PURE Papaya Ointment

As we've mentioned a many times before, the gang at The Amazing Blog loves allrounder products. The winter has been and is being very harsh - gloves, faux fur coats and good boots keep us protected from the entreme cold. One beauty product that we've been relying on lately is PURE Papaya Ointment - the 100% natural, petrochemical-free skin care essential from Australia.

In addition to papaya, or paw paw; ingredients include soothing calendula, shea butter, jojoba oil, macadamia oil, styrax benzoin resin, silica, beeswax and vitamin E. PURE Papaya Ointment soothes, moisturises and protects your skin - it goes beyond a lip balm, a body butter or a body oil; it's the ultimate multipurpose skin care product that can be used for so many skin ailments. The girls at The Amazing Blog always carry one these tubes in their bags! It has quickly become one of our handbag essentials.

You can use PURE Papaya Ointment as a lip balm, a body moisturiser, as an aftercare for tattoos, post epilation, post shave, as an eyecream... it's versatility leaves us speechless.

You can purchase this winter skincare essential though their website.

NATorigin lipsticks

When it comes to lipstick I have to admit that I never have enough. Since my first red lipstick when I was 17, my love for that make-up item has grown and grown with the years - I never have enough shades of red, I'm always in the hunt of the perfect matte non-drying formula, I love wearing vampy lips in winter, and paring an orange lipstick with full-on-nearly-spidery lashes is one of my favourite looks to rock. Lipstick makes me walk out the door with my chin up. One of the main qualities I look for in a lipstick, more than the staying power -that is important too when you're wearing a bold lipstick- is for it to keep my lips moisturised. Reapplying lip balm (especially if it's petroleum based) makes the surface of your lips too slippery for when you reapply the lip colour. When I found about NATorigin lipsticks I was glad to see that their texture and finish were similar to a coloured lipbalm - very moisturing and with the right hint of colour, perfect for everyday. These multi award winning lipsticks' ingredients are 100% naturally sourced and certified organic by Ecocert Greenlife. NATorigin lipsticks are super moisturising and hypoallergenic, formulated with orchid extract to provide an extremely soft and smooth texture that glides on the lips effortlessly. The lipsticks are very rich in organic waxes (carnuba wax, candelilla wax and beeswax), organic shea butter and organic oils (sweet almond oil, jojoba seed oil, sunflower seed oil, marula seed oil and castor seed oil) - they keep the lips protected, soft and juicy looking thanks to their sheer colour. NATorigin are gluten-free and considered beneficial for allergy sufferers based on consumer opinion and approved by Allergy UK - so they're literally suitable for everyone!

My favourite shade of the 6 they do is "Fig" - a beautiful reddy brown shade that instantly brightens my light and slightly warm complexion. This sheer and moisturising lipstick formula is perfect for those of you who'd like to wear bold lips but for some reason don't; whether because you're too shy or don't think bold lips suit you. They're pigmented without being over the top and wear off beautifully leaving a nice even stain on the lips.

At The Amazing Blog we're delighted with the NATorigin lipsticks - they're moisturing, the shade range is lovely and they're certified organic! These fabulous lipsticks retail at £15.50 and can be purchased from their website.

Leather Love

So a couple of weeks ago I found myself wandering around the shops looking for a new pair of black ankle boots - I came across a fantastic sale on the most amazing black leather ankle boots: they fitted perfectly and were completely my style - so perfect. I was more than pleased when I got home and tried them on again, 'the best purchase ever' I thought to myself. However, I didn't really think about protecting them - until I wore them out in the pouring rain on my way to work on Monday morning. I arrived to the office and Edwina, our Executive Editor, told me off and gave me a rather glamorous jar of what looked like a face cream (!) " Go ahead, this is new and probably one the best shoe polish you'll ever use, Lara." So I tried Leather Love's Shoe Polishing Cream... And I must say that my boots (and recently my handbag)  really love it. It has a light creamy texture with a very pleasing smell (and yes, I have to say in haste that could easily be mistaken for an face cream!) Leather Love is inspired by the beauty counters - leather is skin that needs to be cleansed and moisturised just like ours does, so why not have a skincare routine for our leather products too? Leather Love uses a blend of the finest and natural ingredients to create their nourishing formulas and cleaning sprays without being harmful to your leather products or the environment. One of their ingredients is the rather unusual Carnauba Wax that comes from the leaves of the Carnauba Palm grown in Northern Brazil - it's widely used in all forms of polishes and cosmetics, AND even food. In this case it's mixed with Beeswax to treat and waterproof many leather products where it provides a high-gloss finish and it increases the leather's durability.

When it comes to their packaging, it really looks like you're dealing with skincare - the design of the jars is quite exquisite; black with elegant white details (something you wouldn't expect from a shoe polish!) As Michael Davies the co-founders of Leather Love said "We want take our leather care products from being hidden under the kitchen sink to being displayed on the pages of Vogue." The smell is very pure and fresh - it doesn't smell chemically at all, a fact that impressed us all  at The Amazing Blog.

Love Leather gently cleanses and moisturises your prized shoes and bags. Edwina's Temperley bag  after being 'moisturised' by Leather Love survived an express visit to a cold and wintery Glasgow, coming back to London safe and unmarked.  We at The Amazing Blog we can't recommend Leather Love enough to make your precious collection of shoes and bags last forever and ever...

The Bakewell Soap Co. Natural Lip Balm

With the chilly and windy days round the corner, it's time to put our summery clothes aside and stop denying that the cold and dark days are close. With the cold months coming on, it's important that we start taking special care of our skin, without forgetting our lips - finding the perfect lip balm is essential in order to avoid chapped lips, specially in winter. At The Amazing Blog we're addicted to lip balms and The Bakewell Soap Co.'s Natural Lip Balm is one that is always sitting on our desks. Regular petrolatum-based lip balms tend to dry the lips, as petrolatum jelly sits on top the skin not letting it breathe, instead of being absorbed. That's why no matter how many times you re-apply the jelly, your lips will appear to be even more chapped. At The Amazing Blog we love The Bakewell Soap Co.'s Natural Lip Balm as it is petrolatum-free, and made from beeswax and Cocoa Butter. This cutely packaged lip balms contain Sweet Almond Oil and natural Vitamin E for extra protection and suppleness. At The Amazing Blog we've tried the Moroccan Rose one and we love it. The smell is rosy and leaves the lips conditioned for hours without having to re-apply it. The Natural Lip Balm is available in two other scents: Juicy Oranges and in Peppermint & Lavender.

The owners of The Bakewell Soap Co., Dharma and Ant, make their soap on the site of an old Victorian mill, just outside Bakewell, Derbyshire; in the heart of the Peak National Park. Their products are made in an environmentally responsible way, re-aligning their production processes to gain accreditation for the Environmenal Quality Mark and have reduced wastage in their soap production by about 30% to help achieve this.

The Bakewell Soap Co.'s Natural Lip Balms can be purchased from their website and selected UK stockists. They retail at £3.95.

Natural U

Hopefully, like us, you've been soaking up all the sun you can in London today (we're depending on all of you to keep your fingers crossed so it lasts!). However, your delicate skin may still be feeling the effects of the unseasonably cold weather of recent weeks, and no one wants to have less than luscious skin in this beautiful weather!  So whether it’s a bit of dry skin or something more, The Amazing Blog has found a couple of great body balms for you! Natural U’s two skin balms are little pots of miracle working moisturiser, with loads of uses on your body and face.

Founder Catherine Matthias created the balms after growing tired of seeing all the chemicals used in most moisturisers, packed with unnatural ingredients, which didn’t even seem to work. After blending natural ingredients, she found her eczema started clearing up, and has been selling her range ever since. Their All Purpose Balm is brilliant for dry skin, lips, heels and elbows. You can use it as a night time facial moisturiser, and for eczema – it’s great for sensitive skin. The all natural and organic ingredients in the beauty balms make sure that the best and most raw elements are going into your skin.

Second in the range is my favourite, the Daily Body Rub, it smells just like peppermint and has just as many uses as the All Purpose Balm. With ingredients like shea butter, eucalyptus, tea tree, and beeswax, the Daily Body Rub is great for sore muscles, headaches and tiredness. Use it across your neck, shoulders and temples to get a great natural relief from the daily grind! For each application you really don’t need to use a lot of the balm -  a little goes a long way! The balm absorbs right into your skin, hydrating it and leaving it smooth and soothed.

So whether your skin needs a nice balm occasionally or an intensive moisturiser regularly, Natural U has a body balm for you!