Beauty | UK Lifestyle Blog

5 Tips To Healthy Looking Skin (When You Think You’ve Tried Everything!)

One morning I’ll looking in the mirror and think “Hey, my skin isn’t that bad actually!”, then a couple of days later I’ll look like a crater face. I don’t know if it’s just the mirrors in my house or if it really changes that dramatically – what can be making such a difference to my skin on a daily basis!?

It turns out, if you want glowing looking skin then it’s a full-time job of *SPOILER ALERT* eating well, sleeping enough and being careful with what you put on your face. That’s okay though, it’s a full-time job I’m willing to commit to for gorgeous looking skin (and hopefully less wrinkles in the future!).

Want to know how to keep your skin looking healthy, too – then here are a few ideas to help you:

Get your beauty sleep

We don’t call it beauty sleep for nothing and having enough sleep is crucial to achieving healthy looking skin. Your body repairs itself and recovers whilst you sleep, which makes getting enough sleep essential to good-looking skin and you should be aiming for around 8 hours sleep a night.

A good night’s sleep will help reduce the appearance of wrinkles, reduce puffiness around your eyes and give you a glowing complexion, due to the increased blood flow to your skin whilst you are sleeping. Being sleep deprived can lead to higher levels of stress hormones, which in turn causes less healthy looking skin, including an increase in inflammation of the skin. Moreover, if you have any existing skin conditions, a lack of sleep is likely to make them worse.

If you do have difficulty getting a good night’s sleep, there is a lot of advice available to help you, including some helpful tips on the NHS website. In a nutshell, do keep regular sleeping times if you possibly can, do wind down before you go to bed by reading a good book, listening to relaxing music or having a warm bath for instance.

Ban gadgets and anything with a screen from your bedroom, and do your best to keep your bedroom, dark, tidy and quiet, to give you the maximum chance of feeling calm and relaxed. All of these steps will help you to have a good night’s sleep and boost the appearance of your skin.

Remember to stay hydrated

To keep your skin looking good, it’s important to keep hydrated, and it’s best to do this from the inside out, so ensure you are drinking enough water. If you have a penchant for caffeine-filled drink, you’ll need to drink extra water, but as an alternative to caffeine-rich drinks try drinking warm water with a slice of lemon.

Keeping yourself well hydrated will enhance your skin’s moisture and help to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. You can also aid the hydration of your skin during the day using a spritzer or boost moisture levels a couple of times a week by using a face mask.

I’m loving this wild raspberry and white tea body mousse from Nivea. It’s so creamy! 😍

Feed your body healthy food

Your diet is a key factor in keeping your skin looking healthy; it’s true that you are what you eat. It’s important that you eat a diet that includes a high proportion of fresh fruit and veg, and eat as broad a range of them as possible. The rainbow analogy is really helpful here – so mix them up and eat as many different fruit and vegetables as you can. That being said, there are few examples that are particularly helpful when it comes to healthy-looking skin, first up the humble carrot.

Carrots are high in beta-carotene, an antioxidant that helps to repair skin tissue and protects you against harm from the sun’s rays. Next up, Spinach, packed full of vitamins and minerals, this is a veg that has anti-aging and skin repair properties. What’s more, it’s full of water so will help with hydration too. Also, look to eat lots of strawberries and other summer berries, as these are packed full of vitamin C and anti-oxidants, helping to boost the look and health of your skin.

Eating fish is also beneficial to your health, including your skin, so aim to have two servings of oily fish such as mackerel. Seafood tends to contain essential fatty acids and selenium, which will all help to boost the appearance and elasticity of your skin.

Protect yourself from the sun

Exposure to the sun ages your skin and could cause you health problems, so cover up in hot weather. Wear light, breathable fabrics to keep your skin cool and comfortable, and protect your face by wearing a sun hat and sunglasses. Also, ensure you apply a high SPF sunscreen on any exposed skin. Remember, you need to reapply your skin protection at regular intervals throughout the day, aim to reapply it every two hours. If you can stay out of the midday sun, then do.

Treat your skin with care

It’s important to have a good cleansing and skincare routine if you want to keep your skin looking healthy. Some cleansers can be harsh and leave your skin looking and feeling dryer, so look out for one that is moisturising.

Regularly exfoliating your skin is important too, as it will help you to get rid of the sweat, grease and debris on your skin and allow the moisture in. Once you’ve cleansed your skin, apply a moisturiser quick sharp, to stop your skin drying out. In addition, use a mineral foundation as a part of your daily skincare routine to give your skin a flawless look and improve your complexion over time.

So there you have out five essential steps to achieving healthy looking skin, from what you put into your body to what you put on it as part of your skincare routine and getting a good night’s sleep.

Sam Charles 2018-07-17T17:24:32+00:00 July 17, 2018|Beauty|

3 Skincare Products that I’m Loving This Spring

When I typed this post, I initially typed ‘3 Skincare Products that I’m Loving This SUMMER’ because it really does feel like summer right now. We’ve had fab weather and we’re still only in spring.

Changing seasons is the perfect time to review your skincare products because it means you get to do it 4 times a year, and your skin has different needs depending on the time of the year. You’ll want to move to lighter moisturisers and opt for products that have an SPF formula

There’s so many products out there, it’s hard to know what to buy, so here’s my 2 cents on what works for me.

Psst! It doesn’t have to be expensive!

Organic Raw Virgin Cocoanut Oil

Over the past couple of years I’ve religiously been using Garnier Skin Micellar Cleansing Water. It always got my makeup off without needing to scrubbing or irritating my face. I recently learned that their is a cancer causing ingredient in this product though which (unsurprisingly) has turned me off using it anymore.

There’s tubs of cocoanut oil all over my house, in the bathrooms, in the kitchen, on the bedside table, you can’t get away from the stuff. So incorporating cocoanut oil isn’t something new to my beauty regime, as I started using it when somebody told me that’s how they got super soft skin in 2012, when I was living in Australia. HOWEVER, I never used it to remove make up. My skin is quite oily, so I thought this would just make it worse.

One evening I was in a bit of a pinch and needed a cleanser, so I used the cocoanut oil and it removed all the dirt and make up without any hassle. It’s all natural, it’s ridiculously cheap and it smells heavenly, too. So I’ve chucked out my nasty chemicals back with PHMB (Polaminapropyl Biguanide, and moved to a natural cleanser.

NIVEA Q10 Firming Rich Body Lotion

I’m so lucky that I’ve never had a problem with having dry skin – it’s actually quite oily the majority of the time. This does mean I’ve got a little complacent and I don’t moisture as much as I should. I’d usually apply cream to my body a couple of times a week, but now I’m making the effort to apply it twice a day, especially on my legs. I’ve been keeping up with my new routine for a couple of months and now I couldn’t imagine not moisturising everyday single day, because my skin feels so much better for it and 100% healthier.

Finding a light cream is difficult. Body butters feel too thick on my skin and I don’t like applying it, I prefer something that will glide over my body. Recently, I was introduced to the NIVEA Q10 firming rich body lotion with Vitamin C and I’m officially in love. The bottle claims to noticeably firm the skin and improve elasticity in 10 days and I can hand-on-heart vouch for that statement.

3 Skincare Products that I'm Loving This Spring | UK Lifestyle Blog

💬 Dear Nivea Q10, please make my belly firm. Yours sincerely, Sam

** Please excuse the fact I’m not an Instagram model and I don’t spend all my time in the gym. My treadmill is gathering dust, and other than the surfing, sea swimming and walking, I don’t regularly exercise. Terrible, I know! But if I’m honest, I’d rather eat pizza and go on little van adventures with my fiancée and my dog. So here’s my curvy pizza belly (until I start my wedding fitness plan).

The lotion comes in a new pump format which helped me get into a routine of using it everyday, as it’s easy to just pump a bit of lotion and go. The pump also works quite nicely with my busy schedule, I really have no excuse. People assume that because I have my own business that I can just float around at home all day maxing and relaxing, but the truth is that my calendar is packed full of deadlines every single day! So the fact it has a pump and it keeps your skin moisturised for 48 hours is everything right now.

Deliciously Ella Rose, Lime & Cucumber Set

I’ve been using the Deliciously Ella rose, lime and cucumber facial wash and daily moisturiser for a year and a half now, and I love it even more now than I did when I first started using it. Firstly, it smells gorgeous (just like the rest of the Neal Yard range – check out the de-stress aromatherapy blend – it’s my favourite 💙).

The refreshing facial wash is suitable for all skin types and is made with antioxidant-rich blueberry and acai. It does a stellar job at removing everyday impurities using a beautiful blend of fresh, organic ingredients (instead of harsh chemicals!). Once I pat my face dry with a fresh towel, I use the beautifully light moisturiser which again, smells amazing! It makes such a difference not having a thick cream on my face and I feel so much better. Once the cream has absorbed into my skin I then apply SPF50 and a primer if I’m applying makeup.

You can pick up the combo on the Neal’s Yard website for a cool £42 with free delivery.

Sam Charles 2018-06-11T12:55:21+00:00 June 11, 2018|Beauty|

Uber Sonic Electric Toothbrush Review

Over the past 5 years I’ve published a hellova lot of content on Strawberry Squeeze. In matter of fact, I’ve actually published over 800 beauty, travel and interior design posts. You’ll find that considering the amount of content I publish, I almost never write product reviews. Despite these types of posts driving a decent amount of traffic, it’s just not me. It feels so fake to receive something for free and writing a review about it, especially when it comes to things like clothes or non-functional homewares. I mean, how much can somebody really write in a product review without just ramming a product down the users throat?

Instead of product reviews I’d much rather provide a my readers with an informative post and then mention products I’m currently loving that *may* have been gifted. Obviously, as you all know, I ALWAYS declare this at the end of my posts, so you know that I might have been given a product or paid to write the post. I’m not going to lie, this little blog earns me a decent wage but that’ll never impact how and what I write about brands.

Uber Sonic Electric Toothbrush Review | UK Lifestyle Blog

Going against everything I usually stand for, I’ve decided on this occasion to write a review on my lovely new electric toothbrush c/o Uber Sonic because I genuinely think it’s worth shouting about.

It’s a toothbrush, what’s the big deal!?

If, like me, you hate your teeth, you’ll know how important it is to have good-quality dental products. I don’t really care about makeup that much but I like to look after my hair, nails and teeth because I believe it says a lot about a person. Long story short, I had a hideous set of teeth but after a couple of cosmetic procedures, I’m pretty happy with my pegs. I began writing about exactly why I hate my teeth, and I ended up writing loads so I’ve popped it into a toggled box incase you can’t be bothered to read about my sob story.

My story about why I hate my teeth and my cosmetic procedure

Why I hate my teeth

I’ve always hated my teeth and it’s forever been a sensitive subject. Despite having healthy teeth they aren’t aesthetically appealing. I had a huge gap in the front of my teeth and it really bugged me. When I was a kid, my dentist told me I had to wait until I was 16 to go on the waiting list for braces because it was for cosmetic reasons only. I can’t remember how old I was at the time but I remember thinking it wasn’t too long to wait.

The day I turned 16, I put myself on the list. Years went by and I heard nothing, just as you’d expect. Years later I dropped it into conversation with my dentist and he said that he tried to get in touch when I had it to the top of the list but at this time I was living in Newport, Wales. The message got lost and I ended up dropping off the list. By this time I was 19 years old and not eligible for braces on the NHS. BOOOOOOO!!

I was absolutely gutted when I found out that having my teeth straightened could cost up to £4,000 and I’d end up having train tracks in my twenties. I did a bit of research and looked at brands such as Invisalign to fix my teeth but at the time, I didn’t have a huge amount of money because I was at university, and I knew I was moving to Australia in the near future so it wouldn’t really work having appointments abroad etc. Eventually I gave up on the idea of having my teeth fixed and decided to put it on the back burner until I could make a decision.

Fast-forward a few months later, I’m sitting in a shared kitchen near London at my brother’s flat. I met one of his neighbours that said she had a gap in her tooth but they fixed it with composite bonding in just 20 minutes. This changes everything. I went into work and started telling people about it and found out one of my colleagues had the same procedure for a gap that she had in the front of her tooth. Next thing you know, I’m on the phone to the dentist and booking in my appointment to get it done myself.

My cosmetic procedure

I spent 20 comfortable minutes in the dentist chair during my lunch break, having my teeth stuffed with play-dough and cured with a UV light. The anticipation of seeing my new set of teeth was so exciting but also a little bit terrifying. Despite having it done three years ago, I remember the feeling of looking in the tiny round mirror after the dentist finished working his magic.

Wowee! What a difference. The procedure completely changed my teeth, as they didn’t just fit composite bonding into my front gap, but they also filled in the chips and gaps I had everywhere else. Finally, I had a set of teeth that wasn’t perfect but I was completely in love with. The only regret I have is that I didn’t get it done years ago. It was undoubtably the best decision I’ve ever made.

Why I’m obsessed with dental care

The first couple of months felt weird and I couldn’t stop smiling. Once I left my appointment (with a giant grim on my face) I went to go buy lots of new dental products to keep my new gnashers in good condition. It makes a big difference which toothbrush I use because of my fakies, because technically I don’t have gaps inbetween my teeth anymore, so I need a brush that can get into the tiny gaps. There is also the chance of getting build up on the composite bonding itself around the edges where it adheres to my teeth. You can’t see this when you look at my teeth, but if you squint really hard and get right up in my face on a sunny day, you can see where the bonding has been applied. That’s why having a good electric toothbrush is everythingggg.

TLDR; I hated the big gaps in my teeth but getting braces wasn’t for me for a number of reasons. Instead I had my teeth professionally whitened and had composite bonding to fill in my gaps (essentially cured play-dough to fill in my gaps!). You can read more about my cosmetic procedure and see some before and after pictures above 👆

What’s so special about the Uber Sonic?

Uber Sonic Electric Toothbrush Review | UK Lifestyle Blog

This toothbrush is sexy. Yep, I said it! Both the bathrooms in my house are tiny so I try and avoid clutter and only put pretty things in the bathroom where I can. Dental care tends to be pretty ugly so it’s quite refreshing to see some designers have put some effort into toothbrushes because after all, we use them twice a day, everyday.

Sonic high-speed movement with 35,000 vibrations per minute ensures plaque and bacteria is removed seven times more efficiently than when using a regular toothbrush. This is music to my ears because like I said it’s super important that I not only keep my teeth and gums clean (duh!), but also because I need to get plague of the composite bonding which can sometimes be stubborn.

I’ve used electric toothbrushes a lot in the past but I usually end up using reverting back to my manual toothbrush because I don’t feel ‘clean’ after using an electric brush. Weird, huh? Knowing electric is the way forward, it’s been my mission to find one that works for me. I can whole-heartedly say that I DO feel clean after using the Uber Sonic. Perhaps it’s the high-speed movements?! 5 stars, never the less ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Teeth whitening kit

Prior to going in for my dentist appointment I was told that whatever colour my ‘cheap man veneers’ were, would be the colour they’d stay for the rest of my life. With this in mind, I went to get my teeth professionally whitened for a cool £250 at a local non-invasive cosmetic procedure salon nearby. It took hours, it was uncomfortable and obviously, it wasn’t cheap. But it was super important that I had this done though because it meant when I had the composite bonding done they wouldn’t be putting in yellow teeth.

I’m still so happy with my teeth. Like I said, they’re not perfect but they’re much better than what they were and they’ll certainly do until I have the whole set ripped out and veneers put in. Until then, as long as I keep them glistening white, they look pretty good. Alas! The teeth whitening has faded though. This is completely expected after 3 years but if I’m honest, I’m not rushing back to have them done professionally. I’ve been experimenting with teeth whitening stripes and toothpastes.

Uber Sonic Electric Toothbrush Review | UK Lifestyle Blog

When you buy the Uber Sonic toothbrush you also get a free whitening kit. There is a syringe full of non-peroxide whitening gel and 2 mouth trays so you can get beautifully white teeth at home. This is a God-sent because it saves me spending the afternoon in the salon and my bank account is pretty happy about it, too. I definitely saw my teeth go a few shades brighter which is more than I can say about over cheap brands in Superdrug.

Sounds good, what’s the catch?

The toothbrush kit is quite reasonably priced. Uber Sonic toothbrush and the free gel teeth whitening kit with first refill pack is just £19. You can’t really complain about that.

What actually bugs me about this product, is that it makes with a normal plug. I don’t know about you, but I live in a new-build house that doesn’t have a plug in. We’ve just got a bathroom safe plug socket for electrical shavers only, which all the electric toothbrushes I’ve had in the past have been compatible with this type of wall socket.

Uber Sonic Electric Toothbrush Review | UK Lifestyle Blog

It’s not the end of the world, but it means I have to plug the toothbrush in to charge in the bedroom and go and get it before I brush my teeth. This means that sometimes it runs out of battery and means I have to use my normal toothbrush because I can’t be bothered to wait for it to charge.

Overall, it’s a really good product but just a shame about the plug but that might not be a problem for everybody.

Sam Charles 2018-06-06T21:53:42+00:00 June 6, 2018|Beauty|

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