well being

2022 Beauty Shortlist & Wellbeing Awards - Are Now Open for Entry!

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Good to grow: 2022 Beauty Shortlist & Wellbeing Awards open for entries with new blue beauty and plantable beauty categories and fresh faces on the judging panel.

Entries have opened for the upcoming Beauty Shortlist Awards which will celebrate the highest-scoring brands and products that celebrate NATURE on Wednesday 2 March 2022.

Honouring the most-loved earth-safe and ocean-safe beauty and wellness products – all tested by experts – the ethical, natural and organic showcase returns with over 40 new categories embracing blue and green beauty, more age-specific skincare and self-care categories, eco-packaging, holistic health, eco innovation, nutrition, aromatherapy, CBD and more.

2022 BEAUTY SHORTLIST & WELLBEING AWARDS ENTRY FORM (ENTRIES CLOSE 29 OCTOBER)

ENTRY FORM

If you had to pick the most stellar month of the year for beauty and the planet, September would be up there: Organic September, a new season with lots of new launches, the Great British Beach Clean, World Car Free Day - and it’s FSC week soon, celebrating & raising awareness of responsible forestry 🌳

Never have we lived through a time when comforts and joys have been more important to our wellbeing - and it’s exactly those that are celebrated every year at the Beauty Shortlist Awards:

You are warmly invited to celebrate the top-scoring beauty, grooming and wellness of the year with the 2022 Beauty Shortlist Awards on Wednesday 2 March.

These independent and 100% sponsor-free global Awards celebrate the highest-scoring ethical brands and products of the year, evaluated by beauty and wellness industry experts:

  • natural + organic beauty, personal care

  • nutrition, wellness, health supplements, CBD & eco cleaning

  • men’s hair, skincare, self-care, body & shower products

Happy September!

NovaeCBD: SuperNova 5% CBD Oil + Vitamin D3

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Sadly, August and the summer sunshine seems to have passed us by, and at The Amazing Blog we’re ever hopeful for an Indian summer to come. That is why it’s the perfect time for us try this SuperNova 5% CBD Oil + Vitamin D3, by NovaeCBD; with its much needed drop of golden sunshine in a bottle!

NovaeCBD is a British CBD brand that specialises in CBD oil. It all started when two best friends, and future founders, Ryan Telford and Jas Toor, who discovered a mutual passion for all things health and wellness. Ryan stumbled on CBD after having had it recommended by a friend. They were both a little sceptical because of the stigma surrounding CBD, but after seeing the benefits to their health, they became CBD advocates with a desire to share the knowledge of its benefits. However, they were hesitant to share some of these CBD finds with their family and friends, as they didn’t have best taste or consistency, or had lack of transparency and steep prices. At this moment, they decided to create their own CBD brand that would tick all the boxes, NovaeCBD launched in October 2020 with their first two CBD oils. NovaeCBD is committed to transparency with the brand, and also want to provide an excellent customers experience. Their mission is to “provide high quality, organic and ethical CBD products at affordable prices to help people improve their lives.” All hemp used is full spectrum and hand-picked from ethical German hemp farms. The end product is cruelty-free, gluten-free, and packed with cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and omega-3s.  NovaeCBD aims to be carbon neutral, with no excess packaging as they want to eliminate, reduce and re-use. All products are CBD laboratory tested, vegan, gluten-free organic and UK compliant.

The SuperNova CBD Oil + Vitamin D3. appealed to us as it combine two of our favourite supplements full-spectrum CBD and vitamin D3. This is a medium-strength CBD oil, meaning one drop contains approximately 2mg of CBD making this product 5% CBD or 500mg per bottle PLUS the recommended daily amount of 640IU vitamin D3. We are big CBD fans that think that full-spectrumCBD oil takes wellness to the next level, by providing anxiety relief, control over sleep imbalances, muscle recovery, and immune system support - and you’ve heard us say this all before! The CBD here is extracted with the supercritical CO2 method, which efficiently crafts a potent CBD paste that is made into a full-spectrum CBD oil containing the naturally occurring cannabis plant extracts, perfect for the 'entourage effect.' This CBD oil does not skip out on any of the plant's beneficial parts and includes a few added components with the full-spectrum CBD, organic hemp seed oil, whole-plant extract, and 4mg vitamin D3. This CBD oil has no added ingredients that are not naturally found in hemp, except vitamin D3, which separates this CBD oil from others with its exclusive 2-in-1 health boost. Vitamin D3, also known as the 'sunshine vitamin,' helps kickstart the immune system, strengthens bones, lifts mood, and is good for heart health. In addition to CBD, vitamin D3 furthers relaxation that can also help with anxiety, sleeplessness, or muscle relief, and acts as a substitute for the sun, which naturally helps to produce vitamin D3 in the body. Living in the UK, vitamin D3 is a supplement we’re all recommended to take daily, as we only have an average of 4 sun hours a day! Yes it’s true - see here. And with, the cloudy weather and winter, the body needs some extra help to get this necessary vitamin. The founder, Jas Toor, and his wife both take this SuperNova CBD oil in the morning to get their daily vitamin D3 and to help them with focus throughout the day. They also take one drop at night to help with sleep. We followed their lead by administering one drop of SuperNova CBD oil at night, what surprised us the most was the delicious and mild taste of this full-spectrum CBD oil (we thought it might have a bit of that usual kick). We regularly take CBD oil at night to calm the mind and to help relax us, and this Supernova didn’t disappoint. We also like that we got our daily dose of vitamin D3 - which save us dosing up with other supplements. If you are looking for a wellness supplement that lifts your mood, helps you sleep, and ticks all the boxes, then this may be the CBD oil of your dreams! To purchase the SuperNova 5% CBD Oil + Vitamin D3 for £35.99, see here.

Wow Beauty + Saskia's Flower Essences: CFF: Clarify, Focus and Flow Flower Essence &  Powerful Woman Flower Essence 

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We believe in flower power. What about you? Today meet these ‘flower essences’ created by capturing the unique vibrational energy of a plant and holding it as a memory in water. In simple terms, when the flower essence is swallowed, an individual’s energy is reminded how to be, taking the body back to its original balance. At The Amazing Blog, we love how these flower essences help to boost confidence and give us back our balance. A while back, we wrote about Saskia’s Flower Essences here, and today, we’re featuring more from the brand who have partnered with Wow Beauty to launch the CFF: Clarify, Focus and Flow Flower Essence  and the Powerful Woman Flower EssenceWe will explain why we think that these are true ‘nature’s little helpers’.  

The background to these begins in 2021, when Wow Beauty partnered with Saskia’s Flower Essences to launch these two unique botanical blends. Their alliance came via a chance meeting on social media, which has since led to a joining of minds and the creation of a new range of flower essences. Saskia’s Flower Essences was founded in 2003 by formulator and practitioner Saskia Marjoram, who has worked with plants and botanicals her whole life. Her background is as a professional gardener and as a florist to H.R.H. Prince of Wales. The brand’s essences are primarily made from native wildflowers and trees. Each tincture is designed to help people shift and change their emotional and behavioural issues. Saskia said, “I was delighted when Denise asked me to develop a blend with the title ‘Clarity Focus Flow’ from my range of single essences. After quite some deliberation and lots of intuition, the final essences we chose are designed to help people feel clear and sure as they move forward in their lives with a sense of purpose. Saskia went on to say, “I am continually fascinated by how plants and humans interact and the wisdom they have to share with us. My deep love, friendship and knowledge of the flowers has continued to grow as I discover just how powerfully their energy affects and interacts with us.” Denise Rabor is best known for Wow Beauty ,a natural beauty and wellbeing portal that launched in 2016. More recently, she has launched The D.O.R Beauty Edit, an online store with products from female-led holistic and wellbeing brands. Denise has always been intrigued by vibrational medicine and flowers for helping solve emotional states, and this is how the concept for creating ‘CFF’ was born. Denise told us, “CFF is something that came to me early last year when I was creating some personal affirmations. Why? I needed to clarify and refine my purpose but required extra support. I wanted to create a product that could help things happen whilst also maintaining a state of flow. And I know that many women that I've spoken with feel the same need for some extra support.”  People have used flowers to heal emotions for thousands of years, extending back to Ancient Egypt and indigenous Australians who also used them as part of healing ceremonies to resolve emotional imbalances. In fact, we learnt from Endeavour College of Health that the earliest European recorded use of flower essences was by abbess Hildegard von Bingen in the twelfth century. It was where muslin sheets were placed over flowers at night to absorb the dew, then be collected in the morning, rung out, and used to treat people with emotional imbalances. However, it wasn’t until 1930 that Dr Edward Bach discovered the vibrational power of flowers and how to apply flower essence, thus creating 38 Bach Flower Remedies. This is where extraordinarily talented alchemists like Saskia Marjoram carry on this legacy. 

At this precise moment in time, the need for flower essences could not be more poignant. As the world gradually finds its feet after the global pandemic, this is when we all need to ask for help and guidance from these essences as ‘nature’s little helpers’. The CFF: Clarity, Focus, Flow Flower Essence was created to support individuals for when some clarity in life is needed. It helps to maintain focus, and achieve and maintain a flow. To use, take seven drops of essence two to three times a day, and say a personal affirmation. Take these drops for as long as you need, whether it’s a couple of days or weeks. The bottle contains 30ml, and the ingredients include springwater (60%), organic vodka (40%), and energy imprint of rio clarillo, crab apple, blackberry, peppermint, and willow (16% ABV). Springwater is free of contaminants and contains important minerals, organic vodka is free of pesticides and GMOs.  Rio clarillo helps you go with the flow, crab apple enables you to release guilt and shame, blackberry enables you to feel that it’s safe to grow, peppermint enables you to be clear and focused, and willow helps you be flexible. 

The Powerful Woman Flower Essence is for a confidence boost and was made with a view to helping women step into their power, have a strong sense of self and succeed at anything they put their mind to do. It is designed to enhance creativity and increase intuition.  Again, like the CCF, take seven drops of the essence under the tongue. The ingredients include springwater (60%), organic vodka (40%), and energy imprint of dandelion, twayblade, blackberry, bluebell, nettle, pennyroyal, and evening primrose (16% ABV). Springwater and organic vodka (described above). The dandelion allows you to release, twayblade helps you take a leap of faith, blackberry enables you to feel safe to grow, bluebell helps you be heard, nettle is for when you are really mad, pennyroyal helps you feel complete, and evening primrose enables you to see the light in the dark. 

Since childhood, my mother actively encouraged both anxious humans and pets to take a few drops of Bach Flower Essences under the tongue, and this has stayed with me, as a regular practice. I still use many of the Bach Flower remedies and I’m also a big fan of Saskia Flower Essences, primarily of the Focus Energise Createwhich interesting has one or two of same ingredients as CFF. So, for me, the CFF would be my current ‘go to’ rather than the Powerful Woman. That said, Powerful Woman has a place and on days when one feels indecisive or full of self-doubt. And before you ask, all these flower essences are completely safe to use in conjunction with other medicines, homoeopathic treatments or during pregnancy and breastfeeding. We highly recommend try these, especially if you are a novice to the world of flower essences, and think these are a great first step. All flower essences are 30ml and you can find the CFF: Clarity, Focus, Flow Flower Essence here for £15.00 and the Powerful Woman Flower Essence here for £15.00.

1CBD: 20% Silver Edition Pure Hemp CBD Oil

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At The Amazing Blog  we know a good CBD brand when we see one. The last time we reviewed 1CBD was with their delicious CBD infused chocolates created with leading chocolatier Paul Williams from Chocamor here which certainly left us wanting to order more! Today, we are back with another one of their products, the 20% Silver Edition Pure Hemp CBD Oil. This CBD oil, just like the chocolates, is the perfect addition to any CBD lover’s lifestyle.

1CBD, based in North East England, made its debut in 2018 with the help of founders Oman and Oliver. The business partners started their journey after they were previously commissioned to work with another CBD brand. From here, they learned the ins and outs of CBD and saw opportunities to bring their own CBD related products to the market. They wanted to create a brand that kept high-quality control on the cannabidiol (CBD) they use, which is why they only source their broad-spectrum CBD oils from Colorado, home to one of the world’s finest hemp fields. The hemp plants are hand-picked and organically grown outside in the sun with no exposure to artificial UV lights, harmful chemicals, or pesticides. All CBD oils are made in small batches and freshly prepared, ensuring consistency, taste, and potency. Broad-spectrum CBD means zero THC content, and all raw extracts are vigorously tested and HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography) analysed by independent laboratories across the USA. HPLC is a highly effective extraction process that results in 0.00% THC, making this method far superior to isolate as nearly all the plant profiles are present, including the plant’s terpenes and amino acids. HPLC is the best and most accurate way to separate and purify the CBD from THC and even THCA, a compound that is usually untraceable using other methods of extraction. All of 1CBD’s products are vegan friendly and gluten-free and range from CBD oils, capsules, balms to edibles.

Today, we are focusing on one of the many CBD oils, the 20% Silver Edition Pure Hemp CBD Oil which contains the highest ‘broad spectrum’ phytocannabinoid CBD oil available today in the UK. Very confusingly, the ‘full spectrum’ mentioned on the packaging refers to only the terpenes, cannabinoids, and amino acids in the oil - not the THC content. 1CBD tells us that this packaging will change shortly to reflect this and say ‘broad spectrum and THC free’. We find taking CBD Oil sublingually is a practical, quick, and easy way to stimulate the endocannabinoid system. Which, as our regular readers will know, we think can help relieve a multitude of health issues, such as anxiety, muscle fatigue, arthritis, migraines, stomach problems, skin conditions, and the list goes on... Here the CBD is extracted from 100% organic hemp seed oil, which is rich in healthy omega-6 and 3 fatty acids where the gamma-linoleic acid (GLA) present in hemp seed oil has been shown to reduce inflammation. Let’s also not forget that it’s full of vitamins C and E, plus all nine of the amino acids responsible for protein production. There is also evidence to show that hemp seed oil is full of arginine, a specific amino acid that produces nitric acid known to reduce blood pressure for improved heart health. What we like about the 1CBD products (mentioned earlier) is that all the raw ingredients are sourced from reputable organic hemp fields in Colorado and tested by a third-party lab for purity. 1CBD has three strengths in the 20% Silver Edition Pure Hemp CBD Oil, and we were sent the 1000mg per 5ml. Again it’s a little confusing as the percentage given on the label which represents the concentration, but the mg gives the strength per ml - go figure?! Actually, we might need to be corrected here by 1CBD. Anyway, there a dosage calculators available if you google. With this Silver Edition Pure Hemp CBD Oil it’s recommended to take 2-4 times per day (no more) by putting 2-6 drops under the tongue, holding for 30 seconds, and swallowing. The oil tastes earthy and has a very robust hempy flavour – therefore, we’d suggest that it might be better for the more practised CBD palate than an uninitiated one! The CBD oil is available in 250mg in 1ml, 1000mg in 5ml, and 2000mg 10ml sizes.All sizes can be purchased here, and the code WELCOME15 will give new customers 15% off their first order. 

Toucan Eco: eSpray

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Because of the pandemic, cleaning has become more important than ever. That’s why at The Amazing Blog  we were excited to discover the Toucan Eco eSpray which cleans effectively and is also very eco-friendly! What we love the most about this product is that it kills coronavirus; and no, it isn’t just a single-use plastic bottle. Keep reading on….

Toucan Eco, a British company under the Robert Scott brand, who create eco-friendly cleaning products. The company’s products use one of the safest and most effective disinfectant and cleaning solutions — with JUST water, salt, and electricity. Toucan Eco’s technology was inspired by our body’s immune system, which can produce hypochlorous acid, a potent and naturally occurring disinfectant. Following the same idea, the technology in this product recombines the naturally occurring elements of hydrogen, oxygen, and chlorine into hypochlorous acid, which makes an effective disinfectant, a sodium hypochlorite, and a mild pH level cleaning agent. Hypochlorous acid is used to disinfect ambulance cabins, clean health care workers’ clothing after testing people for COVID-19, and is used as a cleaning product in other businessesThe idea of using water, salt, and electricity has been around since 1834, and Toucan Eco is now bringing it to the home or workplace. The company’s products include the Toucan Eco eSpray, the Toucan Eco Worktop, the Toucan Eco Active, the Toucan Eco Active Plus, and the Toucan Eco Flow. Toucan Eco is the first hypochlorous disinfectant to receive double certification against viruses, including the EN 14476 and EN 16777 certifications. EN 14476 tests the solution’s efficacy, and EN 16777 tests if this efficacy can be applied to the real world of cleaning. Since Toucan Eco is the first hypochlorous disinfectant to have both these certifications, it is the most effective hypochlorous solution on the market. The EN 14476 and EN 16777 certification tests target viruses, including coronavirus, and many chemical disinfectants do not have these certifications. In addition to these certifications, the solution is EN 1276 and EN 13697 certified (which test for bacterial efficacy) and registered as an EU Biocide. The company won  the British Toilet Association 2011 Innovation Award for the Best New Product and the Innovation Award for Best Eco/Green Product at The Cleaning Show. Steve Courtney, the Business Development Manager at Toucan Eco, recently said in a conference, “This year has been a different year, and so it’s worth emphasising that this solution when it’s made is a very, very powerful sanitiser and disinfectant but totally harmless, non-hazardous, can’t harm anybody.”

The Toucan Eco eSpray lets you create a disinfectant, cleaner, and deodoriser from ONLY water, salt, and electricity. Although it may not sound like much, it kills more than 99.99% of germs, including coronavirus. The product is used to clean and disinfect any surface (kitchens, bathrooms, fabrics, glass, etc.) it’ll deodorise and kill the germs that create odours, sanitise hands, sterilise children’s toys and clothes. You can even spray fresh fruit and vegetables to remove dirt and pesticides. They also suggest using it to remove trainer odour by soaking overnight, and even spray pets’ paws and coats!. The list is endless….Making this eSpray much more versatile than any other standard chemical cleaning product. We think that this makes this eSpray the easier, greener, safer, proven and money-saving option. The product is easy, because you only have to add two ingredients, greener because it doesn’t contain chemicals, and isn’t a single-use plastic bottle. Plus it’s safe because it is hypoallergenic, 100% natural and proven because it has been tested by EU accredited independent laboratories and university research departments. It’s money-saving because it costs less than the average household spends on home cleaning products each yearThis eSpray makes 350ml of disinfectant cleaner, and all you have to do is add 3g of table salt, fill with tap water, and then activate, which will take five minutes and last seven days before the solution is just salty water again. When activated the eSpray goes through a colourful array of red, blue and green light settings, and when completed the solution is ready to be sprayed onto any surface and left to dry or wiped away — you can also apply it as a mist to disinfect larger areas.  As mentioned earlier, with this eSpray, you kill 99% of bacteria and viruses and it’s not only safe but hypoallergenic and practically free to make! This is one of our most exciting #amazingfinds for 2021, and something that we wish we’d discovered sooner! We highly recommend this eSpray it comes with a one-year guarantee, and if like us, you’re interested in what this Toucan Eco eSpray has to offer, you can find it here for £59.99.