Mel Millis - Phytonutri Qi Range

As you all know, we here at The Amazing Blog are huge advocates for organic skincare. In honour of Organic Beauty Week, we thought we’d pay homage to a wonderful English organic brand, Mel Millis, who were kind enough to send us their Phytonutri Qi collection to sample. With such a wide selection of skincare essentials in the range, we were spoilt for choice.

Of their beautifully packaged Phytonutri Qi range, we were lucky enough to sample the Energising MM Facial Peel, Plankton Skin Remedy, Enriching Sea Plant Jelly and Enhancing Arctic Essence. Containing their namesake ingredient, Mel Millis (honey), along with natural exfoliant, muscovado sugar, we were most enamoured with the Energising MM Face Peel. With its range of delicious sounding components, we did have to resist the urge to grab a spoon, but once the product had made it from our fingers to our face, we loved the invigorating effect it had on our complexions. We often find that exfoliators are either so abrasive it’s like washing your face with gravel, or they’re at the opposite end of the spectrum, making no difference at all, but this naturally enzymatic formula felt so satisfying to use. The mild granules of glycolic acid producing brown sugar made the perfect consistency for a face peel. After leaving on for 10 minutes and gently massaging off with the included Mel Millis Organic Muslin Cloth, we felt wonderfully refreshed, plumped and smoothed. We also love that Mel Millis pay just as much loving attention to what they put on the outside as what goes into the products. Impregnated with British Wildflower seeds, the packaging is so natural that you can literally plant it and watch it bloom. Now, if that’s not organic enough for you, then we’re not sure what is!

The entire PhytoNutri Qi range is available to buy here, and you can purchase the Energising MM Face Peel here for £48.00, as well as extra Organic Muslin Cloths for £9.95.

Peter Simone - Skin Personality Range

There’s nothing like a little opulent skincare to make you feel glamorous, so when Peter Simone were kind enough to send us a selection of products from their Skin Personality Range, we here at The Amazing Blog were more than happy to indulge. Of the luxurious range, we received the A.M Nectar, the Smoothing Eye Contour Cream, and the newly released Weekly Mask. We must admit, just looking at the retro glam packaging made us feel that bit closer to looking like a Hollywood starlet.

Although the opulent pink bottles had us fooled for a minute, we were pleased to discover that Peter Simone is not a brand that values luxury over morality. They pride themselves on producing fair trade, cruelty free products, using recyclable materials wherever possible. With this in mind, we were even more excited to dive into the range. As morning seems to be the natural starting point, we first sampled the A.M. Nectar. Used after cleansing, the soothing serum was great for sealing in moisture. Its range of active, plant based ingredients such as Plankton Extract help to reduce signs of aging, and left our complexions feeling soft and lifted. The Smoothing Eye Contour Cream did exactly what it says on the bottle. The rich cream felt cooling on the eye area, and helped to smooth the delicate skin, making it the perfect prelude to our make-up routine. The star of the show for us, however, was the Weekly Mask. Suitable for all skin types, the Lime Tree Water and Hyaluronic Acid enriched mask helped to hydrate and plump the skin. Claiming to restore a youthful radiance, we immediately noticed a reduction of fine lines and an overall fresh faced result.

Release your inner Hollywood heroine with the A.M Nectar for £110, the Weekly Mask for £61, and the Smoothing Eye Contour Cream for £98.

Rajeunir - Moisture Serum

Now that the cold is heading back our way, we at The Amazing Blog are trying to keep our skin healthy and moisturised before the drying weather really sets in. Luckily, samples of Rajeunir’s Moisture Serum arrived right on cue, and we were able to keep a healthy, happy glow in our complexions.

Taking their brand name from the French word for rejuvenate, Rajeunir certainly did make our skin feel replenished. The Moisture Serum is made up of a unique formulation of seven active ingredients, referred to as “The Magnificent Seven”, all of which are formulated to work incredibly hard on your skin and give you that ‘Rajeunir Glow’. The gel-like texture absorbs deep into the skin, locking in hydration, and giving our visage a beautiful, soft feeling. Suitable for sensitive skin, the serum protects against the effects of UVA, UVB, and free radicals, as well as being completely paraben free. Using the serum both morning and night, we found that it worked best after cleansing, providing the perfect base for us to apply our make-up and other potions.

Now that we are armed with this Moisture Serum, we feel that we are more than ready to take on whatever the oncoming cold weather can throw at us. Purchase the Rajeunir Moisture Serum here for £42.00.

Barefoot SOS - Nourishing Cleansing Cream

The on-going struggle for beautiful skin just got a lot easier. We were so excited here at The Amazing Blog to receive the Barefoot SOS Repair and Renew Nourishing Cleansing Cream, a gentle and rejuvenating cleansing treatment.

Formulated with Rosa Mosqueta oil, soothing Calendula extract, smoothing Cocoa Butter and purifying Rosewater, this product feels luxurious on the skin. The cream should be used daily to remove impurities and make up, leaving the skin feeling refreshed, toned and supple. It is able to fully remove any make-up and cleanse without stripping the skin’s vital oils, as well as tone at the same time. The Barefoot SOS cream is suitable for all skin types, especially for mature or pre-maturely aged skin, dry skin, blemished skin, uneven skin tone and environmentally damaged skin. We all loved trying it out in the office and it is safe to say we will be using it again very soon. Barefoot SOS does not test their products on animals and it is suitable for vegans. It is free from paraffin, parabens, SLS and artificial colours and fragrances. Also, all products are made right here in the UK.

Get your own Barefoot SOS Repair and Renew Nourishing Cleansing Cream here for £20.00, or any of their other products here.

Fridays Favourites - Tanning Feature

Here at The Amazing Blog, we know important staying safe in the sun is. However, we also don’t want to spend summer hiding in the shade and not getting that tan that makes all our friends a tiny bit jealous. So when a couple of products came to light which offered us super safe sun protection but also enhanced that healthy glow we all love and crave, we were so excited to try them out.

First of was the Green People Tan Accelerator. We love Green People here at The Amazing Blog, having featured them a few months ago here. Green People never test on animals, use no harsh chemicals (82% of ingredients are organic) and 10% of all profits are donated to charity, making them an ethical powerhouse. The Tan Accelerator is kind on skin, and is ideal for sensitive skin as it is suitable for eczema and psoriasis sufferers. It only has a 15 spf factor and a medium coverage rating, but it's wide UV spectrum allows for a healthy tan whilst blocking the super strong rays. At only £18.95 from the Green People website it’s a reasonable price compared to some alternatives and does a whole lot of good at the same time!

Do you, like us at The Amazing Blog, struggle with the beauty myth that is self tan? We have tried nearly every powder, mousse and liquid under the sun. Some have given us the flawless fresh of the beach look we desire. Others, however, have left us with carrot coloured legs that bring us to tears. When we heard about Caudalie, and the Bazaar Top 100 and Beauty Insiders Choice awards it won, we had to give it a try. The perfect solution for a ‘sun-free’ tan, the light, silky fluid sweeps on easy for a streak-less, sun kissed glow,which complemented my skin’s natural tanning tone. When applied to dry, clean skin, the one-tint suits all lotion melts on the skin and dries in a flash. The tan rinses off with water, so is perfect for one off events, or when in a hurry and the 92.8% natural origin ingredients make it super kind to skin and good for the environment! Caudalie is available here for £26.

Do you want that effortless, LA tan? Well, thanks to Madame LA LA you can now get it in a bottle. The Madame La La Tan provides an instant LA glow that develops in only 3 hours, making it one of the fastest acting tans on the market. The lightweight tinted mousse is a quick-dry ‘DD’ (dynamic do-all) Tan Perfector which infused with hydrating skincare benefits such as Coco Water, Aloe, Green Tea and Vitamin E. Coming in a ‘light’ shade as well as the standard tan, the innovative colour customising technology ensures your tan looks natural whilst adapting to your individual skin tone. Madame LA LA Tan Light lasts for up to 10 days meaning that constant re-application isn’t needed, and we felt like we had spent 2 weeks on Malibu Beach! Madame LaLa is available here from Feel Unique at £36 for 200ml.

We love finding new bronzers to complement our summer tans. When we received the Sun-Kissed powder from Couler Caramel we were immediately blown away by the super cute embossed floral pattern on the powder itself. This kind of thing is mainly only seen on high high end designer brands so it was lovely to see an organic brand doing the same. The powder’s unique texture ensures easy application, delivers a silky finish as well as long-lasting hold. It is designed to be blended as desired with the powder brush to create beautiful depth. Its iridescent and matte multi-shades deliver an instant healthy glow effect. The different tones in the powder itself make it multipurpose, and can be used as a bronzer, a blusher or a highlighter. With all the ingredients being from natural origin and 10% of the total ingredients are from Organic Farming, the chemicals and processed elements of other cosmetics just aren’t present here. Available in six shades, the Couleur Caramel’s Sun-Kissed Powder can be purchased here.

Skeyndor Tanning Control Cream

A new product type we are seeing in suncare, the ‘sun protection/tanning product’ has been adopted by Skeyndor as they present their Tanning Control Cream. It is an spf product which also has a medium protection SPF 20. Fresh from its Sun Expertise line, the cream is made with the best knowledge and expert ideas to create a powerful tanning cream that still protects the skin, especially in the face area to the overall aging.

The Sun Expertise by Skeyndor a range of specific sun protection products allows you to enjoy your daily dose of Vitamin D without fear of invisible consequences. With a combination of classical filters built in, Sun Expertise products protect you without burdening your skin with the slick, sticky feel of commercially available sunscreens & lotions.