case by Havuka, who use it as a key ingredient to help heal and protect the skin. The conditions of the Nordic forests and nature, together with the seasonal variations, northern light and the darkness of autumn and winter, grants spruce resin its healing powers, making it one of nature's potent healing forces. The long and storied history of spruce resin, has led to medical research for wound care here and has further proved itself as an effective natural remedy. This lip balm is made up of four simple ingredients: Finnish spruce picea abies resin, organic beeswax, sodium cocoa butyrate and jojoba oil. The beeswax contains myricin and serine which have antibacterial substances to heal and softens dry and chapped skin. The sodium cocoa butterate is the fatty acid derived from cocoa butter and provides relief to damaged skin; and the jojoba oil is used to hydrate the skin – the perfect ingredient for a lip balm. This Spruce Resin Lip Balm is smooth and creamy to apply with a mild cocoa butter-y taste. As cold weather approaches, we think that with all these simple yet effective ingredients, it’s one to keep handy when you go outside - not only does it taste good, it’s also very shielding. The Spruce Lip Balm was first nominated for Best Lip Cream for the Nordic Natural Beauty Awards in 2020. You can purchase this hydrating natural Spruce Resin Lip Balm at 4g  here for € 12.90.

Next, we have the Piece of Spruce Resin Soap, this was also nominated at the Nordic Natural Beauty Awards in 2020, and we can see why. With its gentle antiseptic qualities, this soap can be used on both the skin and scalp, and is ideal for dry, flaky and sensitive skin. The spruce resin will also soothe the scalp while supporting the ‘normal function of the skin’. This handmade, 100% natural soap contains minimal ingredients and follows Elias' recipe, making it both an eco-friendly and sustainable product, with its plastic- free packaging so there is no need to worry about the impact on the planet. There are only five ingredients here with Finnish spruce picea abies resin (which we have discussed), organic rapeseed oil that has antioxidant properties for the skin and is a rich source of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. These antioxidants help protect the skin from free-radicals and potential environmental factors, like pollution. Sodium olivate is the sodium salt of the fatty acid of olive oil and is commonly used in soaps and as a detergent substance. Along with these, there are also coconut oil and sodium palmate, which are a gentler alternative to harsh cleansers that are typically found in other soaps. The advantage of these is that they have a high content of the monounsaturated fatty acid oleic acid. It is very easy to use, we were sent the 40g soap, which has lasted well. We used it in the shower on the body and scalp, and found that it lathers up but has no fragrance. In regard to using it on hair, we would say that it’s more for treating the scalp and not the hair, as it left our hair a bit tangly and in need of conditioner. We think it would be ideal to use when cold water swimming (as suggested with Saltvattentvalen No:1 ) and with all these natural ingredients you want to use it to be at one with nature following in the steps of Elias Lönnrot. The Piece of Spruce Resin Soap is offered in two different sizes, 40g at € 5.90 or 100g at € 12.90 here; all products are available through HAVUKA's website or if ordering from UK you might want to go to The Artic Pure here. Also look out for our review on their Spruce Resin Balms soon.

Vemel: Intense Age Repair Eye & Lip Cream

Did you know that the human body consists of over 60% water? And at The Amazing Blog, we understand the importance of staying hydrated. Although drinking water is essential for our functioning, did you know that taking the water out of our skincare routines can benefit both us and the environment? Today we'd like to introduce Vemel, a brand who have developed waterless skincare, in their quest to create natural, sustainable and eco-friendly products.

Vemel is a British brand founded by wife and husband Agi and James Miel. After years of struggling with various medications and skincare products to treat their children's eczema and allergies, the couple sought a natural "antidote to the chemical overload" in which they found themselves immersed. They took a holistic approach in a search to reduce the number of chemicals and toxins in their children's lives. This journey led them to launch Vemel, where co-founder Agi Miel said, "The whole ethos of Vemel brand is based around honesty. Our labels are simple, clear and transparent, our ingredients are listed in common English names." All products are waterless and made from organic, natural, vegan, and food-grade ingredients that are free from skin irritants, such as perfumes, essential oils, and alcohols. In addition, the brand offers packaging that is 100% plastic-free, even providing reusable pipettes with orders to increase their sustainability. The jars, bottles, and boxes that Vemel uses for packaging are also completely recyclable. As Vemel formulates their products with natural ingredients, they're suitable for all ages, genders, and skin types, meaning that entire family can share the same products, reducing waste. Vemel does more than just focus on sustainability: cutting out all essential oils also means that Vemel products are kinder to aquatic life and ecosystems, which are negatively affected by some these oils. 

Vemel's approach to creating natural skincare lies in their commitment to developing waterless products. Did you know that when water is added to skincare products, emulsifiers are required so that the water can thoroughly mix with the rest of the product. However, emulsifiers promote the growth of bacteria, so preservatives are necessary to limit their growth. These preservative can cause skin irritation, disrupt the skin's barrier, and even accelerate ageing. In addition, most beauty products are 80-90% water, so eliminating the water in the products means that you're using a more potent and efficient version that offers more substantial effects and lasts longer too. Water can also dry out the skin as it evaporates and takes its natural and necessary oils along with it. Removing the water from skincare increases hydration, prevents irritation, and reduces breakouts, especially in sensitive skin. Along with benefits to your skin, waterless beauty offers significant benefits to the environment. By 2025, an estimated 5 billion people - two-thirds of the world's population - will be affected by water shortage, and today, about 1.1 billion people lack reliable and adequate access to water. With most skincare products on the market consisting of such a high volume of water, waterless brands like Vemel are doing their part to help with water conservation. Going waterless also impacts the packaging of products: products with water require more complicated packaging to prevent evaporation, so eliminating water means that we can skip this extra packaging and reduce our waste. That said, Formula Botanica (an accredited formulation school), do make a good point, saying that “it’s impossible to avoid the water footprint and for any beauty formulation to be truly waterless. The water required to grow raw ingredients and process, ship, use and dispose of any of your cleansers and scrubs will far outweigh any water savings gained from excluding water in the formulation itself.”⁣ 

We received Vemel's best-selling Intense Age Repair Eye & Lip Cream, which was recently announced as a Gold Winner of the "Best Vegan Eye Product" in the 2021 Global Green Beauty Awards and the "Best Healing & Soothing Lip Treatment" in the 2021 Beauty Shortlist Awards. The Intense Age Repair Eye & Lip Cream is a certified organic, vegan, and cruelty-free cream that targets the sensitive parts of our skin that we usually neglect. It encourages collagen, elastin, and lipid production to soften the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The main ingredient is organic murumuru Butter, made from extracting the fat from the Strocaryum Murumuru palm tree native to the Amazon Rainforest. This butter is rich in vitamin C and A, as well as fatty acids like oleic acid that keep skin hydrated, restore elasticity, and provide rich moisture to help with dry and cracked skin. The cream also contains organic aloe vera oil. Aloe oil is obtained through a macerating process, where the aloe vera is infused into a carrier oil. It has very different properties to that of aloe gel as it contains the oil-based components of the plant instead of the water-based components found in the gel. This ingredient is rich in phytochemicals and compounds that stimulate growth and produce collagen in the skin that encourages repair and rejuvenation. One of the other key ingredients in the Intense Age Repair Eye & Lip Cream is organic kiwi seed oil. Kiwi fruits are full of nutrients like vitamins C, E, and K, and these nutrients help to plump up and reduce the appearance of fine lines. The oil also contains a good balance of omega-6 and 3 making it a gentle ingredient that reduces any skin inflammation. The last superstar of this cream is organic Argan wax. Rich in vitamin E, phenols, carotenes, and fatty acids, this Argan moisturises skin, reduces the visibility of wrinkles, repairs skin damage, and soothes irritated skin Finally, there is microalgae extract (obviously not organic) which are a potent neutraliser of free radicals, anti-pollution and help to removes toxins. This Intense Age Repair Eye & Lip Cream contains no added fragrances or essential oils, meaning that it's suitable for all skin types and won't expose your skin to any irritants. To apply the cream, you can use the reusable bamboo spatula provided, to apply a pea-sized amount to the contours around your eyes and lips. We used this morning and evening, alone, to ensure we're got its full potency! It felt like a combination of balm x cream, on application it’s smooth and transparent; and we think that this protective and healing Intensive Age Repair & Lip Cream will soon become your new best friend, as we fast approach a chilly autumn.

If you're looking to help out the environment and reap the potent skin benefits, Vemel can help you jumpstart your waterless skincare journey. To try out their award-winning Intense Age Repair Eye & Lip Cream, you can purchase it here at £45.00 for 30g.