Why You Should Be Paying Attention to Amino Acids

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Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

Amino acids are the building blocks of the cells that make up your body – however, did you know they can also be good for your skin? Amino acids, which contain moisturising, anti-aging, and exfoliating characteristics, can aid with skin elasticity issues that arise as we age. Amino acids come in 20 different varieties, and they are useful for people of all ages and skin types. A more moisturised, youthful, and generally healthy appearance of the skin is achieved by using amino acids in skin care products that also encourage cellular repair and collagen formation. Here are five of our favourite products which harness the power of amino acids:

CACI – Amino-Lift Peptide Complex

This effective anti-ageing skin care cream contains powerful peptides, essential oils and amino acids that target expression lines and help to firm sagging skin. It can be used twice a day after cleansing to give visible results and as well as being packed with amino acids also contains basil oil, jojoba oil, grapefruit peel oil and a number of other other botanical ingredients which nourish and revive your skin. 

L’Oreal Professionnel Serie Expert Vitamino Colour 10-In-1 Multi-Benefit Leave-In Treatment Milk

Amino acids don’t just benefit your face – your hair can also benefit from using products which are infused with amino acids. This leave-in treatment milk from L’Oreal is a multi-benefit spray designed for coloured hair with 10 key benefits. It promises to help your hair to achieve shine, softness, smoothness of hair fibre and hydration, as well as offering protection against heat up to 230°c, detangling, anti-breakage, anti-split ends, anti-frizz and even facilitates blow-drying! 

Aromatherapy Associates Eye Zone Concentrate

The skin around the eyes is one of the thinnest areas of skin on your whole body, which means that it is more prone to premature ageing. This eye cream from Aromatherapy Associates combines powerful, bio-fermented actives, advanced amino acids and an effective pure essential oil blend to lift, tighten and contour the area around the eyes. It also contains rose, camomile and frankincense essential oils to soothe and protect for a radiant, youthful complexion. 

Dermalogica Active Moist

This moisture-rich product from Dermalogica combines the best of nature and science, containing a whole host of ingredients which are taken from natural sources. Silk amino acids help smooth and improve skin texture while natural botanical astringents lemon, ivy, watercress and burdock help to refine the skin. It also contains soothing extracts of lavender, mallow and cucumber to help provide deep-hydration.

Elemis Dynamic Resurfacing Serum

This resurfacing serum from Elemis is so powerful that it’s advised that you avoid sunbeds and always use an SPF while using the treatment! It’s created using a powerful combination of alpha-hydroxy-acids, selastin and patented Tri-Enzyme technology, as well as selected amino acids. This serum smoothes the skins’s surface, revealing a stunning complexion and also helps to reduce the appearance of pores and wrinkles.

Five of the Best Products for Curly Hair

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all hair types, anti-humidity, coconut oil, coiled, conditioners, curly hair, defrays, diffuser, dry hair, dryness, flexible, flyaways, freeze, gels, GHD, glossy, hair, hair gel, hair products, healthier, heat, heavy, heavy creams, hydrated, L’Oreal, lightweight, mask, natural, naturally curly, non brittle, non-crunchy, nourish, nourishment, oil, repair, scrunching, serums, Shea butter, shine, silky, smoothness, spring, styling routine, technology, tongs, wet hair

Photo by Vlada Karpovich

It wasn’t so long ago that the options for caring for naturally curly hair were pretty much limited to scrunching a bit of gel through after washing and leaving it to dry down to a slightly crunchy finish. Thankfully, the curly haired among us have made it known that they deserve far better when it comes to hair care in recent years and the curly girl revolution is well and truly underway. The rise in demand for dedicated hair products for curly hair means that many brands have risen to meet this, and we have a number of products on our shelves which will care for your curls better than ever before. Here are five of the best products to help you to look after your curly hair:

Color Wow Dream Coat for Curly Hair

If you’re sick and tired of the gels we mentioned above then this product from Color Wow will be a breath of fresh air for your hair. It’s a super-light, alcohol-free formula that delivers all the combined benefits of out-dated gels, serums and heavy creams, rolled into one. The product is enriched with powerful polymers that work to moisturise, condition and de-frizz curly locks whilst restoring bounce and ensuring flexible, non-brittle endurance and glossy shine. The results are waves and spirals that are perfectly bundled, hydrated and non-crunchy with supernatural shine.

GHD Curly Ever After Curl Hold Spray

Depending on your curl type, you may sometimes use tongs or a diffuser to ensure that your curls are uniform and properly coiled. This hold spray from ghd will deliver up to a 12 hour curl hold for a style that lasts all night. It contains the ghd heat protect system to form a protective thermal layer over the surface of the hair for smoothness and a healthier feel. ghd curly ever after spray is suitable for all hair types to maximise your heat styling routine.   

L’Oreal Professionnel Serie Expert Liss Unlimited Masque

Curly hair can often suffer from dryness, but the issue is that many conditioners are too heavy and will weigh your curls down completely. L’Oreal Professionnel Serie Expert Liss Unlimited Masque will nourish, repair and smooth your frizzy hair, working in minutes, leaving you with super silky smooth locks. This mask takes advantage of its key technology, Polymer AR to wrap the hair fibre with a special anti-humidity shield, keeping it smooth and glossy while stopping frizz in its tracks.

Nine Yards Twist N Shout Curl Revival Cream

Nine Yards Twist N Shout Curl Revival Cream is a lightweight cream that functions as a styling and caring product for a full curl comeback. This formula conditions and revives the natural shape of the curls by adding moisture to the hair. It contains natural shea butter and coconut oil to condition dryness and add a natural spring and shine to your curls.

Olaplex No.7 Bonding Oil

Olaplex is one of the biggest names in hair care right now, and this bonding oil is a saviour for those of us with a curly mane. This oil provides highly concentrated nourishment to help repair dry and damaged hair whilst improving manageability by minimising frizz and flyaways and providing heat protection up to 232°C. It’s suitable for all hair types and can be used on wet or dry hair, but it will revive and protect your curls without weighing them down. 

Five Products to Help You Go Sulphate-Free

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Aloe Vera, ammonium lauryl sulphate, antiseptic, artificial colours, bergamot, blemish free, bubbles, bubbly, cedarwood, chemical, clean, cleansing, cleansing face, comfortable, complexion, damaged skin, damask rose oil, DEA, delicate, eye area, eye contour, fine hair, fine lines, Gallic rose flower extract, green tea, hands, hydrate, ingredients, lather, lavender, limp hair, mild, mineral oil, moisturiser, nourishes, parabens, products, protected, repair, revitalises, scented, Shea butter, soap, sodium laureth sulphate, sodium lauryl sulphate, soothing, spearmint, Sulphate, sulphate free, sulphates, take care, thin hair, vitamin B5, wheat protein, ylang ylang

Photo by Matthew Tkocz on Unsplash

In recent years, there has been an ever-increasing focus on “natural” beauty products and many people have overhauled their entire beauty routine to exclude certain ingredients. One of the most maligned of these is sulphate. 

Sulphates are the number one most common ingredient found in hair care products even today, and you know you’re encountering them when you see names like sodium laureth sulphate, sodium lauryl sulphate, and ammonium laureth sulphate on an ingredient label. 

To be fair to sulphates, they aren’t always worthy of the bad press they’ve received – the chemical itself is basically the thing in products that helps to give you a bubbly lather. However, if you’re trying to opt for sulphate-free products, here are some that you can try:

REN Clean Skincare Atlantic Kelp And Magnesium Anti-Fatigue Energising Hand Wash

While some people want a mega-lather when washing their hands so that they feel clean, the ingredients in standard bar soap can be very drying and irritating. This hand wash from REN Clean Skincare is a gentle sulphate-free daily hand wash to deeply cleanse, moisturise and revive tired hands. It helps to repair damaged skin and ensure that your hands are clean and protected. 

Elemis Absolute Eye Mask

Elemis Absolute Eye Mask helps to hydrate and support the eye contour, as well as reducing the appearance of fine lines. It hydrates, nourishes and revitalises the eye area as well as helping to reduce dark circles and puffiness. As well as being free from sulphates, it also contains no parabens, DEA, mineral oil or artificial colours, giving you the confidence that your delicate eye area will be protected. 

Nine Yards Go Loud Volume Shampoo

As we mentioned above, shampoo is one of the most common places to find sulphates and has therefore been the subject of the most scrutiny when it comes to beauty products. This volumising shampoo from Nine Yards has a a mild sulphate free cleansing base, making it ideal for fine, thin or limp hair in need of delicate cleansing without weighing the hair down. The formula is 100% vegan and contains natural extracts of shea butter, gallic rose flower extract, damask rose oil, green tea and aloe vera and wheat protein.    

Refinery Face Wash

Refinery Face Wash is a deep cleansing, sulphate free face wash that will help to balance and purify the skin. It’s packed with bergamot and spearmint to freshen and stimulate skin while the antiseptic properties of lavender and cedarwood help maintain a blemish free complexion. Impurities are washed away, leaving skin clear and revitalised.

This Works Stress Check Gentle Wash

This gentle wash from This Works is designed to be used all over your body and contains  ylang ylang and vitamin B5 for a worry-free wash that won’t damage the integrity of your skin. This all-over daily wash effectively cleanses the skin leaving it protected, comfortable and soothingly scented so that both your skin and your mood feel a little more balanced as you go about your day.

Five Products to Help Beat Summer Frizz

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anti-breakage, anti-frizz, argan oil, better blow-drying, Color Wow, concentrated, detangling, flyaway, frizz, frizzy, GHD, greasy, hair, healthy, heat, hot, humid, humidity, hydration, lightweight, multi-functional, Olaplex, serum, shine, sleek, smooth, smoothness of hair fibre, softness, split ends, summer, Sunflower Seed Extract, treatment, weighed down

Photo by Garon Piceli

Although it’s technically summer here in the UK, the weather has been pretty unpredictable. One minute, it’s warm and sunny and the next, the rain is pouring and the air feels thick and muggy. When your hair is dry, damaged, or chemically-treated, the outer layer of the hair strand becomes raised, as opposed to lying flat and smooth. During the summer, the hair often seeks moisture from the air around it, which is why humidity causes the hair to swell and turn frizzy. 

All of this is a recipe for disaster if you’re prone to frizzy hair, and short of wearing a hat until the crisper autumn weather arrives, you’re going to want to sort it out. That’s why we’ve curated this list of five products which are your best friend when it comes to beating the frizz, this summer:

Nine Yards Hair Down Anti Frizz Cream

This anti-frizz cream from Nine Yards can be used on both wet and dry hair, during styling, to keep the hair smooth and frizz-free. Ingredients include argan oil and sunflower seed extract to control flyaway hair, keep hair straight and give you a sleek finish without weighing your hair down or making it look greasy. 

Olaplex No.6 Bond Smoother

Olaplex No.6 Bond Smoother is a leave-in reparative styling cream which strengthens, hydrates, moisturises and speeds up blow dry times while smoothing and eliminating frizz and flyaways for up to 72 hours. It is highly concentrated and doesn’t weigh hair down, and you only need to use a few drops, once every three days, so a little of this formula goes a long way!

Color Wow Dream Coat Supernatural Spray

This spray from Color Wow has been specifically formulated to control hair when the humidity is high. Unlike typical treatments, this lightweight spray guarantees not to leave hair greasy or weighed down, leaving you with  enviably smooth tresses that are free from frizz for days. It should be applied on damp hair and activated by blow drying, to give you a home  humidity-proofing treatment that protects hair for up to 72 hours.

GHD Dramatic Ending Smooth and Finish Serum

GHD hair tools are famous for giving a finish which is second to none, so it stands to reason that they would release products which are equally as effective. GHD Dramatic Ending Smooth and Finish Serum is a lightweight serum that instantly smooths and adds an extra boost of shine. It can be used in all hair types and works to maximise sleek styles by helping to eliminate frizz and quickly delivering healthier-looking hair.

L’Oreal Professionnel Serie Expert Vitamino Colour 10-In-1 Multi-Benefit Leave-In Treatment Milk 

This multi-benefit spray from L’Oreal doesn’t just help to combat frizz – it performs no fewer than TEN functions, to get your hair looking its best. As well as being an anti-frizz treatment, the treatment milk promises to give your hair protection against heat up to 230°C/450°F degrees, shine, softness, smoothness of hair fibre, detangling, better blow-drying, hydration, anti-breakage AND anti-split ends! We honestly don’t know if we’ve ever met a harder working product than this one. 

5 Products for Royal Jubilee Beauty Prep

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70th anniversary, anti-ageing, celebration, Elemis, flag, GHD, glow, Great Britain, hair, Helios, high-end, hydration, improve, jubilee, marine cream, Orly, party, princess, Queen, Queen Elizabeth, rich, rosehip, Royal, skin firmness, South Seas, street party, tan, tanning, tone, UK, union flag, Union Jack, United Kingdom, wrinkles

Photo by Mark de Jong on Unsplash

As you will know, unless you’ve been living in a box for the last year, this weekend marks the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II becoming the British Monarch. All over the country there will be street parties and celebrations to honour the Queen’s service to the United Kingdom, and with this in mind we thought we would put together a list of five products which you can use to get you looking fit for a Royal celebration, whether you’ll be heading to a huge party or simply waving your flags from your own back garden:

Orly Nail Polish

There’s never been a better time for adding a bit of red, white and blue to your nails and that’s easily achievable with Orly’s nail polishes. If you’re planning to add a bit of national pride to your finger tips, we’d recommend using Orly Breathable Love My Nails, Orly Breathable White Tips and Orly Breathable De-stressed Denim for a Union Jack-style manicure that we’re sure the Queen herself would admire!

GHD Hair Tools

Getting your mane into a style befitting a once-in-a-lifetime celebration requires the right tools – which is where GHD can help! The GHD Platinum+ and Helios Limited Edition Deluxe Gift Set In Warm Pewter features the GHD Platinum+ Smart Styler and ghd Helios professional hair dryer, both of which are finished in mesmerising warm pewter tones and encased in a deep emerald-green, velvet-touch vanity case which wouldn’t look out of place on a royal dressing table. 

South Seas Tanning

If you’re planning to wear something which shows a bit of skin but feel like you’re lacking a tan, using South Seas Sea Foam Tanning Mousse will give you a rich, natural colour. It has a rich brown tint for easy application and will dry immediately without leaving you sticky so you can get dressed and enjoy your tropical glow, allowing you to be Jubilee party ready in no time at all. 

Elemis Marine Cream

When it comes to the Royals, nothing is too high-end, which is why we’d also recommend using Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream Ultra-Rich, as it doesn’t get much more high-end than this! This cream contains powerful anti-ageing ingredients that have been shown to reduce the depth of wrinkles, improve skin firmness, tone and hydration within 15 days. 

Rosehip Oil

From the reigning Queen to our future queen, it’s strongly rumoured that Princess Kate uses rosehip oil to achieve her signature glowing skin. Evolve Organic Beauty Miracle Facial Oil is a nourishing yet light facial oil that contains natural retinol from organic rosehip and antioxidants from organic argan oil to regenerate and revitalise mature and dry skin. And let’s face it, if it’s good enough for a princess then it’s good enough for anyone!