Which CBD brand/s should I have a look at/buy? (Is a question I get asked).
So I’ve compiled some of this year’s Beauty Shortlist Wellbeing Awards CBD winners: from OSI’s excellent Magnesium CBD Cooling Cream (which I’ve been using on my Achilles tendon) and Cheerful Buddha’s mint dark choc to Apothem Labs and OTO CBD’s top-scoring sleep drops (both different, both great, I tested these two down to the last drop earlier this year).
One thing: I think CBD brands should (all) clearly indicate how many mg’s there are PER DROP – especially for non-mathematicians like me whose powers of calculation are abysmal.
Anyway, the basic tenet if you’re dipping into CBD for the first time is “start low and go slow”. Bearing that in mind, there are plenty of low dose oils around, plus delicious treats like Love Hemp’s dark chocolate balls (warning though – yep, they’re addictive! I had to ‘hide’ my packet while testing them).
So, top row: L to R
1) OSI Magnesium’s cooling CBD cream contains 25% magnesium, and because this magnesium oil is “sourced from the 250 million year old ancient Zechstein seabed, it is protected from any form of environmental impact – making it the purest source of magnesium chloride preserved in its genuine energetic state” (from the website).
Menthol adds the cooling effect and this product has been a blessing during an Achilles tendinopathy flare-up last week.
2) OTO CBD’s Hand Balm – one of the best hand balms (with or without CBD) at the 2021 Awards – highly recommended.
3) Hemptouch also formulates some great balms and skincare, and this is a really reliable brand when it comes to quality. I’ve tested all the oils the brand has entered over the years.
4) Dr Lipp’s CBD Calm Balm – looks like a lip balm but it’s a multi-tasker – this was a popular 2021 winner (alongside Dr Lipp’s tinted balms too)
Middle Row, L to R
5) Love Hemp’s Jelly Domes (hands down one of ‘the’ most delicious ways to get a little CBD into your system!) were another all-round favourite. Each fruity vegan dome contains MCT oil and 20mg of CBD and strawberry, orange and blackcurrant natural flavours and colours. (600mg in a packet). The general recommendation is not to exceed 70mg a day, so go easy (like the choc balls they’re addictive).
6) APOTHEM Labs’ Lights Out I have to say was one of the sleep-better stand-outs of the year (for me). 4-5 drops before bed and “you’re grand” as they say in Ireland. Each drop is about 5mg and this was one of the best-flavoured drop formulas I’ve tried to date – difficult to describe the taste but it literally “tasted calming” and the CBD is backed up here by other tranquility-boosters like oats, lemon balm, chamomile, passiflora and L-Theanine. L-Theanine is a great one for exams – calm mind, but still alert. (That’s why a cup of tea is calming – it’s in black tea, and green tea has it but in lower doses).
Ingredients: Organic MCT Oil, Cannabidiol Isolate (derived from Hemp), Flavour, Milky Oats (Avena Sativa), Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis), Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora), Passionflower (Passiflora), Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), Catnip, Griffonia Seed Extract (5-HTP), L-theanine, Vitamin D (as Cholecalciferol).
Drop under tongue and hold for 60 seconds (I sometimes do 90).
7) OTO CBD’s Sleep Drops: half a dropper delivers 50mg of CBD and again, this one is a clear winner when it comes to taste. The ingredients read like a magical garden: butterfly pea flower, lavender and field mint. Such a delicate taste and although it has licorice (which I cannot stand tbh, but couldn’t taste it), this is another two definite thumbs up CBD hero for me.
8) CHEERFUL BUDDHA: dark mint chocolate and mint CBD drops. An instant favourite during the judging, Cheerful Buddha’s range includes drops, mint, orange and milk chocolate (from memory?!) and a delicious chocolate hazlenut CBD oil which I remember testing. There’s also CBD coffee too, which I didn’t try.
Bottom row, L to R
9) Naturecan CBD infused (pea)nut butter with milk chocolate and cacao nibs. This is a decadent one! If you love nut butters and milk chocolate “hold the toast” and scoop it straight out if the jar.
There’s 90mg CBD per 180g tub (they also do 400g tubs – “go steady”)
10) Love Hemp CBD Infused Dark Chocolate Balls: vegan, gluten-free and no dairy, and with 50mg of full spectrum CBD per pack, and at £4.99 a pack, these are an affordable treat. Easy to inhale a lot in a short time, I did have to close the bag and ‘hide it’.
Weeks rolled by until one Saturday evening I was craving chocolate. After a disappointing in-depth foray into the larder I remembered where I’d hidden these, at the bottom of a box full of beauty products…yesss!
11) Nothing like bath salts for the perfect early night in, and although I didn’t test HUGG’s CBD Bath Salts (another 2021 Wellbeing winner) these are another treat.
HUGG says “An Antioxidant Rich Bath Soak With A Combo of Dead Sea and Himalayan Bath Salts Infused with Essential Oils* to Help Soak the Day Away . Additionally Infused with 100mg CBD. Measuring Scoop Inside”.
* Sweet orange, lemon and ginger
Use in the bath or in a bowl for a mani- or pedicure
A 200g bag contains 100mg CBD.
12) A connoisseur’s favourite, Lady A formulates oils and tinctures for day and night and this broad spectrum CBD and chamomile Evening Tincture with chocolate and garden mint is a fine way to unwind after the madness of a busy day.
You can find all of this year’s Beauty Shortlist Wellbeing Awards winners HERE
THE 2022 BEAUTY SHORTLIST WELLBEING AWARDS
Entries for 2022 are open now: click HERE for the Dates & Deadlines