Bonjour, mes chéries! It’s almost Friday 🎉
Two weeks of the new year have flown by, and I’m not even sure what happened these past eighteen days. I feel like all aspects of my world were flipped upside down and tossed around a bit, as I mentioned in my previous post. Things have definitely not settled down, but I have decided to take a step back and look at all these as opportunities to take a little more control over my life and steer it in the right direction. While I still feel overwhelmed, I’m doing it with a big smile on my face as change and new opportunities excite me.
Speaking of smiles, I’ve always been insecure about mine. After I lost all my baby teeth (which were in a perfect rows), my “big girl” teeth grew in crooked and in different sizes. Furthermore, one of my teeth grew horizontally crooked in the gums above, requiring oral surgery to move it downwards and vertically. Unfortunately, my orthodontist didn’t place in a permanent retainer, causing my odd-sized teeth to shift about throughout the years one my braces came off. As they shifted, I became extremely insecure about my slightly crooked smile. I felt like I could never look beautiful and tried to hide my teeth every time I smiled.
Recently, I decided to say f*ck it all and embrace it, as if you know me in person you know that I laugh and smile way too often to not show my teeth. However, it took me over a decade to grow to love my imperfection. My smile may not turn upwards as much or be as big as it did when I was a little girl. It might not be super large or anything too toothy, but it holds all the sentiments of my past twenty-two years. It’s been with me through all my memories and milestones. It’s been with me through good days and bad days. So if this smile is supposed to help keep my head up high into the new year (and years to come), why not make it as brilliant as I possibly can?
MY SMILE STORY
Smile Brilliant could not have entered my life at a better time. I love using Smile Brilliant’s teeth whitening kit for many reasons. The first is because it is customized to fit your teeth perfectly, ensuring your teeth are whitened at all angles. The second is because they encourage you to show off your smile and love it wholeheartedly. The third is because it actually works. In just about 10 uses, I’ve seen a change in the brightness and whiteness of my smile.
For the past month, I’ve been using my Smile Brilliant teeth whitening kit. As a teenager, I used to try Crest Whitestrips, whitening toothpaste, and even whitening mouthwash to try and brighten my teeth after my braces came off. They never worked as well as Smile Brilliant does. It is truly one of the best and affordable at home teeth whitening kits I’ve ever tried.
HOW IT WORKS
Smile Brilliant sends you a dental impression kit which includes trays along with a catalyst paste and a base paste. Following the instructions on the card or front flap of the box, you mix the two together till the paste is completely blue and quickly place it into the tray. Then, you place them into your crown of beautiful teeth and hold it there for a period of time to let it harden.
PRO TIP: do this in front of a mirror, and do it quickly so the paste doesn’t dry out before you make your impression!
After you’re done, let the impression air dry before packaging it and mailing it out in the prepaid envelope. Once you get your custom fitted dental impressions back in the mail, follow the instruction cards once again to start whitening. First, you brush your teeth but without using toothpaste. You then take the whitening gel which comes in the form of a syringe. Insert the gel into the front side of each impression and slowly place it over your teeth pushing forward to avoid excess gel leaving the impression.
PRO TIP: a little goes a long way. If there is any excess, wipe it away with Q-tips.
You can leave your impressions on your teeth from 45 minutes to 3 hours. Smile Brilliant recommends you slowly working your way to longer periods of time to avoid sensitivity. If you do feel sensitivity post-whitening, they provide desensitizing gels for you to use to relieve your teeth and gums. You can brush your teeth normally with toothpaste afterwards. However, avoid eating for 30 minutes minimum after whitening and desensitizing.
There you have it! It’s as simple as that.
HOW MUCH TIME DOES IT TAKE?
Depending on how long you whiten for and whether or not you use desensitizing gels, your whitening time with Smile Brilliant will vary. For example, I usually leave my impressions in for about an hour give or take. I do not find need for the desensitivity gel even though I actually have very sensitive teeth and gums, so bravo on Smile Brilliant for creating a comfortable whitening gel!
If you do use the desensitivity gel, you’re looking at one hour for whitening, 20 minutes for desensitivity, then waiting 30 minutes after to drink or eat. I will admit that due to the longer time frame, it’s a little more difficult for me to whiten my teeth. However, I will trade in time for less harsh whiteners that hurt my teeth and gums any time!
HOW DID SMILE BRILLIANT WORK FOR ME?
Overall, I give Smile Brilliant 9/10 stars! As someone who’s rarely home and always eating/drinking way too late at night, I don’t love that it takes me a while to whiten my teeth. But if you’re home often or don’t mind running errands with these on, they’re definitely great for the multitaskers out there! Furthermore, I love that Smile Brilliant uses impressions instead of strips because it allowed the gel to sit in all the nooks and crannies of my teeth, both the straight ones and the crooked ones. Smile Brilliant really personalizes the experience for you and gives you a natural whiter smile.
BEFORE
AFTER
GIVEAWAY: WIN YOUR OWN SMILE BRILLIANT KIT
I loved my whitening kit so much that I’ve partnered with Smile Brilliant to give you all a GIVEAWAY! The winner will receive $149 credit for their own Smile Brilliant whitening kit. It is open to anyone in the USA, UK, Canada, or Australia. Here are the steps:
- Submit your name and email address on my giveaway page in order to enter.
- The winner will be selected and contacted via email 2 weeks (after February 1).
Based in New York City, Erica Huang is the creator and voice behind Bouge & Rouge. This blog is a playground of her thoughts where she invites you to join her on her journey through her 20s. Erica shares her lifestyle, fashion and beauty tips, adventures, and personal thoughts with the goal of inspiring others to always persevere and be unapologetically yourself.