Pure Anada - Delicate Compact Palette & Sweet Stillness Nail Polish

At The Amazing Blog, we think there is nothing better than having a new selection of make-up to experiment with to cheer us all up! Particularly, when it has a range of beautifully subtle daytime shades of blush and eye colours. We’re talking about Pure Anada and today we’ve bringing you another of our #amazingfinds with the Delicate Compact Palette and their softest pink Sweet Stillness Nail Polish. 

If you want to know why we’ve chosen to review Pure Anada a Canadian beauty brand, then see our other feature here. Let’s do a quick recap of their inspiring story behind this brand. Growing up in a eco-household, Candace Grenier, founder of Pure Anada, already had a vast knowledge of what proper nutrition should be and the importance of what the body needs. Passionate about making things for herself, she decided in 2003 to make her home and environmental as holistic as possible, discarding anything chemical. She went on to create a line of ‘natural, safer alternatives to mainstream cosmetics’ homecare, skincare and make-up which is where this success story began. These products are ethical, i.e. no discrimination or child labour is ever involved in the processing of making her raw materials. With clean formulations free from common allergens and ingredients that are naturally sourced, and everything is made in their certified organic labs in Manitoba. Their products are also cruelty-free, mainly vegan and certified with the Leaping Bunny programme. We found these at their UK retailer Live in The Light, so it’s a big thank you to them for sending us these products for review. We’re big fans of this online retailer and recommend a visit to their website as they also share our ethos in promoting holistic and environmentally friendly brands.  

Today we want to talk about Pure Anada’s Delicate Compact Palette and Sweet Stillness Nail Polish.  First things first, the Delicate Compact Palette’s colours are discreet, natural and gave us an effortless no make-up look. The pale rosy pink blush named Sweet Pea pairs perfectly with four eye-shadow colours: The satin luxurious taupe/grey that shifts to a shimmering pink called Haunt, a velvet taupe/mauve titled Macchiato, an iridescent champagne blush named Darling, and finally a matte ballet slipper pink Water Lily. If these moreish colours don’t swipe you off of your feet, then perhaps their win with the Sweet Pea blush at The 2020 Beauty Bible Awards here will. The packaging is recyclable with a pretty floral designed outer box and metallic foil etched cardboard inner palette, that also comes with a mirror inside. It only contains all-natural formulas comprised of pressed mineral pigments and jojoba oil for softness. The jojoba oil keeps the texture silky and smooth and most importantly, non-greasy.  Apart from the colours and natural formulas what we particularly like about this make-up is its cost-effectiveness. Unlike most palettes, this one is refillable! When finished, you can buy the individual colours and pop them right back into each of the magnetic slots in palette. Best of all,  the coverage is sheer but buildable and the blusher promises a demi-matte fresh healthy glow to the face and that’s exactly what it delivered. This is for us a smart investment with its natural everyday colours and is available for £29.95, you can find it here.  

Moving on to the Sweet Stillness Nail Polish which is from a range of twenty long-lasting colours. This Sweet Stillness is a pale rose pink non-toxic nail polish. More importantly, it is free of the five most toxic ingredients which are usually found in regular nail polish. The three most toxic ingredients being dibutyl phthalate, formaldehyde, and toluene. They are followed by another two which are formaldehyde resin and camphor.  If you wish to know how toxic they are, here’s a quick explanation:  The dibutyl phthalate, or otherwise called the plasticizer, is used to provide sheen. It has a carcinogen effect and can cause thyroid problems and is often linked to hormone changes. Formaldehyde used to harden the nails, is also carcinogen when inhaled and while it’s evaporating can sometimes cause allergic reactions if it comes in contact with your skin. The toluene used to give a smooth finish and keep a uniform colour can cause eyes, lung, and throat irritation when inhaled and can also affect the central nervous system. The formaldehyde resin used to strengthen the nails is a skin allergen and remains active for up to three days after your nail polish dries, and can cause dermatitis. Finally, camphor, which used to be a treatment for cold or flu, is now chemically manufactured and can have a serious side effect when ingested. When exposed in large doses, primarily through inhalation, it’s known to cause irritation, nausea, dizziness, and headaches, it is therefore highly toxic! Quickly added the formulas in the Sweet Stillness Nail Polish are solvent-based and not water-based, but this is long-lasting and a more durable option than water-based.  We’d also advise applying it with their Super Base Coat and the Free Topcoat. You can find Pure Anada’s Sweet Stillness Nail Polish here for £8.95. 

Bao-Med UK - Pure Skin, Scalp & Hair Oil and Food Supplements: Hair Skin & Nails

They say that hair is a woman’s ‘crowning glory’ (a phrase that dates back to Biblical times) and we at The Amazing Blog couldn’t agree more.  After all, when you have a full head of shiny and voluminous hair, it makes you feel glamorous and feminine. Today we’re going to introduce you to two products that will help to put that va va voom right back into your hair with the main ingredient focus being from the baobab fruit.  Meet The Pure Skin, Scalp & Hair Oil, and the Food Supplement: Hair, Skin & Nails from Bao-Med, they both work well alone or when used in tandem.

We have introduced Bao-Med previously on in our features here, where we have written about their Pure Soap and Pure Oil Bodywash. So, we were excited to try out more from this brand again. Bao-Med offers natural products with baobab fruit as its key ingredient. Baobab is known as a ‘superfood’ because of its highly nutritious values. The baobab powder is very rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, and vitamin C, making it an ideal choice for your hair health. The baobab tree can live for up to 3000 years and Bao-Med practices sustainability by only collecting the fruit that has already fallen on the ground, thus not damaging the tree. By doing this, the tree will continue to be a great source of the fruits for many years to come. Bao-Meds’ Pure Skin, Scalp & Hair Oil recently won an award in The Beauty Shortlist Award in 2020. What we particularly like about this brand is that all their products are organic and come with international certification. As mentioned previously, Bao-Med's products are made from pure baobab seed oil and vitamin and mineral-rich white powder from the fruit which is used in their Food Supplements. The oil from the nut of this fruit has softening, protective and restructuring properties and which are excellent for skin and hair, often used for stretch marks or dry and damaged hair. This brand’s products have been created to help promote healthy skin, scalp, hair and nails; as the baobab seed oil is renowned for its hydrating and healing properties.

Let’s start with the Pure Skin, Scalp & Hair Oil which is extracted as a cold-pressed oil from the baobab seed. Golden in colour, with the addition of a light fig fragrance, it’s made up of 99.8% baobab and 0.2% of natural fig perfume.  They tell us that 33% of the baobab seed consists of oleic and linoleic acids to soothe and protect.  We found it to be a bit of a ‘wonder oil’ where it protects, heals and repairs with its multipurpose use. Apart from scalp and hair (where it did very efficiently come to our aid of split ends and itchy scalps) it’s also great for skin, nails and lips; where we found it relieved dry skin and quickly absorbed leaving it deeply moisturised.  The oil is rich in omega 3, 6 & 9 and it has the added bonus of these great anti-ageing properties. We loved using it to rehydrate dry and frizzy hair working it into the ends after washing, and lightly massaging into the scalp to help reduce itchiness. You can purchase your Pure Skin, Scalp & Hair Oil, which comes in a 30ml bottle here for only £ 25.00.

Then we have the Food Supplements: Hair Skin & Nails, which helps to maintain a balanced body. The key ingredient again is the baobab powder which is combined with other ingredients such as biotin, zinc and, folic acid, making it the ideal supplement for healthier hair. Biotin, in particular, is critical to healthier hair growth, keeping it strong and shiny. This Supplement is rich in prebiotics too, which helps with gut health and supports a good digestion. Did you know that the baobab powder has four times vitamin C than oranges? Which when you put all this together with potassium and calcium for the wellbeing of kidneys and bones, plus the magnesium which balances the metabolism and prevent diabetes and osteoporosis; by taking just two capsules a day with food - you get full body benefit with just one supplement! You can buy the 60 capsules of this Food Supplements: Hair Skin & Nails here for only £ 25.00. 

Nursem – Caring Hand Cream & Caring Hand Fix

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.

Nailzee

At The Amazing Blog we’re always on the hunt of new products that make our lives easier, particularly for hands and feet. I challenge anyone who hasn’t struggled (just a little?) with either cutting and painting their own toe nails. Twisting and turning to get the perfect angle, to any onlookers it must look like we’re doing some very strategic yoga position instead! Enter Nailzee who have brought us two clever and practical accessories to take care of both hands and feet, helping us achieving easy-to-paint and gorgeous nails.

Nailzee was initially created as a way to help those with reduced mobility to help paint their nails. However, after much research the founder realised that it was a common problem where everyone has trouble finding an easy and comfortable position to paint their own fingers and toes. It all started from witnessing her teenage daughter staining the carpet with nail polish, whilst barely getting any on her nails…ahem. Did you know that that nail varnish related accidents around the home, rank amongst one of the highest in home insurance claims? The goal of Nailzee was to design an innovative product that will serve as a base and an anti-spillage (nail polish), double-sided to flip over and use to remove nail polish or to clip and cut nails. This is the perfect accessory not only for those children and teens beginning to paint their nails, but for less dexterous adults too.  

Made with recycled materials, there are two products (one for hands and another for feet), they have a comfortable base to lay your foot or hand, and a nail polish holder. Our favourite, out of the two is the Nailzee Pedicure which has incorporated a bar to raise your foot to help avoid spilling nail polish, placing your foot at the perfect angle to facilitate the painting. Nailzee comes is three different colours pink, aqua or grey and is suitable for all ages making clipping, cutting, filing and painting your nails easy, practical and hygienic. Get your Nailzee Pedicure here for only £15.99 or Nailzee Manicure here for £10.99. Such a clever bit of kit!

Nailpad

I think you could say that we all love to paint our nails, not just to look pretty, but also to protect them from all the chores that we do. As we’re always in a rush, invariably it’s a bit of a balancing act with painting our nails on the go. You know the story, grab a magazine, hand down, open nail polish and then it slides …whoops it’s a full-on nail polish spillage alert!  That’s where the clever handbag-friendly Nailpad comes into play as it ideal with those awkward speedy manicure moments. And we at The Amazing Blog are always suckers for a new gadget!

The Nailpad concept was created by two time-poor twins Tori and Carrie, who both saw a niche in the market for a stable, portable, foldaway manicure base with a nifty holder for nail polish. The purpose of Nailpad is to make home manicures (or pedicures) easier, steadier and less stressful. Not only this but it can also be adapted for placing on knees, whether on the sofa or bed, on the floor (for toes) or flat on a table. We were pleasantly surprised by how light and comfortable the Nailpad was to use. It's also small and neat just perfect for your handbag, and yes we’ve even tested it out on the tube to work!

What we particularly like is the ease of using the Nailpad on the go. The Nailpad comes in two colours, bright pink (easy to find in a handbag) and shiny black (less obvious when on the go). You too can discover the NailPad for £12.95 each on the website here.