I already drank coffee when I lived in Southern California, but moving to the gloomy gray Pacific Northwest, my coffee consumption has increased exponentially. I go through about 2 cups each morning, and some afternoons I’ll grab an iced coffee. Throw in a glass of red wine with dinner, and eventually it caught up with my teeth. Sometimes I forget that you can put on the best clothes with fancy accessories, and a perfect red lip, but if you aren’t confident enough to smile, the outfit isn’t complete.

I have previously tried a strip-style whitening kit before, which claimed to work after one use. We should all know by now that a “get rich quick” approach to anything in life is probably too good to be true, but I tried it anyway. Shocker, it didn’t really work. I’d also tried several whitening toothpastes in the past, but they really weren’t holding their weight against the copious amounts of Portland coffee I was drinking. Smile Brilliant reached out to me about reviewing their kit at the perfect time, and I was excited to try.

How it works

Smile Brilliant sends you an at-home kit where you make a mold of your teeth, send it into their labs, and they send you back a custom whitening tray. I don’t really need to walk you through the intricate step-by-steps, because it comes with really easy to read, detailed instructions (but if you have questions about any of the steps, drop a comment and I’d be happy to help). Once you get your custom trays back, you put in the whitening gel, pop them on your teeth, and leave them for about 45 minutes- 1 hour. I spent most of my time cleaning the apartment, or working on my writing, and pretty much forgot that the trays had been on until my timer went off. It’s nice that they don’t feel gross or intrusive to have on.

I had been worried about sensitivity to the gel, but I found that I really had no problems with it. The kit does come with a gel specifically designed to reduce your sensitivity if that’s something you’re worried about!

Since I’ve been doing more and more photo shoots lately, it’s been really nice to feel less self conscious about my teeth yellowing. I would recommend the Smile Brilliant kit if you are getting married, delivering a key note speech, appearing on television, or really any big event you want to be 100% confident for. Holding back on speaking or smiling is not ok, and if a little whitening helps you get there, then go for it! My results kind of speak for themselves- take a look at the before and after shot!

Want to try it for yourself? I’m giving one away here, so you can try it for free! If you don’t want to wait, enter code chouettestyle15 at checkout for 15% of your kit (or anything else on the site).

So I guess I can have my coffee and drink it too! Comment below if you’ve ever tired any at home whiteners, and what kind of success or challenges you had. I’d love to hear your feedback or get any tips!

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