**BIG CONGRATULATIONS 🎉 🥳 TO ALL THE WINNERS **
Today we're celebrating NATURE.
There's been a special energy around the 2021 Beauty Shortlist Awards this year, which is so cheering when we've all been wading through a heavy, "abnormal" and often difficult year.
These awards are not particularly easy to win, it's quite a wait from 1 September to Tuesday 2 March to find out if you have won.
But fortune favours the brave, Awards Day is here at last, and it's time to share the 🧡.
2021 highlights and emerging trends include:
* inclusive beauty (a priority for the industry)
* plantable packaging (you can compost at home)
* CBD edibles & delicious treats like coffee, nut butters and 70% dark chocolate
* the "almost naked" soap + solid skincare bar heroes flying the flag for "plastic-free"
* crystal beauty... moonstone-infused serums and shungite cleansers
* nootropics, gut health solutions and mood enhancers (yes please)
* buy-a-product-plant-a-tree campaigns
* recycled ocean plastic, mushroom (mycelium) boxes and a lot less plastic overall...
I hope you enjoy the awards today. Big congratulations to all the ethical, beautiful 2021 AWARDS winners - including those who've won one of the first ever Beauty Shortlist ECO LIFESTYLE AWARDS (new for 2021).
To see the gorgeous green winners go to thebeautyshortlist.com or click the bio link above. HAPPY MARCH 🐇🌷!
“We need the tonic of wildness…we can never have enough of nature”
Henry David Thoreau
Cannabina: Raw Hemp + CBD Soap Bar
If you’ve been reading The Amazing Blog for a while, you’ll know that we like to try lots of different products that contain CBD. Today we are looking at massage soap bar infused with Raw Hemp CBD from Cannabina, who we have recently featured here with their CBD Bath Bomb Trio.
Cannabina is founded by Gemma McKay, and a brand specialises in all kinds of healing products infused with hemp-based broad-spectrum and THC-free CBD ingredients. These products have been created for everyone to enjoy the healing and soothing benefits of CBD. Cannabina offers a variety of CBD infused items from bath bombs and skincare to tinctures and edibles. McKay’s passion and interest in cannabis are the motivating factors behind the brand’s mission to improve the quality of life for their consumer, through this incredible plant's relieving and healing properties. Cannabina is an all-natural CBD brand where the products are free from harmful chemicals, pesticides, solvent residues, chlorophyll, fats and lipids. There are no preservatives, sulphates, mineral oils, parabens, artificial colouring, flavours or perfumes. The brand’s products are also cruelty-free and are tested and certified by both US and UK laboratories. The brand’s products are also cruelty-free and are tested and certified by both US and UK laboratories. Cannabina also has a strong sustainability ethos with its recycling and asks customers to return their product empties, for which they’re rewarded with a 5% discount on further purchases.
The Raw Hemp & CBD Soap Bar has 100mg of CBD and is made with super-clean formulas, intended for use with those with sensitive or irritated skins. This is a gender-free soap bar, where This is a gender-free soap bar where Mc Kay tells us that she initially created this as a massager for the breast area and lymph nodes. However, it is also proving popular for using on the face, and with those who have back acne. Alas, we don’t have to full ingredients to tell you about, as this is such a new product for Cannabina (nothing listed on packaging or website). They tell us that it is 95.8% organic. We will hazard a guess that this semi-translucent CBD Soap Bar has flecks of hemp and is made with glycerine and 75% hard oils like coconut; the 13 nodules moulded into the bar making it particularly good as a massager. We’d also add that it’s ‘fragrance-free’ with no hemp or essential oil scent evident. The raw hemp and CBD interact with theendocannabinoid receptors to help moisturise, balance oil levels and heal the skin as well as reduce any inflammation. This Raw Hemp & CBD Soap Bar is also efficient in treating skin ailments such as eczema, psoriasis. If you are looking for an antioxidant, pore cleansing and anti-acne actions, then this is designed for you. We used it in the shower, gently massaging our body and breast lymph area - we found it uplifting. It seemed to work wonders on our mood (and body) after yet another long and tedious #lockdown day. This 100mg Raw Hemp & CBD Soap Bar is available here £6.00.
Happy Carrot Skincare – Incredible Carrot Hero Balm
Today at The Amazing Blog we’re looking at a simple and effective vegan skincare – well after all it’s still ‘Veganuary’. Today the humble carrot is the key ingredient with the Incredible Carrot Hero Balm which is full of plant-based goodness, award winning and a great multi-tasking product from Happy Carrot Skincare.
Victoria Carpenter, founder of Happy Carrot Skincare decided to name the company Happy Carrot because she believes in the benefits and power of the plant-based ingredients - mainly the carrot! Launched in 2019, the Happy Carrot Skincare is committed to creating plant-based skincare - that works. This Vegan Society registered brand, wants to bring a positive change to our skin and the planet. Carpenter commented: “We focus on ingredients that are amazing for combination skin which are also great for the planet. Our skincare superheroes are extremely nourishing and calming for even troubled skin, and deliberately fragrance-free.” All pots are made from recyclable plastic with compostable labels, and they use cold-pressed oils from Europe with up-cycled fruit seeds and kernels, which are excess and have been discarded from food production. They consider themselves to be a zero-waste and low carbon footprint brand. Happy Carrot Skincare keeps their ingredients to a minimum, where all their ‘superhero’ products contain less than ten in total. The brand has won by numerous awards such as The Beauty Shortlist Awards, Global Green Beauty Awards, Free From Skincare Awards and VegFest UK Awards. Their four products range from Terrific Tomato Facial Oil, Awesome Apricot Lip Balm, Reusable Cleansing Pads to the (below) featured Incredible Carrot Hero Balm.
The Incredible Carrot Hero Balm comes in two sizes a 15g or 40g pot with recyclable plastic. This Balm helps cleanse, calm, and moisturise your skin. This one of their superhero products which only contains eight plant-based ingredients. The hero here is the carrot extract because of the number of antioxidants it has, and it also gives the skin a golden glow. Carrots contain two types of vitamin A, carotenoids and retinoids (which the liver converts into the magical ‘retinol’). These are key in producing new skin cells, being high in antioxidants reduce skin inflammation and sun damage – reducing age spots and pigmentation. The murumuru butter mixed with vegan waxes such as myrica and candelilla wax, give the Balm a smooth texture making it easy to apply and leaving the skin soft. The other fruit seeds oils used are watermelon, tomato and raspberry which are light and fast-absorbing; they’re clarifying for those with oily skin but also nourishing for dry. Combined they protect and moisturise with antioxidants, minerals and unsaturated fatty acids. The Balm can be used in numerous ways; we used it as a cleanser, mask, moisturiser and lip balm. However, we see that many others like it as a nail and cuticle balm. We recommend scooping a little into your hands and massaging onto the face or neck, leaving it overnight to give skin an extra vitamin A and retinol boost, then removing any excess with a gentle toner in the morning. With a whole host of vitamins and nutrients, it left our faces feeling moisturised but not greasy. This is a one-pot-wonder; we think a good investment and ideal for using when travelling light. To purchase The Incredible Carrot Hero Balm see here 40g for £25.00.
Berries Skincare: Radiance Pigmentation Solutions
As we’re all now working from home and sporting ‘naked faces’ (who can be bothered with makeup?!) It’s brought to our attention the patches of pigmentation and sun damage. With this in mind, The Amazing Blog has been on the hunt for a product to help even out our skin tone. Step forward the artisan brand Berries Skincare with their Radiance Pigmentation Solution.
Berries Skincare’s Guyanese founder is Maryam Hack who has created a skincare range that helps remove pigmentation and boosts skin self-confidence. Although she still resides in Guyana (South America), the brand is based in the USA. Having only launched a year ago, word of mouth travels fast and they now ship to over 220 countries worldwide. With a background as a nutritionist, where she set up a home-based healthy food service, called Mary Hack’s Diet Food; armed with this knowledge and experience, it has stood Hack in good stead to find and curate the ingredients for her products. While there are currently only three products in the range, she hopes to expand with more offerings in the future. All Berries Skincare products are with less than 0.25% natural fragrance, manufactured in an FDA certified facility, they follow Good Manufacturing Practices, and are inclusive of all genders and skin types. These products are formulated without parabens, sulphates, synthetic dyes, phthalates, silicones, hydroquinone and triclosan. They are also Non-GMO, cruelty-free and vegan.
The Radiance Pigmentation Solutions can be used on both the face and body. It’s three primary objectives are to help even skin tone, brighten skin and reduce pigmentation/sunspots. Although the ingredients are mainly of a natural origin, they still recommended a sensitivity patch test first before use, ensuring there’s no adverse reaction. Apply onto moisturised skin, twice daily until the skin tone evens out (this could be anything from 2 – 6 weeks). This Pigmentation Solutions product should be gently dabbed onto the skin (not rubbed back and forth) in the localised area where needed. It is formulated with five key active ingredients kojic acid, vitamin B3, E and C, plus chamomile and camellia sinensis aka green tea (our photo above is with camellia sinensis). The kojic acid is a by-product from the fermentation process of malting rice for use in the manufacturing of sake (the Japanese rice wine). It targets and prevents pigmentation and lightens the skin. Vitamin B3 blocks melanin production and helps even out the skin tone; vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that nourishes and soothes the skin. Vitamin C fights signs of ageing while brightening the skin. The chamomile extract helps reduce redness, whereas the green tea extract fights signs of ageing and soothes the skin. The most important point to mention here is that an SPF 30+ must be used during the day while using this product. it prevents further sun damage, particularly with the kojic acid ingredient, which will make the skin more sun-sensitive. We found it easy to use and it didn’t cause any irritation. Did we see any results? Yes and no – it certainly helped reduce the darkness of sunspots but not banish them, although to be fair, we only used it for two weeks – we needed to use if for longer. Also, I’m not sure how permanent the results are, we’ll let you know when we return back from our next sunshine holiday. However, with the UK’s yo-yoing #lockdowns this might be 2022! To start your journey to a more even and brighter skin tone and head to Berries Skincare here to purchase a 50ml bottle of Radiance Pigmentation Solutions for $29.95, shipping costs will vary according to your location.
Acqua di Stresa – Roburis Eau de Parfum
If you’re still in a quandary as to what to get him or her for Christmas, then we at The Amazing Blog all agree that fragrance is the way to go. Personal and useful, plus if you know, the genre of fragrance notes that they love – this is a sure way to please. When you get it right, perfume is one of the most memorable presents you can give. As regular readers will know we like to patronise unique artisan brands and Acqua di Stresa is one that we’ve recently uncovered that will help you out on your Christmas mission.
Acqua di Stresa was created in 2002 by Giovanni Castelli (former Fashion designer), and Andrea Patrucco. They wanted to share the scents of the thousands of blossoms from their Castello di Ripa’s garden, that stands on the Lake Maggiore shores, facing the Borromeo’s Islands. After almost 20 years of capturing the lake’s green and floral essences, the brand now has six core Eau de Parfums in their collection. These have also given rise to sets of reed diffusers with an additional three new fragrances, and now a hand sanitiser. With boxes, flacons and caps decorated with their refined wave motif, what we love about Acqua di Stresa is that it exudes both luxury and poise.
We were sent Roburis Eau de Parfum to try. This is the perfect Christmas fragrance, even with the first spritz it took us on a winter promenade and journey into forests laden with berries and sweet-smelling bark. In fact, ‘Robur’ translates from the Latin as hard timber or oak and ‘Roburis’ is used metaphorically in Latin for ‘strength’. It is a rich and warming fragrance where you can almost imagine the warmth of the sunlight filtering through the leaves onto your skin. This is a robust scent with strong base notes evident with the tonka bean, leather, ambrette, and vanilla that linger giving a slightly musky aroma. That said, it is relatively fresh at the beginning with the top notes of juniper berries, cinnamon and blackcurrant. The fragrance becomes warmer with the middle notes cedar, cloves, myrrh, and then in time when the spices and smokiness mingle, the middle and base notes take the lead. We love its androgynous qualities, which in our view, make it truly gender-neutral and a ‘his and hers’ fragrance to share. You can purchase this 100ml mood-lifting winter fragrance for €78 here, it also comes in 50ml for €58. For further items such as Shower Gel, Body Lotion or Reed Diffuser from the Roburis collection see here.