The Blue Illume Whitening Toothbrush

 Hey all!

I always get asked how I keep my teeth white. Thankfully I have pretty good genes and never had too bad of issues with yellow or stained teeth, but still, I'm always interested in the newest whitening products that promise whiter teeth in a short amount of time.

I've tried professional whitening from my dentist and dreading sleeping with those trays in my mouth. I only probably went through with it a handful of times before I wanted to place the trays under my tires and run over them 100 times with my car. Some nights I jumped up out of my sleep with shooting pains through my teeth. Not fun at all.

Crest White Strips (the professional ones) work beautifully for whitening teeth, but I'd always make sure to avoid them during the winter because they caused my teeth to be very sensitive, especially on cold, windy days.

Recently I've been using Supersmile Toothpaste and I've definitely noticed when I use it that my teeth look brighter. The reviews are pretty mixed, but I've had pretty good results. The biggest plus is it doesn't make my teeth sensitive. 

I've never invested in an expensive toothbrush - I usually grab whatever is on sale for a couple of bucks. So, when I heard about the Sweden based Blue Illume toothbrush, a toothbrush that counteracts bacteria (the source of gum disease and plaque) and helps whiten the teeth, I was all ears.

Light Therapy has been proven to be effective for many different medical conditions, particularly in those who have issues with acne. The blue light damages and ultimately kills the bacteria, yielding in clearer skin. 

As for using blue light to kill the bacteria in your mouth, it sounds pretty legit, but does it really work?

Some of you may think this light is actually going to bleach your teeth, but it's unlikely the case. If your teeth are stained (due to coffee, etc) it'd be beneficial to a product that contains whitening agents to brighten up your smile.

Plaque build up is typically what will make your teeth appear yellow, so this brush may reduce plaque, and will help you get rid of it with daily use.

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Sunday loves.

I'm having a laid back Sunday, and thought I'd do a quick post to show you a few of my recent purchases that I've been loving.

Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday!

Becca Flamenco Bronzing Powder has been my go-to bronzer for the past couple of weeks. As you can see, mine sadly broke, but luckily it's still perfectly usable without making a mess. The color is perfect golden bronze with the tiniest amount of shimmer. It's sheer, so you don't have to be shy with your application brush. Even when layered, the color is very natural and seamless. For a deeper bronze, I like applying it lightly over Chanel Bronze Universel (cream bronzer) to seal in the color. 

I was so excited when I spotted these Enzo Angiolini sandals at TJMaxx. I have the same exact ones in light pink/rose gold from a couple of years back and they were probably my favorite sandals I've ever owned. Not only are they totally cute, they have a short wedge - which for me is much more comfortable than completely flat sandals. I figured I can't go wrong with a charcoal version . They'll go with pretty much everything. They were $39.99.

Have you got yourself into the star trend? I've been seeing stars for several months now and never really cared for it. It's kinda growing on me now to an extent, so I picked up a black scarf with white stars (pictured above). I can't help but think it looks like I'm wearing a scarf from a children's store, but I'll just have to find the right outfits to pair it with. I purchased it from TJMaxx as well for $12.99.

I'm loving this plastic makeup organizer. I thought it'd be perfect for keeping my perfumes, skincare and some of my go-to makeup products. I love that it has a few small dividers where I can keep my lipglosses, rollerball perfumes and perfume samples upright for convenient use. Yet again, it was purchased from TJmaxx for $19.99. It could be found in their home department, located near the stationary, jewelry boxes and office items.

What are you loving right now?!

Review: KKCenterHK False Lashes!

KKCenterHK False Lashes

I'm a huge fan of false lashes. Maybe a year ago or so, I was wearing false eye lashes every single day. Some of you might think I'm nuts, but once you get started with falsies, it becomes an addiction (not a bad one of course!) I'd never wear a full-strip, because that's just too much for every day, but I'd snip those babies in half and wear them on the outer corners of my eyes, and they'd blend in perfectly with my other lashes.

They'd give the effect of larger, elongated eyes that looked uber girly. Just a little bit of liner and lipgloss and I was out the door!

Needless to say, purchasing eyelashes every other day was becoming way too pricey. Especially since I noticed a small price increase at my local drugstore on Ardell/Andrea lashes. It took about a week or two to get use to the way I look without lashes. For a whole week it seemed like something was missing from my face! Now I usually only wear lashes when I'm going out, and I want to look my extra best, which is much easier on my wallet.

If you're an avid reader of fashion and beauty blogs, you may have heard of KKCenterHK. I've seen reviews for their eyelashes featured on several of my favorite beauty blogs (MakeupbyLacy & HollywoodHeels to name a couple).

KKCenterHK is a company based out of Hong Kong that sells false lashes, makeup, wigs, nail products and accessories. It's a very popular site to purchase false lashes from because you can buy a large quantity at a low price.

I picked out two different styles: ES A562 and ES A601. So far, I've worn both styles and really like them. The bands are thin and very flexible, so they adapt well to the shape of your eyes and they feel comfortable after several hours of wear. Both sets retail for $16 for ten pairs, so it ends up being $1.60 a pair.

Left: Style #ES A562, Right: Style #ES A601

Here I am wearing ES A601.

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MAC Lickable Lipstick Review, Photos and Swatches!

 MAC Lickable Lipstick

MAC Lickable Lipstick ($15) is the newest pink that has been added to my collection. It's described on the MAC website as a bright, clean blue-pink. It's comparable to MAC's ever popular Girl About Town (described as a bright, blue fuschia), but it's a little less purple, so many reviews mention it's more wearable than Girl About Town. I thought it'd be similar to my recent fav - MAC Insanely It Sheen Supreme, but Lickable is more blue-toned, and Insanely It has a stronger rosy-red tone.

Lickable is a Cremesheen, so the formula is creamy, with good color payoff. It's semi-opaque, but can be built with a few more swipes for full opacity.

My obsession with bright pinks aren't quite over yet. Despite looking bright and intimidating in the tube, bright pinks lighten up quite nicely when mixed with lesser-intense, muted pinks. I pretty much mix MAC Creme Cup and Wet n Wild Think Pink with everything, and it always creates a more wearable pink that is sill vibrant.

I really like it and I think I'll be wearing it often. It's a very wearable bright pink that's not too in-your-face.

Do you own MAC Lickable or any similar shades?