Ayuna – Minimum Collection

With summer approaching, the thought of slathering a million products on our faces amid the humidity already makes us at The Amazing Blog feel like our pores are already clogged! We’ve decided to take a minimalist approach to our skin care this summer as the Marie Kondo method remains popular, and Ayuna’s Minimum Collection offers three core products to make our minimalism dreams come true.

Besides the collection being called ‘Minimum,’ Ayuna’s slogan is ‘less is beauty’ – something that encapsulates everything in the brand from its chic packaging, simple aesthetic, core products, and clean ingredients. Founders Isabel Ramos and Begoña Sanjuan, who have backgrounds in science and the cosmetics industry, were inspired by simple beauty and graceful ageing, and they approached skin care with a scientific-botanical mindset. The result? Luxurious beauty products with natural ingredients that encourage you to use less.

The first product in the Minimum Collection is the Natural Rejuvenating Treatment – Light cream. A small amount of this cream goes a long way, and you can use it in the morning and night. Phyto-peptides firm while turmeric root and Centella rejuvenate skin throughout the day. Additional ingredients such as green carrot, Arabian cotton, and pomegranate add to this cream’s nourishing properties. The second product is the Volcanic Revitalizing Mask balm. The volcanic glass and active carbon reduce skin sensitivity and draw out impurities, making your skin feel refreshed after just one use. Use this balm 2-3 times per week for extra hydration from the pullulan (a natural sugar). Lastly, there is the High Protein Cream-in-Oil Peel, which contains alpha-amino acids to restore skin and grain-free formula to polish. After using this peel, your skin will feel softer and brighter than with any other exfoliator on the market. These three products can be added to your current skin care routine or used on their own for a week of detox. For each, remember: don’t neglect your neck!

After using this collection for a week, we saw brighter complexions and felt cleaner. Not to mention, these pearl-coloured containers (rounded plastic jars with the logo in simple cursive text) look gorgeous next to our luxe perfumes in our bathrooms. Join us and the minimalism trend by purchasing the collection here for €255 or separately. €175 for the cream (50ml) here, €115 for the balm (80ml) here, and €115 for the essence (80ml) here.

Disco Dust – Biodegradable Extra Chunky Glitter and Natural Glue

What better way is there to make yourself stand out at the festivals this summer, than with a little splash of glitter on your eyes or face? Although, most commercial cosmetic glitters have a microplastic film that pollutes the environment and takes almost 1000 years to decompose. Yes, 1000 years. We’re happy to say that The Amazing Blog has found a biodegradable and sustainable fix to these woes: Disco Dust.

The London-based company was launched in November 2016 to ‘break stigmas and push boundaries in the beauty industry’, similar to the way disco broke social and racial barriers in the 70s. Disco Dust advocates for having fun and expressing yourself while also taking care of the environment. Their glitter is made of a biodegradable film, which is even compostable in your own home, and renewably sourced raw materials.

We tried two shades from Disco Dust’s Biodegradable Range of extra chunky glitter in Gold and Silver. The individual pieces of glitter are quite large and rich in colour for a bold look. You can layer the extra chunky glitter with other colours as well as sizes in your hair and face for a unique look or use them alone to match your jewellery. Our favourite method was layering the glitter on top of liquid eyeliner for extra sparkle to an ordinary eye look. The product can be applied with a makeup brush or your fingers. Lastly, the glitter is easy to remove with a makeup wipe or soapy water, so you’re not harshly scrubbing your face before bed or finding remnants of glitter the next day. Of course, to keep the glitter on your face, you need glue. To complement the biodegradable glitters, Disco Dust created 100% Natural Disco Glue (an aloe-based and vegan glitter adhesive) as an alternative to slippery Vaseline and harsh chemical glues. The formula lasts all day and is hand poured into recyclable containers in Bristol.

Add more shine to your makeup look and your life this summer with these extra chunky glitters. You can purchase the Gold Extra Chunky Mix glitter (3g) here for £6, Silver Extra Chunky Mix glitter (3g) here for £6, and Glitter Glue (5ml) here for £5. Each product is available in a larger size and glass container, with the glue £10 for 45ml and the glitters £15 for 20g. Why not have some fun and let yourself sparkle this summer.

SARYA Couture Makeup - Eye Shadow

With the April showers finally in the past, flowers are beginning to bloom everywhere in London. While there are so many different colours around us, The Amazing Blog has been inspired by the colour pink. It is in the flowers and sunsets, clothes in shops, even cocktails at bars. There's a reason why millennials adore this colour and it's because it is no longer reserved for super 'girly' women, but can be embraced by everyone. This is where SARYA Couture Makeup comes in with its beautifully pigmented Italian-made vegan eye shadows.

The brand offers four different shades of eye shadow, but Pastel Me (a light rose colour) is what got us into the whole 'pink craze.' It is a nice rosy shade that has a smooth texture and diffuses easily into skin using fingers. The product creates a perfect base for other colours in an eye shadow look but leaves a subtle and pearlescent finish by itself. While it is sold as an eye shadow, we found that this colour looks particularly nice on the apples of your cheeks – as if you’ve just returned from a beach holiday. This versatile and pretty shade has all of the necessary components a quality eye shadow must have, but what makes SARYA Makeup’s product stand out are its slightly more unusual ingredients which include the likes of: Fossil flour, extracted from fossilized fragments of aquatic algae, Organic Shea Butter, rich in Vitamin A, E , F and  Karanja oil for its antibacterial properties.
 

Sarya launched in the summer of 2018 by Claudia and Teodora, who share the same passion for beauty and bio and do not consider it only a passing trend, but they see it as the future of the production for the entire industry. The pair has an ideology of ‘purity and transparency’. ‘Purity’ begins with products that have no added mineral oils, perfumes, or phthalates while ‘transparency’ is seen in all of the products being certified organic, vegan, cruelty-free, gluten free, and paraben free. On top of all this, the eye shadow has an organic formula of bio apricot oil for moisture and bio shea oil for essential vitamins A, E, and F. This eye shadow will not only provide maximum health benefits to your skin with its antioxidant-rich formula, but it also won’t make your spring allergies act up. Join the pink craze this spring and purchase the eye shadow here for €20. Or here Amazon UK . We just can’t wait to try more from this brand!

PHB Ethical Beauty – Pressed Minerals 6 Piece Palette

The brand that gives back is back on The Amazing Blog! Regular readers will know that we’re fans of PHB Ethical Beauty, an award-winning, family-run company that gives 20 per cent of its net profits to charity. Check out our brand directory here to see all of their products we have reviewed. The next product to add to that list is the Pressed Minerals 6 Piece Palette in Night.

Keeping with the brand’s all-natural, cruelty-free, and handmade products, this pallet’s formula is made of pressed minerals including mica, titanium dioxide, and zinc oxide. Mica naturally reflects light, perfect for enhancing your eyes, while minimising the appearance of pores. Titanium dioxide and zinc oxide create natural SPF30 protection, especially crucial when using the blushers during the daytime. The formula is gentle for use on all skin types (even sensitive and acne-prone skin) as it is 100 per cent natural, vegan, halal certified, gluten-free and paraben free.  

This pallet has four highly pigmented colours: Almond (a light cream), Onyx (a black with light flecks), Celestite (a periwinkle blue), and Grape (a purple with bronze undertones). Each colour offers a satin-like finish that looks gorgeous on any skin tone and will last all day or night. The pallet includes two blushers to finish your look: Camellia (a bright pink that matches the blooming flowers outside) and Peony (a subdued dark rosy colour ideal for a date-night look). Both diffuse nicely into cheeks with a makeup brush for a healthy glow. While this pallet advertises a night out look, the bright finish and versatility of the colours can create a perfect springtime look.

The four eye shadows and two blushers come in a sturdy, flat palette that includes magnetic sealing and a large mirror. You can try the Pressed Minerals 6 Piece Palette for yourself here for £49.95. While the price is quite high, we feel the organic ingredients are worth it plus the highly pigmented eye shadows have great staying power.

Friday Favourites – Eye Feature

With the Easter holiday fast approaching, what better time is there to try out new eye products? The colourful blossoming flowers and leafy trees have inspired us at The Amazing Blog to explore new hues for our eye products. Ideally we prefer it when our products are organic, knowing that what we put onto our skin also goes into our bodies. We’ve found some great organic and natural products which all pack the same punch of colour as traditionally made beauty items. So, whether you are spending the holiday abroad or strolling the streets of London, we have some great recommendations that will make your eyes pop.

The first eye product we have for you is from Fat and the Moon. The California-based company was started in 2014 by Rachel Budde a herbalist who wanted to take her knowledge and provide an alternative to chemical-filled products. At the core of the brand is the creation of products with non-toxic, plant-based ingredients as well as the message of empowering yourself through self-care.

We requested to try their Eye Coals in Black, Lapis (a bright marine) and Leaf (a mossy green). Handmade with all-natural and organic ingredients, Eye Coal does not irritate your eyes and has sunflower oil to help your skin absorb the pigments while beeswax holds the product in place all day. Leaf particularly enhances hazel-coloured eyes while Lapis can make any eye colour pop. The soft waxy product is easy to use, with a brush for a defined line along your eyelashes or with your finger for a smudged look, and comes in a small tin that is easy to travel with. We also had the chance to try the Ruby Red Tinted Lip Balm. It comes in a similar tin meant to be reused or recycled once finished and leaves a light orange tint while moisturising and protecting your lips.

Both products are available from UK retail stockists listed here. Or you can go online, the prices are in US Dollars, but they do ship to the UK. $18 for the Eye Coal here and $12 for the Tinted Lip Balm here. Although the prices are quite high, we have to say that a little goes a very long way.

This eye shadow palette that we’ve found for you is a little bit different from Fat and the Moon. ZOEVA is a German brand that was founded by Zoe Boikou, who originally sold makeup brushes on eBay before she turned her passion into a company that advocates for women’s lives. We are fans of the ZOEVA ethos, which is built on supporting and celebrating women’s individual beauty with high quality and reasonably priced products.

So, let us introduce you to their latest collection that will help you create a unique and individual look. The Eclectic Eyes Eyeshadow Palette markets itself as a way to ‘let your eyes say what your lips can't’. This is a strong statement that perhaps rings true. The palette has 10 diverse, intense, and fashion-led shades ranging from ‘Limitless Motions’ (a matte mauve rose) to ‘Dimensional Play’ (a shimmery teal with gold flecks). The different finishes offered (matte, metallic, glitter, shimmer, and duo chrome) are also versatile for everyday use or an evening out. The colours are highly pigmented and easily blendable.

They recommend using an eye primer first to keep the blended shadows in place, we didn’t but found the colours still to be long-lasting. The palette comes in a stylish flat purple, red, teal, and gold box that will look chic on a dressing table or in a handbag. Perfect for every skin tone and guaranteed to give you hours of fun mixing and matching. Purchase it here for £17.50. 

The next up is a trusty liquid liner. Not any old liner is like ZAO ’s Refillable Liquid Eyeliner. It comes in a delicious plum that suits just about every eye colour! The eyeliner has a total of five shades, but we want to talk about the Plum shade. It’s not typical like Intense Black or Dark Brown and not too bright like Electric Blue or Emerald Green. Plum is a perfect rich purple shade that actually enhances the eye colour and is particularly popular among celebrity make-up artists. We also like that it lasts throughout the day without smudging. The thin brush tip applicator allows for high control over the thickness of the line, which is useful for different eye shapes.

We've been well-acquainted with ZAO, a UK-based company dedicated to making organic-certified products, after loving their Light Touch Complexion foundation. All of their products have an all-natural formula and organic ingredients, and this is reflected in the Refillable Liquid Eyeliner. It has key ingredients like aloe vera juice, bamboo water, and shea butter to soothe and moisturise even the most sensitive eyes. The products also have sustainability in mind, and the liner comes in a sturdy and recyclable bamboo packaging as well as has available refills that cost £11.75 (£7.20 less than the product's original price).

If liquid eyeliners are not your thing, they also do a refillable felt tip version, which is vegan, gluten free, and cruelty free as well. You can purchase the Refillable Liquid Eyeliner here for £18.95.



Finally, the pièce de résistance for us to have a completed look is mascara. This is where we discovered another great product from one of our favourite brands: PHB Ethical Beauty. After trying many of their skin care products from the 2-in-1 Hand & Body Moisturiser to the Skin Brighten Gel and Rosehip & Chamomile Gentle Face Wash, we were very excited to see what PHB's makeup line has to offer with their recently launched All-in-One Natural Mascara. It's safe to say we were not disappointed.  

The mascara is truly all-encompassing. The formula's organic olive oil strengthens and conditions your eyelashes with one coat, plant oil lengthens and volumises with the next, and acacia gum ensures the results last. It is also water resistant and pH balanced, making it suitable for sensitive eyes. But what really makes this a #amazingfind is that PHB's All-in-One Natural Mascara is vegan, gluten free, halal certified, paraben free, and cruelty free.  

After a day of use and no flaking or smudging in sight, we can see why this mascara got lots of love in 2018 from the Natural Health International Beauty Awards, the Free From Skincare Awards, and Vogue. Want to see what all the beauty awards are talking about for yourself? You can buy it here in Black or Brown for £15.95. Twenty percent of the company's net profits also go to helping people and animals in the UK and globally.

We hope we’ve given you a little inspiration to help put back a little colour into your lives. After all, spring has sprung and we think that it’s time to hatch into a colourful bird of paradise and not a grey London pigeon!