teeth whitening – Hoots of a Night Al

Best at Home Teeth Whitening! (+GIVEAWAY!)

February 12, 2018 No Comments

**Don’t forget to enter the $149 giveaway at the bottom of this post!**

One of the #1 duties of a beauty blogger is to take selfies. Hundreds and thousands and millions of selfies. Fine, I may be exaggerating (though not by much), but the fact remains that I spend a lot of time taking and looking at pictures of myself. This inevitably leads to me analyzing every inch of my face.

Do I need to tweeze by eyebrows? (Yes. Always yes.)

Did I blend my contour enough? (Nope. Never.)

Are my nostrils different sizes? (Left is definitely bigger.)

Are my teeth white enough? (ENTER SMILE BRILLIANT.)

Smile Brilliant provides dental quality teeth-whitening for a fraction of the cost you would pay your dentist (we’re talking less than $200!) for the Exact. Same. Treatment. AND, the exact same RESULTS! Even better? You get to whiten your teeth on your own schedule from the comfort of your own home. Let me back up.

The kindest, most helpful employee at Smile Brilliant reached out to me a few months ago to see if I would be interested in trying their whitening kit. A few days after filling out a quick questionnaire, I received a package containing everything I needed to create a mold of my teeth. This alone would have been worth the price of the kit. I felt like a mad scientist…er, dentist mixing the paste and creating my impressions. Such a fun experience!

I mailed back my impressions and received my custom whitening trays less than two weeks later. I loved that the trays were made specifically for my teeth unlike whitening kits you can buy at the drugstore. They really allowed the gel to cover every nook and cranny of my smile. Plus they came with a convenient case perfect for storage and travel.

The whitening kit came with several syringes of Teeth Whitening Gel and Desensitizing Gel as well as extensive instructions on how to use both. The process varies depending on your desired results and personal tooth sensitivity. For example, the recommended whitening session time ranges from 45 minutes up to 3 hours. A little goes a long way with the syringes as well; each one contains enough gel for three to four treatments!

The trays were comfortable to wear, easy to apply gel to, and simple to clean. I performed a few whitening sessions, but during one session, I began experiencing some gum sensitivity. My sweet Smile Brilliant consultant assured me that is totally normal. She also recommended many solutions, including a simple fix of applying vaseline or coconut oil to my gums to prevent irritation. The quick and helpful response time was actually one of my favorite things about Smile Brilliant. Every question I had through this entire process has been answered thoroughly and honestly!

After a few treatments, I realized that I was already pleased with the natural whiteness of my teeth, so unfortunately I don’t have any dramatic before and after pictures to share in this post. Luckily for you though, there are tons of real life results you can see over on Smile Brilliant’s Instagram account. Their review page is also full of incredible smiles and praise. Below is a before and after example from a fellow blogger, Nyema of Steps to Serendipity. See her full Smile Brilliant review here.

Pretty impressive, right??

I may decide to utilize my unopened syringes before they expire (they conveniently have quite a long shelf life according to Smile Brilliant), and, if so, I’ll update you with some “after” pictures then. Who knows what my incessant selfie analyzing will result in? 😉 Considering that seeing results generally only takes around 2 weeks (or less!), I may sneak in some whitening before my next big event! In the mean time, I wanted to share my positive experience using the whitening kit and receiving exemplary customer service from Smile Brilliant with you.

Perhaps the best news of all is that Smile Brilliant is giving you a chance to win your OWN whitening kit! Enter through the link below, and good luck! If you don’t want to wait to see if you win, use code hootsofanightal15 to get $15 off!

**SMILE BRILLIANT GIVEAWAY**

**This product was gifted for review by Smile Brilliant, but all opinions are my own.**

*Giveaway is open for two weeks. You MUST enter through the link to be counted. Giveaway is for $149 credit- and is open to USA, UK, Canada, and Australia residents.*

How to Whiten Your Teeth

wet n wild Matte Lipstick in Don’t Be a Plum Plum

September 15, 2016 5 Comments

WOAH. Today’s lipstick is a LOT darker than one I’ve ever worn! I recently purchased wet n wild’s new Color Icon Matte Lipstick in Don’t Be a Plum Plum. It’s part of their Limited Edition Fall 2016 Collection and is one of 3 shades available.

I also recently reviewed another one of these shades, How Fleek is Your Love. I bought both right when they came out, since they looked pretty in the tube. How Fleek is Your Love was a classic red, which I always love.

However, Don’t Be a Plum Plum was a color I’ve never tried before. In the tube it looked like a soft, deep plum color. Even on wet n wild’s website, it looks more cranberry. However, once applied, it looks a LOT darker! As I’m sure you can see.:)

The applicator is a doe foot wand, but it has a divot towards the top. This section gathers more product, which is convenient for application. Since this product dries quickly, it’s nice to have a lot of product available, so you can work fast!

This color is also patchy. I had to apply a few layers to get it relatively even, which made it clumpy in some sections. I think if I apply it quicker with more product at first, it will appear smoother. I may also try a balm and/or liner underneath.

Despite appearing patchy, it is still nicely pigmented. As I stated above, it appears much darker once applied, so keep that in mind if you’re admiring it.

Regardless of the name, Don’t Be a Plum Plum has a brown undertone to me. I would call it a deep, brownish maroon if I had to describe it….which…um, I guess I do. Since I’m writing this post and all.

Since I usually wear more traditional lipstick shades, I was a bit shocked when I applied this color. It has a very dark, almost vampy tone that I usually don’t gravitate towards.

That being said, I do think it’s a flattering shade! It made my teeth look whiter and complimented my fair skin tone. Since it is so pigmented though, I’m sure it would pop regardless of the wearer’s skin tone.

The wear time on this liquid lipstick is impressive as well. I had it on for hours, and it only started coming off when I ate dinner. Actually, it began flecking off so badly that I had to remove it before I finished eating. However, a napkin on its own didn’t do the trick! I had to use my e.l.f. lip color remover to get off every trace of it.

Aside from eating a full meal, Don’t Be a Plum Plum is totally transfer proof. I was able to drink, snack, and even kiss my husband without any lip color wearing off. Very impressive!

Will I start wearing this color every day? No. Should you? If you want to! It’s a fun color to have in your fall makeup selection if you want to add a touch of drama. And by a “touch,” I mean a slap in the face. This lipstick isn’t messing around.

I would recommend keeping your eye makeup light if you’re planning to wear this lipstick, so your lips can be the star of the show. It packs quite a punch on its own, and heavy makeup on your eyes as well may look overwhelming.

I also think this lipstick would be great for a gothic/vampy/witchy themed Halloween costume, so if you’re planning any of those looks, keep this shade in mind!

The entire wet n wild Fall 2016 Collection sells out almost immediately whenever its placed in stores, so if you see this shade and want it, snatch it up! After all, it’s only $2.99, and you can’t beat that!

What do you think? Can I pull off this crazy shade??

Primer: Nivea Men Sensitive Post Shave Balm

Foundation: Maybelline Fit Me Matte and Poreless Foundation

Concealer: Maybelline Fit Me Concealer

Setting Powder: e.l.f. Studio HD Translucent Powder

Eyeliner: Maybelline Unstoppable Eyeliner in Onyx

Eyeshadow: Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette

Eyeshadow Primer: Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo Metal in Barely Branded

Mascara: Covergirl Super Sizer Fibers Mascara

Blush: Wet n Wild Icon Blusher Pearlescent Pink

Highlighter: Wet n Wild MegaGlo Illuminating Palette

Bronzer: Physicans Formula Bronze Booster

Lipstick: wet n wild Color Icon Matte Liquid Lipstick in Don’t Be a Plum Plum

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