Friday Favourites: Organic Tanning Products

As our regular readers will know at The Amazing Blog, we're big fans of natural and organic products, and today we are talking about sun care. We've included a couple of new brands that have just launched in the UK, as well as a favourite, trusted British brand. These will all help you to enhance your colour and protect your skin naturally. So be sure to take note, and make your friends envious of your effortless glow and sun-kissed complexion. 

There are few things in life that can make us feel better than sporting a healthy and glowing tan. It gives us newfound confidence and a revitalisation. And what could be better than if it can all be done in a safe and controlled manner? We turn first to Rosenserien, an award-winning brand, to help us achieve a safe natural tan. This isn’t the first time we’ve reviewed Rosenserien, and certainly won't be the last. We have rather a soft spot for this established Swedish organic skincare company. Rosenserien only ever uses natural ingredients, of which over 75% are actually organic. The formula in the Self Tan consists of mainly sugar beet extract for long-lasting results and natural colour. NB: It’s recommended to exfoliate and moisturise the skin before using the self-tanner in order to get an even colour. Depending on your preference, apply up to two layers of the lotion for a deeper tan. Within 4-10 hours of application, your skin will be the perfect shade of tan for 3-5 days. We tried this on the face and loved it, very good results with no blotchiness. The product comes in a 100ml tube and can be purchased here for £22.00.

Sun protection should always be an essential part of your daily routine. Although you may not always be lying out on a beach, your skin still comes into daily contact with the damaging UVA/UVB rays even during your daily commute. A fabulous addition to our sun care collection is Eco Cosmetics' Sun Milk with SPF50. The lotion is moisturising, and allows for full coverage – it must be said that a little does go a long way with this product. It is comprised of certified natural ingredients most of which are sourced from organic farming in Germany. This German sun care line is water resistant, vegan, cruelty-free and coral reef friendly. Due to the formulated titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, the sunscreen protects instantly. Supplemental benefits of the product include improved hydration levels, elasticity and suppleness. If you still want a tan naturally and soak up the sun without harming your skin, then we recommend this 75ml product found here for £22.95.

Our third choice this summer is The Organic Pharmacy’s Self-Tan product.  Margo Marrone, a leading pharmacist and homoeopath, founded the company in 2002 and has been working ever since to improve skincare through the combination of nature and science. Each product is formulated naturally without toxins and is created to meet the highest standards. Similar to Rosenserien’s product, The Organic Pharmacy’s self-tan derives from sugar beet. The British made lotion is light and soft, and best for sensitive skin. First, exfoliate your body before slathering on the lotion. While applying, make sure to cover every crevice and to wash your hands thoroughly afterwards. We preferred using this on our bodies rather than our the faces - it was lighter and more absorbent. Your tan will develop after three hours when you will notice a uniformed tan, free of streaks. Enjoy your natural glow by purchasing the 100ml bottle here for £38.00. As they say, don't forget to: 'Slip, slap, slop', and we've certainly you covered for the Bank Holiday weekend, enjoy the sunshine.

Bare Faced Skin – Face Revival Cream

We know from experience how sensitive skin can be, especially on the face. This is why we were happy to discover Bare Faced Skin, a high-performance, luxury skincare brand, with a range made from organic botanical ingredients. Bare Faced Skin was created by Helen Taylor, who has sensitive skin and has suffered from eczema herself. Helen's brand statement is: "The range was designed to create skin you'll be confident in; skin you want to be seen.” At The Amazing Blog we're all about finding and inspiring self-confidence. Having a clear complexion is a magnificent start and a boost for anyone. What we love is that Bare Faced Skin do not test on animals, and that the products have no hidden ingredients. It seems we're not the only ones impressed by the brand, as Bare Faced Skin were nominated in both the Face Care (Take Off) and Bodycare (Leave On) categories at the 2018 Free From Skincare Awards. To see a full breakdown of their ingredients, click here.

We’ve found that their Balance Shea & Thistle Face Revival Cream is excellent for normal to combination skin due to the hyaluronic acid and lupine peptides it contains. Together, they help to protect, while leaving you with a bright complexion. This winner of a 2018 Beauty Shortlist Award for Editor’s Choice contains shea butter, thistle seed oil, lavender oil, blood orange peel oil, rosehip oil, sweet almond oil, pomegranate seed oil, black seed oil, and sea buckthorn. This combination results in a sweet floral fragrance, highlighted by the lavender and blood orange oils. Palmarosa essential oil is also added to balance the T-Zone. The Face Revival Cream is light on the skin and absorbs quickly to work its hydrating magic. You can purchase Bare Faced Skin’s Balance Shea & Thistle Face Revival Cream 50ml for £48.00 here.

We also had the opportunity to try Bare Faced Skin’s 15ml travel sized creams. This is a premium brand, so it’s nice to be able to try their face and body lotions in their affordable travel sizes. The big plus is that they can fit into any plastic carry-on bag. The Hydrate Sea & Macadamia Face Revival Cream is lightweight and lovely for skin that is lacking moisture and nourishment. The list of ingredients is as follows: shea butter, white poppy oil, rosehip fruit oil, black seed oil, blood orange peel oil, mandarin oil, and sea buckthorn oil.

Fantastic for refining and mattifying the complexion, the Mattify Sea & White Poppy Face Revival Cream moisturises and nourishes the skin. This face cream contains thistle, shea butter, white poppy seed oil, grapefruit peel oil, cardamom seed oil, sweet almond oil, and sea buckthorn fruit extract. The Lift Pumpkin & Borage Body Lotion contains borage oil to protect the skin from external elements, while the pumpkin seed oil soothes. It's excellent for tired-looking skin. This body lotion also contains sweet almond oil, shea butter, sea buckthorn fruit extract, thistle seed oil, and pomegranate seed oil. Enticed by the lovely ingredients? Each of these lovely travel sized creams can be purchased for £14.50 here.

Friday Favourites - Natural Deodorants

Summer for us at The Amazing Blog, is enjoying the sunshine, drinks on the terrace, buying new swimsuits, and lots of SPF protection. Wonderful though it is to be in Summer, currently here in the UK it's 30+ degrees, humid and very hot! Which has concentrated our thoughts on coping with the sweaty commute and being forced to get far too up-close-and-personal on the crowded tube. Why is it that some people don't use a deodorant?! This led us on to a search for effective, fragrant and natural deodorants that don't contain harmful chemicals like aluminium and parabens. We hope these three new and natural #amazingfinds will inspire you to throw out your old deodorant and try something new. 

First up is the recently launched vegan and certified organic company, Ben & Anna. Ben and Anna are a German conscientious vegan couple, who wanted to formulate their products with as many sustainable and organic sources as possible. They saw a gap in the market and decided to create their own range of unisex deodorants, all based exclusively on natural ingredients.

Ben & Anna have created seven different fragrance combinations for their deodorants, all packaged in their eco-friendly plastic-free Natural Soda Deodorant Stick Paper Tubes. Each of the deodorants contains the key ingredients of shea butter and soda. These are solid deodorants, free from aluminium compounds, vegan and cruelty-free.

We tried the Pink Grapefruit scented stick which glides effortlessly over the skin with absolutely no sticky residue. When applied to the skin, it activates the sweet citrus scent of pink grapefruit, proving to be light and fruity summer choice.  The packaging is young and stylish featuring each of the fragrance themes on each tube, all of which are coated with a natural wax. Purchase a Ben & Anna Natural Soda Deodorant Stick Paper Tube 60g here for £9.95

We now move on from the stick deodorant to a deodorant balm 'Déodorant Crème Botanique' by o.Moi Skincare. O.Moi is a Danish company founded by Kristele Sun, who sought to develop a gentle, skin-friendly range to help soothe her eczema. Every o.Moi product utilises aromatherapy and is inspired by Kristele’s experiences. For instance, some products contain neroli oil (orange blossom) because the scent reminds her of her childhood on the island of Mauritius. 

Finding the right cream deodorant can be very tricky. We've found that many of the cream deodorants were too pasty and left our underarms feeling sticky and damp. O.Moi offers a wonderful alternative. Their award-winning Beauty Shortlist  2018 Editors’ Choice  Déodorant Crème Botanique (Botanical Cream Deodorant) is made from pure, moisture-absorbing kaolin clay, to preserve dryness, and deter odour-causing bacteria. When we tried this certified organic deodorant, we found that it had a revolutionary cream-to-powder consistency. When smoothing it onto the surface of the skin, we also noticed it absorbed quickly as it released a subtle mix of essential oils.

The Botanical Cream Deodorant is composed of shea butter, grapeseed and glycerine which hydrates to protect the skin. It also encompasses tea tree, lavender, bergamot, and sweet orange oils for scent. We found that this combination leaves the skin with a clean, sweet fragrance. It is also aluminium-free and an ideal natural solution to body odour. Purchase o.Moi Skincare’s Botanical Cream Deodorant 50ml here for £23.00.

We’ve looked at German and Danish skincare companies, next up is Sweden with the beauty brand Rosenserien. Established in 1980's they are an award-winning and leading Swedish organic skincare brand, who is one of the top trailblazers in the natural and sustainable beauty sector. Rosenserien has a long-standing international fan base of environmental-friendly consumers. With a range of over thirty-five different skin and haircare products, they are all free from synthetic and animal ingredients, are vegan-friendly, and use only 100% naturally sourced ingredients.

We tried their rose-scented Deodorant Spray and were not disappointed. This was on the recommendation from our client The Beauty Shortlist, where they recently won 2018 Finalist with their Roll-on Deodorant. As you can imagine we were eager to try one of their organic deodorants. We found that the Deodorant Spray was long-lasting and had us feeling fresh throughout the day. As big fans of rose based products, we were excited by the fresh floral scent and also loved the easy action spray pump. Their organic ingredient index must be applauded too: Essential rose oil, certified and fair trade aloe vera gel, Chinese green tea, and vegetable oils. Making this product perfect for sensitive skin, it's free from parabens, aluminium, and alcohol. This Deodorant Spray will certainly be keeping us dry and smelling garden-fresh this summer. Purchase Rosenserien Deodorant Spray 100ml here for £14.00.

Marina Miracle - Amaranth Face Oil & Night Serum

Skincare is an essential process in our daily regimen. Finding the perfect products that fight impurities, without irritating the skin, can be a challenge. The Amazing Blog noticed that the most coveted products are those created by people who understand our wants and needs from skincare. Marina Engervik, the founder of Marina Miracle, gets it. After being a victim of chemical-based skincare lines, Engervik found the solution with natural ingredients. Her formula treats all types of skin and is 100% natural. The Norwegian brand focuses its efforts on carefully selected ingredients, that are of high-quality, luxurious and safe. Marina Miracle products are both vegan and cruelty-free, and 90% certified organic.

We admired the company’s mission, which strives to be sustainable in all aspects of its business strategy – through the ingredients, packaging and supply chain. All packaging is made up of recycled paper and is compostable.  The company’s suppliers are chosen based on their respect for the environment, animals and people, by advocating to select fair-trade.  Additionally, when possible, products are shipped by sea.

The company’s drive to find natural alternatives, with healthier benefits, motivated us to try both the Amaranth Face Oil and Amaranth Night Serum. Both are anti-ageing and work to revitalise the skin. The face oil is hydrating and improves elasticity. After application, your skin is noticeably softer and left with a lasting glow. The all natural face oil has a soothing fragrance of ylang ylang and grapefruit and is made up of Scandinavian herbs, amaranth and Arctic cranberry extract.

The night serum’s aroma of oranges and flowers is soothing and refreshing. It contains amaranth, Argan, chia and natural fruit acids that rejuvenate and tone the skin. As you sleep, the serum soaks deep into the skin, moisturising and evening your complexion. After cleansing your face, shake the bottle well. Then, drip 4-6 drops onto the pads of your fingers, rub together and apply the product. Their Argan Night Serum recently won the 2018 Beauty Shortlist Awards Editor’s Choice. You can purchase the 28ml  Amaranth Face Oil here for £63 or the 28ml Amaranth Night Serum here for £87.

Dr Renaud – Acacia Honey Range

As you might remember, we have written about Dr Renaud before, featuring his Mango Hand and Nail Repair Cream and more recently reviewing his Rose Plumping Cleansing Oil. Dr Renaud has been a leader in cosmetology for more than sixty years. They bring science and skincare together, to produce effective products for various needs. Their newest Acacia Honey range was designed to target malnourished skin. There are three professional salon products in the range and also three retail products, which we were lucky to have the chance to review.

Acacia Honey Extract is one of the key ingredients that the three products contain. It is extremely rich in water, carbohydrates and fructose. This mixture allows it to be quickly absorbed by the skin, as well as maintaining moisture. Macerat, an organic honey oil, provides the skin with necessary lipids to nourish the skin.

The first of the trio is the Acacia Honey Intense Nutrition Cream. We used this as a day cream, as it is highly moisturising, but not too heavy on the skin. Cacao Butter adds regenerative properties to this cream, so it supports the skin to maintain its elasticity. For even more nutrition, Dr Renaud also added Royal jelly, propolis, and rice peptides to this moisturiser. Since we are living in London, we particularly like that these ingredients strengthen the skin against external aggressions, a.k.a. pollution.

We preferred to use the Acacia Honey Intense Nutrition Balm as a night cream because of its slightly thicker consistency. However, if you have dehydrated skin, this might work well as a moisturiser. Shea butter gives the skin heaps of hydration. This balm also includes all the ingredients mentioned above, to protect the skin from external aggressions. Dr Renaud describes the cream as "a cocoon of softness" on the skin. We can confirm that it left our skin feeling quite soft and smooth. Last in the bundle, is the Acacia Honey Intense Nutrition Mask, which we applied one to two times a week for ten minutes. Afterwards, we rinsed the remains off and patted our skin dry. We loved it for an extra hydration boost when we wanted to pamper our skin.

Overall, the Acacia Honey range is excellent for anyone looking for highly hydrating skincare with a sweet floral fragrance. You can get the Intense Nutrition Creme here for £25, the Intense Nutrition Balm here for £33 and the Intense Nutrition Mask here for £44.