Smile Brilliant

Top: Old Navy

I'm taking a little break from my outfit posts today because I've been meaning to share a product with you that I'm currently using. It's called Smile Brilliant.

The natural color of my teeth is definitely not a true white-white, so I know I could never achieve a super white smile - unless I want to look like Ross from Friends and glow in the dark! But, regardless, I've always been on the lookout for a great teeth whitening system. I've tried things like Crest White Strips and the Arm and Hammer whitening booster. These products were ok, but didn't super blow my mind.

I've thought about professionally having them whitened, but have never pulled the trigger, mainly because of cost. While my teeth aren't super white, they're not super yellow either, so paying a dentist to whiten them hasn't been a huge priority. #idratherbuyshoes So, when Smile Brilliant approached me to try their teeth whitening kit, they definitely had my attention!

To give me a good idea of what I could expect from my whitening kit, they suggested I watch this video, which really just got me more excited to try this out! Luckily, they're local to St. Louis, so my package arrived in no time! 

You're basically making your own custom molds, just as they would do for you at the dentist. I was a little intimidated because I'm certainly not crafty, and while this isn't an arts and crafts exercise, I was still worried I would make mistakes! I felt a little less pressured when I saw that they give you extra paste for that very reason; in case you need a do-over! The instructions were really simple and straightforward, I ended up making both my top and bottom molds on the first try!

I dropped the molds in the mail, and received my custom whitening trays within a week's time. Crazy fast!

What I hated about the white strips is how slippery I felt they were. They didn't stay in place well, especially if I were to talk. You definitely don't have to worry about that with these. I realize these are custom made trays - literally molded to my teeth, but wow, the fit still amazed me. I'm not sure if you've ever had to wear a clear retainer in your life, but that's what I pictured these to feel like - stiff and awkward, leaving you with a mouth full of drool. They aren't anything like that at all. They're soft, comfortable, and invisible -- I've had conversations with the husband while wearing them with him not even noticing.

You won't actually get your mold, but they sent me mine for the purposes of this review. Pretty impressive quality though, eh? And yes, if you're OCD like me and feel the urge to count my teeth - I only have 24 as compared to the normal 32. Carylee fun fact #138732: My mouth was crazy small for my teeth, so my teeth were crowded and crooked as a result. Before I could even get braces, I had to have four teeth pulled -- 2 top and 2 bottom. My wisdom teeth were literally growing in sideways, perpendicular to my rear molars, so needless to say, all 4 were pulled before they had a chance to mess up my 3.5 years of braces!

I've only been using them a couple times a week, though they're definitely safe and gentle enough for you to use on a daily basis. I will say though that I don't drink that much tea or soda, and when I do drink coffee (hot or cold), it's always out of a straw. (At home, I even drink red wine out of a straw…) So, I don't believe I will have drastic results as compared to a heavy coffee/tea drinker or smoker with super stained teeth. Regardless, I will have to take another photo for comparison once I am done with the entire kit - stay tuned!

If you can't wait and want to see some actual before and after photos - this video was a great resource for that - and I'm sure you could find a ton more with a quick google search. So far, I am completely satisfied with Smile Brilliant, I almost hate for my kit to run out! Please let me know if I can answer any questions!

Disclosure: Although Smile Brilliant gifted me this whitening kit, all opinions expressed are my own!

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