the Amazing Blog

Apothem: RECHARGE CBD Cream-Gel

Still in lockdown, topics of wellbeing and health certainly seem to be at the forefront in everyone’s mind. If you’re into taking care of your body and giving it all the TLC that it deserves, then please keep reading on. Today at The Amazing Blog we want to flag up yet another one of our  #amazingfinds. This time it’s with the CBD wellness brand Apothem and its award-winning RECHARGE CBD Cream-Gel, not only for all the CBD lovers but also for those needing a soothing cream for over-worked bodies.

Apothem is co-founded by Tony North and Amelia Barlein and specialises in luxury organic hemp-based CBD drops and topicals. Launched in October 2019, in a male-dominated industry, co-founder Amelia's goal is to empower women in business and build a positive and collaborative culture for those working in the cannabis industry. Apothem is a unisex wellness brand that encourages the positive impacts of CBD while supporting positive mental health through a partnership with suicide prevention charity CALM, which is committed to breaking down common barriers through CBD education. Amelia Baerlein was recently quoted as saying: "We founded Apothem to disrupt the existing CBD market with a contemporary collection of products designed to set new standards in purity, quality and strength. Everything we design and make is created with real people in mind as an addition to their everyday rituals; however, they choose to live life." Apothem is a luxury vegan, cruelty-free, organic brand that only uses cultivated hemp with zero THC. All their CBD products are produced to Good Manufacturing Standards and listed on the EU cosmetics notification portal. Formulas are original and developed in a lab by a diverse team of experts who triple-check the products' potency and purity and put them through rigorous testingAll hemp used is organic and grown in Alicante, Spain, where plants grow outside without the use artificial lighting. Any excess hemp created in production is used to develop packaging, clothing, shoes, and accessories. Apothem is a brand built on honesty and quality, something we look for when buying CBD oil drops, topicals and skincare. They recently scooped up the Best CBD Oil, Best CBD Muscle Balm and five other awards in the Wellbeing Awards with the 2021 Beauty Shortlist; and gained industry recognition as the Best New British Brand award (silver) at the Pure Beauty Awards 2020.

Having seen the launch of Apothem, their RECHARGE CBD Cream-Gel was the one product from the range, that we desperately wanted to try. This is because RECHARGE combines every thing we want in a CBD healing balm, it’s natural with pure Hemp-CBD isolate with magnesium, and botanicals from arnica, green tea, magnesium, and essential oils. Unlike many other CBD body creams/ balms, with overpowering fragrances like lemongrass or eucalyptus, this emits a lovely soft rosemary, juniper and mint scent. It is a truly therapeutic cream-gel, designed to deliver a cooling remedy targeting tension to help re-energise overworked bodies (in my case muscle strain). Easy to apply I found it cooling and effective. For me, it helped alleviate everyday stiffness from my hips and calves. Let’s look at the key ingredient here, arnica reduces aches and swelling; green tea is a fantastic antioxidant and calms redness or skin irritation, and magnesium is a superb support for the immune system. The rosemary and mint essential oils help relieve stress and muscular or joint inflammation. Juniper oil also reduces fatigue, muscle aches and helps relieve pain from arthritis. In clinical trials with RECHARGE over a period of 14 days with 52 participants – it came out with astonishing results as 99% of participants agreed that it helped relieve muscle fatigue, increase joint mobility, relaxed muscle tension and gave greater ease of movement after use. And we couldn’t agree more – this is a very effective anti-inflammatory packed with a potent 800mg CBD in a 100ml tube, and currently one of our favourites.  You can purchase Recharge CBD Cream-Gel in either 25ml for £20 here or 100mml at £55, click here.   

Bōbé Beauty: Natural Perfume Oils

The power of fragrance to influence our mood or recall a memory…is something we all tend to underestimate. These could be key moments in our lives: people, places and situations…like the smell of a cake slowly baking in the family kitchen, or the scent that our grandmother wore. Today at The Amazing Blog  we’re featuring  Bōbé Beauty, a Canadian aromatherapy brand that has created a unique trio of 100% natural perfume oils. 

Marlese Assman is the founder of Bōbé Beauty and a practitioner in aromatherapy, reflexology and Chinese medicine based in Saskatchewan CanadaHer curiosity for flora and fauna fuelled her passion for creating her own line of botanical perfume oils. Assman trained with fragrance experts based in Barcelona, New York and France; making her dream of producing a natural fragrance line become a reality, where she has transferred her aromatherapy expertise into the world of perfumery. Assman said: “I’ve been scouring the French countryside for ancient roses, the hidden apothecaries of Greenwich Village for the perfect patchouli, and slipping into Saskatchewan’s own fragrant forests to encapsulate fresh cut wood and campfire.” Her trio of Bōbé Beauty perfume oils offer an intimate, sensual botanical journey where her goal is to provide a feeling of “youthful experience through assured independence” and ancient luxury for the modern muse. These perfume oils are all free from parabens, petroleum, alcohol, phthalate, artificial dyes or synthetic fragrances. With their all-natural ingredients tested on humans, not animals are made with love and care in small batches (photo here by special request is credited to Flint + Feather Photography).

The first out of the three perfume oils that we tried is Darya with the silver top which embodies ‘the modern mermaid’. In this subtle yet complex fragrance, the purple passion fruit and citrus balance the jasmine and coconut. While the seaweed brings this earthy, seaside smell that transports you to a tropical island with its fruity notes; you can almost visualise the beach with lapping waves. Other ingredients here are blackcurrant bud, myrrh, liquidambar, amber resin, rock roseDarya is available here. Moving on to the second perfume oil Metsa with the gold top. This one captures ‘The woman of the forest’ (see our photo above) With its earthy scents, this perfume oil reflects the strength of nature. The musk and the wood intertwine to create a mixture of warm, spicy and sweet yet powerfully green fragrance that is perfect for inspiring sensuality. Ingredients include perus balsam, labdanum, patchouli, clary sage, rose de mai, davana, pink  peppercorns and juniper berry. Metsa is available here. The third perfume oil that we tried is Sepeideh with the rose gold top, which translates as ‘before the dawn’ in Persian. This youthful but sensual perfume oil was named after Marlese’s daughter. In this fragrance, the green leaves gently mix with the smell of sunbathed flowers, while the citrus adds a twist and the softwoods carrying you to the beginning of the forest, in the quiet early morning when you feel safe and in harmony with nature slowly awakening. This was our favourite with its more unusual ingredients of nerolina, rhododendron, vanilla and ambette seed.You can purchase Sepeideh here

These empowering and uplifting natural oil perfumes are in a base of organic jojoba oil, and the unique combination of essential oils and fragrances have all been strategically sourced from around the globe. We used these alone and even combine one or two of the trio to create an individual scent that resonated with our given mood. They lift the spirits and are comforting to wear - we think ideal for our current #lockdown situation! They are available for purchase on Bōbé Beauty’s website here each of 10ml rollerball bottles are $50.00 CAD (approx. £28.92).

Tropikal Sundai – Golden Mango Body Butta

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Has your skin got the winter blues? Then at The Amazing Blog we can’t wait to introduce you to some tropical sunshine. What better way to start the New year off right by treating dry skin to this super-hydrating Golden Mango Body Butta from Tropikal Sundai. With this gloomy January #lockdown, we love that this brings a much needed holiday glow to our skin.

Starting at a young age, Tropikal Sundai’s founder Ashlie-Selina Ryan spent her Sundays learning about Bajan plants and their healing properties from her Mother. While on a bike ride in Cherry Hill, Barbados, her skin started to get irritated and inflamed. This was when she learned from her cousin about the benefits of using plants such as Aloe Vera to soothe her skin. This gave her the inspiration to create her own line of products with Tropikal Sundai utilising traditional Bajan ingredients. Although now based in Hackney, Tropikal Sundai is as the name indicates a tropical fruit-infused artisan brand, whose ingredients are entirely vegan, cruelty-free and natural. One of their strong beliefs is ‘that mother nature has the abilities to heal, restore and nourish.’ They currently have a trio of products in the range with Guava & Aloe Hydrating Mist, Peach Papaya Glow Serum and Golden Mango Body Butta (which we are featuring below).

As mentioned, we think this Golden Mango Body Butta will make a great addition to your body care routine. As this Body Butta keeps skin moisturised and glistening with its all-natural ingredients. All products are handmade and in small batches where they only use raw butters and organic or cold press oils. Here in the Golden Mango Body Butta, the mango and cherry kernel oil are the prominent fruity fragrances in this decadently rich whipped body cream. With its key ingredients of aloe vera/coconut butter, mango, cherry kernel and shea oils, together with rosehip and grapeseed oils, which when combined make this a supreme skin food. The aloe vera/coconut butter hydrate and soothes irritated skin. The rosehip and shea oil help to moisturise and reduce any appearance of scarring. Although, the number one ingredient here is the mango (mangifera indica) butter, which rejuvenates and heals the skin, easing skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis. This is a truly luxurious body cream, where a little goes a long way, when applied in the morning it lasted until bedtime, keeping skin soft supple throughout the day. It’s suitable for dry patches or for those with eczema;  we highly recommend treating skin with this pure and tropical plant magic, Golden Body Butta 250ml for £25, see here to purchase. 

Nursem – Caring Hand Cream & Caring Hand Fix

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Something during these pandemic times it has become second nature to us is to keep washing our hands. Of course, after constant washing, most of us at The Amazing Blog have noticed irritation, dryness and cracked skin. However, let us just take a moment to consider what everyday life must be like for nurses who are on the frontline. Did you know that the average ICU nurse washes their hands 150 times a day? Which results in 85% suffering from painful and sore hands. Not anymore, step forward the new British brand Nursem who has created a specific range of solution-based hand care. 

Nursem is a skincare brand, created by Jonny Philp who teamed up with his wife, Antonia (an ICU nurse), to create a range of special hand care products. As Jonny commented: “Our aim is to make every working day better for all hardworking hands, so we’ve developed a range of products that are formulated to care for, hydrate and replenish your skin’s natural defences.”  What testifies to this brand’s success is that its products are loved by nurses, mums and many more. We met Nursem at the CEW Showcases and were so thrilled to be given both their Caring Hand Fix, and Caring Hand Cream to try out. 

Let’s start with the Caring Hand Fix which is a cruelty-free, vegan and dermatologist approved. This works like a healing balm (although it’s a cream) it’s intensive care for hands where it soothes and calms. It’s fragrance-free with the main ingredient of calming colloidal oatmeal, this works together for layers of protection with avocado oil, shea butter and glycerin to help minimise moisture loss from the skin. Avocado oil is known for its healing benefits on skin, rich in vitamin E and other nutrients it nourishes the skin to accelerate the healing process. While shea butter is an ingredient known for softening the skin and it also has anti-inflammatory properties. The Caring Hand Fix soothes redness and irritation, as well as regenerates the skin using a blend of pro-vitamin B5, naturally derived hyaluronic acid and allantoin. We think that using the product overnight probably brings the best results.  To purchase click here The product comes at a size of 50 ml for £14.99.

Next, the Caring Hand Cream that has been created by using natural ingredients. The Caring Hand Cream’s key ingredient here is medical-grade manuka honey, which is known to help aid the healing of sore hands and improve the skin’s appearance. The manuka honey can balance the skin’s pH levels and remove the dead cells, leaving the skin soft and clean. The Caring Hand Cream has a subtle scent similar to orange water which comes from the combination of citrus and bergamot. It also has an extract of white willow and oils such as grape seed, coconut, passionflower and pomegranate seed all of which help soften the hands. To purchase the 75 ml size for £9.99 click here. To purchase the 300 ml size for £19.99 click here. This is a long-lasting and effective formula for sore and dry hands.

Both of the products contain no parabens, mineral oil or silicone and we think are a must-have for everyone who has over washed hands that are suffering. What is also important to mention, is that Nursem has a ‘giving back’ philosophy and for every product sold, they offer a month’s worth of free Nursem to a nurse or a midwife. Please help us to keep this mission going by purchasing their hand care products here.

Friday Favourites – Shampoos with a difference

Shampoo is a product nearly everyone uses, but how do you know you’re using the correct shampoo for your hair? I know that here at The Amazing Blog we are very particular about the type of shampoo that we choose to lather up with. Some of us use shampoos that are organic, vegan or to help stimulate hair growth. And with so many options, we find that it can be an overwhelming choice to find the right one for each of our hair types. For this week’s Friday Favourites, we have three new and different shampoos that are our #amazingfinds to share with you.

The first shampoo is the Reseed Ginkgo & Sabal Fortifying Shampoo. Reseed was created to help people achieve stronger, fuller and healthier hair. Reseed understands the impact that both hair loss and thinning can have on self-confidence and created their hair care line to help combat this. The products all use natural actives that work to prolong the hair’s lifecycle. We love that they use essential botanic extracts, pro-vitamins and minerals - all which strengthen the hair follicles.

The Reseed Ginkgo & Sabal Fortifying Shampoo restores the structural fibres of the hair while simultaneously increasing its density and nourishing from within. We liked the fresh, fruity fragrance of the Reseed Shampoo! It’s enriched with vitamins B5, B6, E, F and Zinc to support the scalp’s natural functions.

The Reseed Ginkgo & Sabal Fortifying Shampoo is suitable for all hair types. We’d certainly recommend this for anyone has either hair thinning or loss, or who just wants to prevent it. If you’d like to purchase the Reseed Shampoo it is £18 for 250ml and can be purchased here or it’s also available at Lloyds Pharmacy and Selfridges too.

Our next Friday favourite is the Lavera Neutral Shower Shampoo this is ideal for anyone with fine hair. Lavera has won over 350 awards, proving that natural hair and skincare products can be both sustainable and innovative. In Latin, Lavera means ‘the truth’, and at The Amazing Blog we’re big fans of this brand and know first hand that a brand name like Lavera can be trusted. All their products are 100% natural and have cruelty-free ingredients, we think that Lavera is a brand name that you can really get behind.

The Lavera Neutral Shower Shampoo leaves hair feeling clean with a healthy, natural shine. It’s perfect for anyone with sensitive skin or fine hair because it contains extremely mild cleansing ingredients. It’s also a 2-in-1 product that doubles as body wash, which is perfect for packing in your weekend bag to save on products. We love that it contains organic evening primrose oil, to soothe easily irritated skin and sea salt to stimulate hair growth. Need a break from harsh fragrance or ingredients? Then purchase Lavera Neutral Shower Shampoo here for £8.95 per 200ml.

Finally, we‘ve chosen the Foamie Hibiskiss Damaged Hair Shampoo Bar. This is a completely plastic-free design and also we like how the interesting design of the Foamie Shampoo Bar which is made as an easy-to-hold shampoo bar. Simple to use, just run the bar under water until it lathers up and you get a good amount of foam on your hands to massage through the hair, then rinse out. Simply hang it up on its loop to dry after use.

We love the simplicity of this bar making it ideal to travel with and perfect for holiday hair. The hibiscus and nettle extract combat brittle and tired-looking hair, they also help to strengthen and nourish from root to tip. It adds shine and structure to the hair while leaving an amazing floral fragrance. Think outside the bottle, with this Foamie Hibiskiss Damaged Hair Shampoo Bar available here for £7.00 a bar here. 

Whether you’re looking for plastic-free, multi-tasking or something to just boost your hair, we think we’ve got you covered.