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.

Dermaplaning – A Beginner’s Guide

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acne, chemical, chemical peel, damage, Decleor Thyme Gentle Peeling Cream, Decleor Ultra Protective Anti-Wrinkle Cream SPF50 Face, Dermalogica UltraCalming Serum Concentrate, Dermaplaning, doctor, dry skin, dull skin, exfoliate, exfoliation, face, fine lines, hyperpigmentation, inflammation, irritation, Keratosis pilaris, nurse, peel, practitioner, professional, protect, protection, rosacea, scalpel, sensitive skin, skin, skin condition, SPF, SPF50, sun, sun damage, wrinkles

Photo by Antonika Chanel on UnsplashDermaplaning – A Beginner’s Guide

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 6 months, there’s a good chance that you will have seen the videos doing the rounds where it looks like people are using a knife to scrape their skin off. What you’re actually witnessing are videos of dermaplaning, something that is considered the next big thing in the beauty world. We thought it was time that we took a look at what dermaplaning is and give all of the details you need to know before taking the plunge. Read on for more information:

What is it?

Dermaplaning is an exfoliating treatment which should only be done by a doctor or licensed practitioner and involves gently scraping the surface of your skin off with a surgical scalpel to remove dead cells and the fuzzy hair that most of us have on our faces.

What does it do?

Dermaplaning is said to have many benefits; as well as making your skin feel baby soft, it helps foundation to apply smoothly and is also said to be useful for acne, rosacea and people with hyperpigmentation.

Who is it good for?

The answer to this is basically anybody who feels that their skin needs a boost. If you have dull skin, dry skin, sun damage, fine lines, keratosis pilaris, sensitive skin, rosacea, acne or any other skin condition which causes you you bother dermaplaning is probably worth a go.

Is there anything I need to bear in mind?

Dermaplaning is considered safe for all skin types, however, if you do have highly sensitive skin it’s worth bearing in mind that dermaplaning might cause you added irritation. As we mentioned above, dermaplaning should only be carried out by a professional so we definitely do not recommend going out and buying scalpels and trying this yourself. Scalpels and faces really do not mix!

Which products should I use before and after?

If you have sensitive skin, it’s worth bearing in mind that dermaplaning can cause a little irritation. We’d recommend adding Dermalogica UltraCalming Serum Concentrate to your daily skin routine in the run up to your appointment as this will help to keep irritation and inflammation to a minimum.

Lots of people also opt for a chemical peeling treatment immediately after dermaplaning as the newly revealed skin is more receptive to strong treatments. If you want to do this yourself, we recommend Decleor Thyme Gentle Peeling Cream, a gentle cream exfoliator that removes dead skin cells for a clear and radiant complexion.

Finally, you’ll need to protect your skin from the sun for a few weeks after treatment, so make sure you start using Decleor Ultra Protective Anti-Wrinkle Cream SPF50 Face on a daily basis, too.

Pure Beauty’s Newest Arrivals

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28 day course, absorb, antioxidants free radicals, botanical oils, carrot extract, cleanse, cleanser, cleansing, customers, decleor, dermalogica, Elemis, Elemis micellar, environmental stress, exfoliate, exfoliating, fermented agave, fine lines, friendly, glycolic acid, green mandarin essential oils, healthy, juice, makeup, minimising, miracle, moisturising, natural fruit acid, natural sugars, new, newest, night, nourishment, oil, overnight, peel, pores, prematurely aging, Pure Beauty, radiant, rebalancing, redness, refined, sheer Glow, SLS, smooth, smoother, soothing, sulphate-free, suspended, texture, tired, up-to-date, Vegan, Vitamin C, wrinkles

Elemis Superfood CICA Calm Hydration Juice

Here at Pure Beauty, we love nothing more than shouting from the rooftops about the newest products to hit our shelves. We’re lucky in the respect that all of our brands are constantly innovating and inventing to add new and improved products to their ranges, which means that we’re able to then offer these to our customers. With this in mind, today we’re looking at 5 of the nearest products from Decleor, Elemis and Dermalogica to keep you up-to-date with the newest products available.

Decleor Green Mandarin Overnight Bi-Phase Peel

This overnight peel from Decleor is a 28-day course and should be used every night to achieve glowing and radiant skin. It contains soothing botanical oils as well as glycolic acid and natural fruit acids which exfoliate your skin overnight, leaving it looking smooth and radiant. After 28 days your skin will look less tired and it’s texture will be refined and renewed.

Elemis Superfood CICA Calm Cleansing Foam

This cleansing foam from Elemis is a micellar cleanser which means that particles of fermented green tea seed oil are spended in in kefir, fermented agave and biotransformed CICA to deeply cleanse the skin while calming redness. It contains moisturising elements which help to reverse dehydration, as well as minimising the appearance of pores and rebalancing the complexion. It’s a vegan friendly and sulfate-free formula which contains no parabens or SLS.

Dermalogica Biolumin-C Eye Serum

This serum from Dermalogica is formulated specifically for the delicate skin around the eyes and contains a huge boost of vitamin C which will dramatically brighten and visibly firm the skin. It’s perfect for normal, mature or prematurely aging skin and helps to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It will hydrate and exfoliate the skin for a smoother complexion, as well as protecting against environmental stress.

Decleor Green Mandarin Exfoliating 2 in 1 Scrub Mask

This physical exfoliating product from Decleor is a bit of a miracle in a tub. It contains green mandarin essential oils and natural sugars which will exfoliate the skin, as well as carrot extract which gives an instant sheer tint and glow to your complexion. It contains antioxidants to protect against free radicals, while apricot and marula botanical oils provide nourishment to the skin.

Elemis Superfood CICA Calm Hydration Juice

This gel moisturiser from Elemis is a super hydrating juice which will hydrate skin and dramatically improve its texture. It’s a lightweight formula which layers well under makeup thanks to the fact that it absorbs so quickly, and is packed with antioxidants which will leave your skin with a healthy glow.

There’s more to cucumber than sandwiches

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100% natural, Absolute of Moroccan Rose, afternoon tea, Arnica, aromatherapy, bathroom cabinet, blemish prone complexions, caffeic acid, chamomile, comfort, cool, cucumber, cut, dehydration, delicate, dermalogica, Dermalogica Intensive Eye Repair, Dermalogica Overnight Treatment, diva, drift, dry, Elemis De-Stress Massage Oil, Elemis Gentle Rose Exfoliator, essential oils, exquisite, exquisite mix, fine lines, flesh, geranium, goodness, green tea, happy, hero, inflamed and irritated skin, irritated and stressed skin, lavender, Lecithin and Aloe Gel, little love, luxe, Mallow, marjoram, massaged, melissa, melting tension, morning and evening, nourish, oil, peel, picnic, radiant, refreshed, research, rosemary, sagging skin, satin smooth, Silica, silky soft, skin, sleep, smoothing, soft skin, soothe and hydrate, soothing the mind, ultra-rich cream, Vitamin C, water, young

While the humble cucumber is often only seen as an afternoon tea afterthought or an extra in a smoothie when the fridge is running low, it is actually jam-packed (excuse the pun) with natural goodness that can really benefit our skin.

The flesh might mainly be water, but it is also home to Vitamin C and caffeic acid, which both help reduce inflamed and irritated skin. The peel is often sliced away before being laid on top of ham for sandwiches, but this contains silica, which can firm sagging skin and because cucumbers are 100% natural, even people with the most sensitive skin can usually incorporate this into their beauty routine.

We did a little research and realised that quite a few of the products we sell here at Pure Beauty contain cucumber, so we thought we would let you know what’s what when it comes to this gorgeous green diva.

One of Dermalogica’s most popular products is their Skin Smoothing Cream and we know first hand that just a little goes a long way to smoothing the fine lines which are caused by dehydration. When applied to cleansed and toned normal to dry skin types, moisturising Lecithin and Aloe Gel nourishes while Extracts of Mallow, Cucumber and Arnica soothe and hydrate. Used morning and evening on a regular basis, the result will be happy, soft skin that radiates health.

Cucumber in oil might not be a match made in picnic heaven, but it works when it comes to the gorgeous Elemis De-Stress Massage Oil. Perfect for soothing the mind, melting tension and easing muscles, this exquisite mix of pure essential oils deserves a place in every bathroom cabinet. Chamomile, Cucumber, Melissa, Marjoram, Geranium, Rosemary and Lavender have been blended and is the perfect way to treat dry, irritated and stressed skin, leaving it satin smooth and silky soft. Thanks to the aromatherapy benefits of the oil, when massaged into the skin at bedtime, it offers comfort and can also help you drift off to sleep, now we didn’t know cucumber could help do that!

It’s not just aging skin that needs a little love; young, blemish-prone complexions do too and cucumber is a hero again here. The Dermalogica Overnight Treatment is a soothing, hydrating product that has been blended with Green Tea, Lavender, and Cucumber which all help to calm unhappy skin.

The Elemis Gentle Rose Exfoliator is a great way to achieve radiant, soft skin and we love it. Used weekly this luxe product is perfect for buffing away dirt and dead skin cells, leaving behind a glowing, youthful complexion. Absolute of Moroccan Rose hydrates the skin, while Jojoba Beads exfoliates it and thanks to Cucumber your whole face is tightened and left feeling cool and refreshed after the very first use. Seeing, and feeling, is believing, so give it a go.

Dermalogica Intensive Eye Repair is an ultra-rich cream that helps diminish dry lines and repair damage around the delicate eye area. Skin-replenishing phytonutrients and botanicals of Cucumber, Butcherbroom, and Arnica help achieve optimum skin health and restores suppleness. Wild Yam Extract and Pro-Vitamin B5 help repair prematurely ageing skin, while antioxidant Vitamins A, C, and E together with Grape Seed Extract protect the skin from harmful free radicals.

We can’t help you with a lunchtime buffet, but if it’s beauty products that come complete with a serving of cucumber you are looking for, get in touch and we will show you the way.

Team Pure Beauty

Soup To Nourish Your Body

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5 a day, Asian Broth, blender, blitz, body, boiling water, bowl, carrots, celery, crème fraîche, crush, delicious soup, dried red lentils, eating, enjoy, fat free, flask, fresh, fresh thyme leaves, fry, goodness, ground coriander, gym session, heat, humus, leeks, lime, lump free, made from scratch, Nourishing food, olive oil, oven, pan, peel, pitta, quick and easy recipe, red chilli, red pepper., Roast Sweet Potato Soup, satisfying, silky smooth soup, small chunks, smooth, spring onions, steaming, stir, supermarket, sweet potato, tablespoons, tinned, tomato purée, vegetable bouillon powder, vegetable stock, vegetables, warming soup, wholesome, winner, winter, Winter Vegetable Soup with Lentils

If you are looking for wholesome, nourishing food that will feed your body this winter, soups are a real winner.

Yes, you can buy tinned and fresh ones at the supermarket, but there is something really satisfying about serving up a steaming bowl of goodness you have made from scratch.

Asian Broth
If you are looking for a light lunch option, you can’t go wrong with this quick and easy recipe that serves four.

You will need:
3 cloves of garlic
One piece of ginger (around 5cm)
200 g of pak choi, choy sum and Chinese cabbage
2 spring onions
1 red chilli
2 star anise
800 ml of clear vegetable stock
1 lime
Soy sauce

To make:
Peel and crush the garlic, then peel and grate the ginger. Trim the greens and finely slice the spring onions and chilli then add to a saucepan together with the garlic, ginger and star anise.
Put the pan over a low heat, add the stock, then bring to the boil. Gently simmer for around half an hour, then finally add the vegetables and cook gently until they are slightly wilted but still give a little bit of crunch.
Serve with soy sauce and a little lime juice and enjoy the fragrant flavours.

Winter Vegetable Soup with Red Lentils
This is a great warming soup to enjoy with family and friends after a country walk but also makes a hearty dinner when served with pitta bread and humus.

You will need:

85g of dried red lentils
2 medium carrots, diced
2 leeks, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, deseeded and diced
2 tablespoons of tomato purée
1 tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves
3 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed
1 tablespoon of vegetable bouillon powder
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
Boiling water
Salt and pepper to taste

To make:
Add the lentils and vegetables to a pan together with the tomato purée, thyme, garlic, bouillon powder and coriander, then pour in one litre of boiling water and stir well. Cover the pan and simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
You can either eat this as a chunky soup, or blitz in a blender and enjoy a smoother meal.

Roast Sweet Potato Soup

This delicious soup is a packed with 2 of your 5 a day and is perfect for taking to work in a flask or eating after a gym session.

You will need:
500g of sweet potato, peeled and cut into small chunks
300g of carrots, peeled and diced
Olive oil
2 small red onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon of vegetable bouillon powder
100ml of fat-free crème fraîche, plus extra to serve
Salt and pepper
Boiling water

To make:
Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/ gas 7 then drizzle the carrots and sweet potatoes with olive oil plus salt and pepper and cook for around half an hour.
Heat two large tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan and fry the onion until it is soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for several minutes then pour in the boiling water and vegetable bouillon powder and mix well and simmer for around ten minutes.
Take the roasted vegetables out of the oven and once cool, add to the pan mix and blend together until smooth and lump free.
Add the crème fraîche, reheat and enjoy.