Skin Laundry's Gentle Foaming Wash and Restoring Night Serum

The Amazing Blog is continuously updating our skincare regimen. Whether it’s with products, facial treatments, or newfound application tricks, we are always searching for ways to combat both oily and dry skin. We have found it to be quite tricky choosing products that fight oily skin, without over-drying the face. During our quest, we discovered Skin Laundry’s products, that leave our skin feeling smooth and clean. The company was founded by Yen Reis, who originally created this range of skincare to be used in conjunction with her laser and light therapy treatment. She established her first flagship in 2013 and has since expanded across the U.S., Hong Kong and London. Reis’ goal is to improve skin health and provide affordable and convenient treatments. The treatment that Skin Laundry offers, is with a combination of Yago laser and IPL which target and reduce redness, brown spots, inflammation and bacteria. Each treatment leaves the skin glowing and clean. Over time, and together with the Skin Laundry products, it improves clarity, tone and texture. If you would like to experience the laser and light therapy, combined with Skin Laundry products, then book here. Currently, these treatments are available in London, Leeds and Bristol.

The first product that we tried was Skin Laundry's Gentle Foaming Wash, which serves all skin types, especially sensitive skin. The mild foaming wash, free of parabens, sulfates and phthalates, is an everyday cleanser with a fresh scent of botanical extracts. The product contains shea butter and cucumber and chamomile extract. The shea butter fights dehydration, while the cucumber extract soothes and regulates moisture. Chamomile extract is also a soothing agent and anti-inflammatory. After massaging the wash onto damp skin for 30-60 seconds, rinse with water and pat dry. Skin Laundry recommends following the application with a toner to help seal the pores. The product works best if used mornings and evenings. The wash rids away dirt, and excess oils and impurities, without drying out or irritating the skin. You can purchase the 200ml bottle here for £20.

In addition to the  Gentle Foaming wash, we used the Restoring Night Serum and were pleased with the results. With its key ingredients, we have noticed a brighter, even complexion and overall rejuvenated skin. The primary focus of the product is on anti-ageing, with benefits that include brightening and tightening. The power of Glycolic Acid exfoliates and clears your pores of dead skin cells, reducing fine lines. Niacinamide has Vitamin B3 properties that remove blemishes and signs of ageing. A derivative of Vitamin C produces an even skin tone, battles photoaging and increases collagen synthesis. Finally, an algae extract, composed of vitamins and amino acids, stimulates the skins cell renewal. In the evening, massage 3-4 drops of the night serum onto your face and neck. Skin Laundry recommends applying the serum after your nightly cleansing and toning, and before moisturising. You can purchase the 30mL bottle here for £46.

Love Cocoa - Chocolate Bars

We're all chocolate lovers at The Amazing Blog, and for those of you who join us in the pursuit for delicious new treats, Love Cocoa will be a fitting choice. The problem with most chocolate brands is that they contain irritating allergens and poorly-sourced ingredients. This is where Love Cocoa differs, they are gluten and soy-free and are founded on the basis of creating ethical products.

Love Cocoa is a British brand launched in 2016 by its creator James Cadbury, who has an unsurpassed chocolate heritage. His great-great-great grandfather John Cadbury, the Quaker philanthropist, started the iconic Cadbury's chocolate brand in 1831. As such, Love Cocoa strives to not only recreate luscious chocolate classics but also aims to remain an ethically driven company. Working with British producers, Love Cocoa's products are free from refined sugars, gluten, soy, and palm oil. Producing both dark and milk chocolate, there is something for everyone. Their dark chocolate is single-origin, organic, fairly-traded from Ecuador.  Their milk chocolate is single-origin, organic, and fairly-traded from the Dominican Republic with a swirling of milk. Delicious!

We tried Love Cocoa’s Sea Salt 70% Organic Dark Chocolate bar for £3.85 and loved the burst of flavour the sea salt flakes brought into the mix from Maldon Sea Salt. Love Cocoa recommends that you pair this bar with a medium-bodied red wine to bring out its notes of fruit. Next, we broke off a piece of the Gin & Tonic 70% Organic Dark Chocolate bar at £3.85. We didn’t know what to expect from this flavour and were very pleasantly surprised by the subtle hint of juniper berries, lemon and lime. Love Cocoa have taken their inspiration of flavours from one of favourite drinks and transformed it into a delicious treat... All we needed was a crisp G&T in hand.

Moving on from the dark chocolates, we nibbled on two milk chocolate bars, the first being the Crushed Coffee 37% Milk Chocolate bar for £3.85. Why not combine your mid-morning coffee with your after dinner treat? The result is a crunchy square of heaven. Love Cocoa recommends that it is paired with a smooth stout, sweet rosé, or an energising espresso. Finally, we made room for the Honeycomb & Honey 37% Milk chocolate bar at £3.85, and it was so worth it. This sticky, sweet treat is studded with glorious crunchy pieces of honeycomb all source from Barnes & Webb, a team of beekeepers who install and maintain urban beehives around London.

So put on the kettle and let these chocolates melt in your mouth! All Love Cocoa chocolates can be purchased separately or in sets here. Prices vary, there is free shipping on orders over £20.

Beauty Kitchen: Abyssinian Oil Facial Moisture Cream

A good skincare routine is essential for clear, and healthy skin. Here at The Amazing Blog, we believe that finding a trustworthy moisturiser is the first essential step. When we received the Abyssinian Oil Facial Moisture Cream from Beauty Kitchen, we were delighted to find a natural solution to all of our dehydrated skin needs. Beauty Kitchen is a brand we already know and trust, having previously shared our love for their Seahorse Plankton Skincare Treasures collection. What makes this brand special to us is that they use only pure essential oils, naturally derived ingredients and a 'precycle' packaging system.

Jo-Anne Chidley founded Beauty Kitchen in Glasgow, and at the heart of her mission was a strong desire to create natural products that worked well, without breaking the bank. Perhaps most importantly, she also believes in the importance of crafting products that are never tested on animals and finding ingredients that are sustainably sourced. 

Let's look at the ingredients for the Abyssinian Oil Facial Moisturiser. We have the star of the show: Abyssinian Oil. This best-kept beauty secret is lightweight and will never leave unwanted grease lingering on your skin. Rather, this powerhouse ingredient provides quick lipid hydration that never clogs your pores. For those of you with sensitive skin, it is also fragrance-free. We simply apply a pea size amount (a little goes a long way) after a thorough cleansing and find that it’s absorbed incredibly fast, leaving our skin feeling super soft and supple. Our skin honestly ate this stuff right up and it quickly became a staple in our everyday routine. These skin-loving ingredients are 100% natural, meaning they are gentle enough for those of us who struggle with skin problems, such as acne, rosacea and eczema. The Abyssinian Oil Facial Moisture Cream from Beauty Kitchen is available to purchase here for £19.99 for 60ml.

Lash Control - Mascaras

Are you tired of dealing with globs of mascara every time you pull the brush out of the container? Or even worse, having clumps of mascara on your eyelashes? Here at The Amazing Blog, we have found a way to prevent these annoying episodes, with these two mascaras from Lash Control. These mascaras are from the USA, under the name U. Control Packaging, LLC, well-known for its line of unique mascara and brow-fix formulas. Their formulas are sold under the niche brand name LASHCONTROL®, a unique, patented and award-winning collection of mascara tubes. With tubes that allow you to control how much mascara is on your brush, simply squeeze as you pull the brush out, and excess formula stays in the tube.

We were sent two products from the Lash Control range, the first being the ClearCoat Mascara and Brow-Fix This is the first ever mascara/brow-fix with a “built-in non-clumping squeezable wiper sleeve”. It enables the user to control the amount of formula being used, depending on how hard they squeeze it. It is loaded with botanicals, namely a hydrating beeswax base, Gingko Biloba, Chamomile Flower Extract, and Ginseng Root Extracts. It can also be used as a top coat over the Volumizing and Conditioning Mascara, to add some extra shine whilst separating the lashes. Alongside lashes, it can be used as a brow gel, taming “fly a ways” to create a fresh grooming look.

The second product sent to us by Lash Control was the Volumizing and Conditioning Mascara. This is basically the other one’s twin, but with added colour. Its volumizing brush is zig-zag shaped, enabling the user to apply the product effortlessly.  It contains the same ingredients as the ClearCoat Mascara, and as such, you won’t be wasting time wiping the wand on a tissue or scraping it along the edge of the tube. The squeezable wiper sleeve will once again leave you with a precise and full looking result. 

These mascaras promote healthy and natural looking lashes with the use of organic ingredients. Trust us; you won’t regret buying these two products. So get the ClearCoat Mascara and Brow-Fix here and Volumizing and Conditioning Mascara here available via Amazon or Paypal for $18.00 each.

Abibu London’s Nutra-Revitalising Moisturiser

As the largest organ in the body, our skin goes through an incredible amount of wear and tear. That’s where a moisturiser comes in as the artillery, and the skin’s sword and shield. It’s our job to give our skin the strongest weapons to fight dryness and the appearance of wrinkles. The Amazing Blog discovered just the product, a defensive moisturiser by Abibu London.

As a newly launched skincare, Abibu London was founded by renowned pharmacist and product formulation expert Tomi Abibu (MPharm MPharmS); her belief is that the most vital component of healthy skin is consistent hydration. This is where she launched Abibu London, with its first ground-breaking all-in-one Nutra-Revitalising Moisturiser from the forthcoming hydraVictuals skincare range. Essentially, the hydraVisuals range of skincare is formulated to boost absorption, and the distribution of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals to help improve the look and feel of the complexion.

The Nutra-Revitalising Moisturiser is armed with peptides to help the skin feel firmer, anti-oxidants, vitamin C and E, and natural extracts from chamomile, calendula, and aloe vera. This moisturiser is certainly ready for battle, and is also paraben-free and not tested on animals. Use the Nutra-Revitalising Moisturiser to even your skin tone, reduce hyperpigmentation, and bring out your natural complexion. We particularly liked the elegant baby pink packaging with it's stylish square-shaped tub. It's certainly got a very luxurious feel about it and is a product that you'll proudly want to display as a dressing table centrepiece. The lightness of the consistency, together with the subtle rose scent, makes it a versatile and cost-effective product, we used it for both night and day. We say 'hurry up Abibu London' as we can't wait to try more from this new range! Purchase Abibu London’s Nutra-Revitalising Moisturiser 50ml here for £66.