Nakin Natural Anti-Ageing: Eye Cream Complex & Performance Face Serum

As they say ‘the eyes are the window to the soul’ and we think that having good skin is a reflection of a healthy lifestyle. As regular readers will know, at The Amazing Blog we’re always searching for great products that help to defy the ageing process. Today’s #amazingfinds are Nakin Performance Face Serum and Nakin Eye Cream Complex. As some of you may remember, we’ve already reviewed some of Nakin skincare products before (see here ) so it’ll come as no surprise we were really excited to try these two.

The founder Cris Beetham has been a pioneer of natural skincare for the past 20+ years with expertise in the anti-ageing and natural cosmetics sectors, thus making her brand one of the first innovative British skincare brands. This award-winning range of skincare offers a luxurious skincare system of cleansers, moisturisers and treatments. Their carefully selected natural ingredients not only target ageing skin, but also a multitude of other skin issues like sensitivity and skin repair.

Nakin Performance Face Serum is perfect for aiding sun-damaged or dull-looking skin and helping to restore one’s complexion back to its former glory. It is rich in anti-oxidant oils and extracts which prevent damage from skin stressors. Enriched with hydrolyzed hibiscus extract and hyaluronic acid these both help to boost hydration and skin elasticity. The pomegranate extract helps to reverse the sun’s damage, and best of all their products are suitable for all skin types. It’s recommended to apply the Serum to a cleansed face before moisturising to achieve optimum results. It quickly absorbs, leaving the skin feeling incredibly soft and silky. Due to its wonderful hydrating qualities, we think that it would also make the ideal primer under a tinted moisturiser or mineral makeup.

Nakin Eye Cream Complex is a light eye cream designed to reduce the appearance of fine lines, puffy eyes and dark circles. Again, it is enriched with hydrolyzed hibiscus extract, hyaluronic acid and pomegranate that help to rejuvenate the skin. It also has caffeine, green tea and seaweed extracts which compress the blood vessels and reduces eye puffiness. The cholera vulgaris here helps to improve your blood circulation for the removal of dark circles. Just apply a small amount of the cream with your finger and carefully dab around your eye area both morning and evening. We love that it absorbs easily and has a delicate fragrance.

These are tried and tested products, and we whole-heartedly recommend Nakin skincare which is also vegetarian, cruelty-free and has no nasties. You can purchase a 50ml Nakin Performance Face Serum at £25 here, and a 15ml bottle Nakin Eye Cream Complex at £18 here.  

Friday Favourites – Bath Salts

When it’s been a long stressful week and then it is finally Friday, what better way to relax than luxuriating in bath salts with steaming water! There is nothing we like more at The Amazing Blog than a good soak while sipping a chilled glass of something nice. This is why today we want to introduce you to some of our top-picks very special bath salts.

Let’s start with Sea Magik Turmeric Serenity Salts. If you’re a regular reader, you ‘ll have probably already read about Sea Magik when we featured their 21 Sea Magik Mist  and Sea Magik Shampoo and Scalp Mud   We really rate their brand’s values and honesty, with their added bonus of being cruelty-free, vegan and beneficial for the planet too.

With the fluctuating change of temperature this November – some of us have been nursing a chill. So, it is rather timely to give the Sea Magik Turmeric Serenity Salts a try. We can report back that after a good soak we felt our energy levels bouncing back. Could this be the healing powers of a blend of 100% natural Dead Sea and Epsom salts which are amazingly restorative? Apart from Turmeric (a.k.a. the wonder spice) which has anti-inflammatory properties, there’s bitter orange and safflower essential oils too. They relax the body while soothing, softening and conditioning your skin with the added bonus of leaving your bathroom smelling divine. Get your 1kg bag here for £8.99, just add 1 cup of salts to warm water and relax in with this home-spa experience.

Next is Björk & Berries, a Swedish brand that puts nature in a bottle. Well, with brands like Björk & Berries, the products they put on their skin encapsulate Swedish traditions, being natural and organic. In this case, the primary ingredient is Birch, the Swedish life giving tree that has endless benefits such as anti-inflammatory, curative, and hydrating properties. If you want to indulge a classic Scandinavian spa experience and prepare your skin for the winter months coming up, the Björk & Berries Birch Ritual is for you. In just ten minutes, with their three-step skincare range, you will improve your circulation, detoxify and hydrate your skin.

Our favourite product of the range is the bath salts. Start off by immersing your body in their Botanical Bath Salts, made from hand-picked flowers and herbs to relax and detox. With lavender, lemon balm and chamomile flowers combined with natural sea salts, spring clean your body by activating your lymphatic system. The gentle aroma will take you to the Swedish forests, purifying your mind and bringing harmony to your atmosphere.  Then you can follow (as we did) with their Scrub and Serum (in a later review) from the Birch range to enjoy all the effects of the integrity of their products. You can purchase your Botanical Bath Salts here for €35.00 and enjoy a Swedish like skincare routine straight from the forest to your bathtub. It is impossible not to enjoy the scent of nature!

Perhaps like us, you’ve had insomnia? Or maybe blocked sinuses? We were recommended to try Verdant Alchemy’s Breathe in Bath Salts. Verdant Alchemy was launched in 2018 by Vivien Leung who like most of us was regularly experiencing high-stress levels. She wanted to create a well-being brand for skin and body care. After exploring all sorts of natural ingredients, she came up with her Breathe in Bath Salts. These have the COSMOS natural certification from the Soil Association.

Mainly composed of Eucalyptus, Lemon and Thyme, these Breathe in Bath Salts exude this powerful combination of natural vapours which have anti-inflammatory and immune boosting qualities, perfect for helping to clear blocked sinuses. Also combined with Epsom and Dead Sea salts they are extremely rich in minerals, helping to nourish the skin and well as supporting muscles and the immune system. To buy the Verdant Alchemy Breathe in Bath Salts 100g pot for £12.00, see here. They will help to clear your mind, just inhale, relax and enjoy.

We suggest lighting a few candles and soaking in on one of these invigorating bath salts to help reset your mind and body; so you’ll be recharged and ready to start the week ahead.

L’Araboutique® Skincare

Today at the Amazing Blog we’d like to share with you some natural treasures from Arab world. The Middle Eastern cultures have some of the best kept beauty secrets, and we’re going to introduce you to one of them. Meet the natural and organic skincare brand L’Araboutique who have an array of exotic ingredients including: Extra virgin olive oil from Palestine and Syria, mineral-rich Zamzam water from Saudi Arabia, the finest royal green hojari frankincense from Oman, fragrant pink roses from Madina and rich organic sidr honey from Yemen.  And these are just a few of the wonderful pure ingredients found in their products.

L’Araboutique® was created by Dr. Samira Zaidan and Dr. Mona Alyedreessy (a mother and daughter team) and they claim to be the only skincare and haircare brand to make natural products with Zamzam water. These products are handmade in the UK, are organic, chemical-free, cruelty-free, halal, eco-friendly and vegan (apart from those containing camel milk, beeswax and sidr honey) they are also UK and EU tested approved and certified.

They very kindly send us a selection of products to try, and the first products we used were their soaps. The Oat, Sidr Honey & Madina Rose Soap can be used on the skin or hair to soften and hydrate. The combination of oat, sidr honey & Madina roses calm and moisturise the skin. The Arabic Gum & Bay Leaf Soap has a strong anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties while simultaneously stimulating the skin’s collagen production. One of our team even noticed that their skin appeared brighter after using this bar. Next we tried the soap Arabic Coffee, Ginger & Cinnamon. Did you know that coffee is the number one natural product to combat cellulite? No neither did we, but we loved how energising this scrub left us feeling.

Then there is The Madina Rose & Saffron Face Cream which dates all the way back to ancient Egypt when Cleopatra discovered the beauty benefits of rose water. This luxurious face cream has three key ingredients: Iranian saffron flowers blossom, mineral-rich Zamzam water infused with fresh Madina rose water and oil. All of which help to reduce hyperpigmentation. This was our Editor Edwina’s favourite. Staying on a rose theme, we also tried their Madina Rose Deodorant  which is a 24-hour deodorant cream made from organic cold-pressed coconut oil that helps to  fights bacteria. It also has turmeric to lighten dark patches and pigmentation on the underarm area and smells divine.

Finally, we come to The Sutanah Face Lift Mask a recipe apparently only shared between Arabian royalty. Made with pomegranates, Moroccan rhassoul clay and aloe vera juice, this mask instantly tightens and lifts the face – this powder you simply mix with water. Best of all, we like how the brand contribute 50p from every sale to a charity that helps to build wells around the world. The Water Project charity provides essential clean water to families and communities where it’s needed the most. 

L’Araboutique® can be purchased here with skincare prices starting from £15. We think they are a wonderful new discovery, where the ancient and modern worlds meet and we can’t wait to try more for this brand.

Lozano Skincare – SkinTea Active Renewal Masque

I think we can all agree that finding your idea skincare can be a bit of a challenge. At The Amazing Blog we’re always looking for newly launched brands and today we’d like to introduce you to Lozano, who have launched their first product SkinTea Active Renewal Masque which is not meant to replace your other products, but to properly prepare your skin to help boost them.

Lozano Skincare launched last year by Matthew Kelly, whose aim is to produce a range of scientifically researched, naturally derived and cruelty-free products that work. Matthew explained, “Most skincare regimens seek to cleanse, tone, and moisturise. It can be difficult to find just the right combination of products to achieve those goals, and awfully easy to overuse one or more of them. We’ve solved that problem with a masque that raises the skin’s overall baseline health, allowing users to get better results from skincare routines they’ve grown comfortable with.”

Their hero product is SkinTea Active Renewal Masque, which is packed with antioxidants from white tea, hydrating agents from hyaluronic acid; collagen stimulants from glycolic acid; and exfoliating and cell turnover properties from the lactic acid. One of the things we liked the most about this product is the multiple benefits of the ingredients. White tea aka Camellia Sinensis, is a plant rich in antioxidants, in fact, it is more effective than vitamin C in preventing ageing due to its properties which encourage collagen growth and anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial qualities making it ideal for acne prone skins too. Secondly, 3% hyaluronic acid allows your skin to hold water which means it keeps it hydrated and reduces wrinkles. This component is naturally found in your body, so your skin will identify it and enhance its effects such as skin healing and repair, elasticity, and cell division. Thirdly, the 3% glycolic acid encourages collagen production and cell renewal. It also cleanses and exfoliates your skin by removing dead skin cells, blackheads and dirt that are blocking pores. All this means that the effects of the rest of your products in your skincare routine, will be more effective as they’ll be able to penetrate the skin more efficiently. Lastly, the SkinTea Active Renewal Masque contains 1% lactic acid, this ingredient acts as an exfoliant, solving any uneven skin tone issues while hydrating it, removing pollutants, balancing your pH and giving you a healthy glow.

It’s unusual to find a product that is fits in perfectly with your other skincare products – a bonus find in our view, and one that won’t be gathering dust in our beauty drawer. To use this Masque start by cleansing your face, to make sure it is free from pollutants. Then apply 3-5 pumps of SkinTea Active Renewal Masque onto your damp face, throat and décolletage. Apply it gently and evenly, do not rub it in! Wait up to 15 minutes then splash warm water using a cloth to remove it, then gently pat dry your skin. They recommend you repeat this process up to 3 times a week – we each used it twice. Our skin felt soft and what was interesting that despite all our differing skin types we all got good results. This is a great product to use taking skin from the summer and preparing it for autumn, particularly if like us your skincare routine changes with the seasons. Get your natural radiance boost with Lozano’s SkinTea Active Renewal Masque with their 50ml bottle here for £32.00 and use the code AMAZINGPR15 to get 15% off your first purchase.

SLIXIR - Hand & Polish Cream

We love treating ourselves to an hour of timeout at the nail bar or just putting on the radio and doing a quick home mani pedi. At The Amazing Blog our biggest gripe with regular nail polish is that it always seems to chip after only a few days of wear. That’s why we were thrilled to try the Hand & Polish Cream from SLIXIR that we heard makes nail polish last longer, nourishes cuticles, and acts as an anti-ageing hand cream.

Helen Gilmore founded the British brand after having worked in the nail industry since 2002. She was previously the UK and ROI Head of Marketing for CND (Creative Nail Design, Inc), the company that made the popular gel manicure CND Shellac. Having had experience with consumers all over the world in nails and nail care, Gilmore found that the general feedback and biggest moan was about wanting a long-lasting nail polish. Having seen a niche in the market, she began her journey in creating a unique hand and nail product, Helen commented:  “Each day I focus on creating effective and luxurious ways to make this happen; solutions that fit easily into women’s lives and make great hands and nails a readily understood science.”

What stood out to us about SLIXIR is that it eliminates the need for both a hand cream and a cuticle oil with its unique blend of natural plant oils while improving the appearance of your nails and nail polish. We love multi-taskers! It doesn’t make your hands feel greasy and leaves them feeling heavenly soft. Honestly? Our hands felt smooth and hydrated, almost as though we ‘d put a primer on. For this kind of hydration, the formula includes avocado oil and jojoba oil as well as copper active, which specifically soothes and targets the nail beds. Colloidal oats further protects your hands from dryness and environmental stresses.

We cannot emphasise enough about the importance of giving your hands extra care. This is because the dermal layers are thinner, more exposed to the elements, which in turn reveals ageing faster than the face. SLIXIR is one step ahead and equipped with anti-ageing ingredients. This cream is packed full of  antioxidants and multivitamins which neutralise free radicals, helping to hold back visible age-related changes on your hands such as wrinkles and lack of elasticity. We also like that this cream doesn’t have any parabens, mineral oils, or animal cruelty. You can use it on all skin types and nail polishes and they recommend applying it twice a day, paying careful attention to nails. SLIXIR Hand & Polish Cream (75ml) is available here for £21.95 and offers free shipping within the UK. This all-in-one cream now has pride of place by our desks!