Hi guys, just a little message from me to say it's going to be a tad quiet on here for a couple weeks as I migrate from Blogger to Wordpress. I've been on the humble Blogger platform since the birth of blogging, back when I used it as a personal diary, one that I kept secret from everyone so I could vent about problematic housemates and boyfriends. Now that I'm starting to try and see my blog as a business venture as well I thought it was about time to step it up and get a bit more professional. Plus people have been telling me for yonks that it's time for me to make the big move, but I've just been a scaredy cat if I'm honest.
It will likely take this stuck in her ways old bird a bit of time to get used to Wordpress, so expect a fair few blogs with pictures in the wrong place and looking generally a bit wonky donkey. Be patient, I will persevere till I get the hang of it.
In the meantime there's regular vlogs going up on my YouTube channel, as well as the usual slew of Autumnal hues on my Instagram, so avert your eyes there for the meantime.
When I was younger people always used to ask me if I’d whitened my teeth because they were always fairly bright. These occurrences would always make feel really nice (and a relieved if i’m honest), as an awkward teen who found it hard to find anything I liked about myself. The truth was I didn’t do anything particularly special, in fact I was relaxed (to put it lightly) when it came to maintaining my smile and being dentally conscious. I wouldn’t floss daily as recommended, and I still only floss the morning of my appointment with my dentist, who then congratulates me saying. ‘I can tell you’ve been flossing’. Sorry for the deception if you’re reading this!
I also didn't follow the rule that you should spend a minute and a half brushing your top and then the same for the bottoms. That always seems way to long a time to be spending in front of the bathroom mirror staring at your reflection complete with frothing mouth and melted make up. I was always a secret sweet eater too, grabbing Iron Brew chewy sweets from the shop outside school whenever I could sneak in a visit without my mum knowing. However I remember a lot of people wouldn’t let me languish and luxuriate in these compliments though, telling me that the whiter the teeth, the weaker the teeth. I still don’t know if that’s fact or myth but it certainly killed my temporarily massaged ego . See how to use the kit from 16.50 onwards
My white teeth remained gleaming till my mid to late twenties no thanks to me, but in the last few years they’ve definitely noticeably dulled . I remember a thick sticky brown medicine I took, which also tasted revolting, seemed to have an unfortunate staining after-effect. I have also developed a bit of an addition to coke (the drink variety of course) which has added a but more yellow to my former bright whites. I don’t drink coffee, I don’t smoke, and I don’t really drink (aside from the odd Shandy, a holiday Mojito or Christmas Sherry) so I guess I turn to Coke for a bit of a boost when needed, which as someone with M.E is a few times a day.
Their yellow tinge has definitely made me feel a bit more self conscious about having my picture taken, which is fairly inconvenient as a blogger. It’s an added hurdle for someone who already struggles to put her image out there on a regular basis due to adult acne, and the unfortunate realisation that she doesn’t actually have a good side.
I used to be quite okay with how crowded and wonky they are too. I didn’t have braces, so didn’t think I had earned those perfectly even, regimented teeth soldiers. And when I look at other people with their more quirky teeth, I always think they’re cute or add character, so always hoped that mine could maybe fall into that category too. But since they’ve turned from an ivory to one closer to amber, I’ve found I’m less fond of their randomness. It’s like the different angles and directions of the teeth draw more attention to the discolouring, and make the overall look of the teeth reminiscent of a Halloween denture.
I’ve tried a few things in recent years including whitening toothpastes and those Crest strips that I’ve got my American friends to bring over for me when they visit. The strips work well, but because they’re not sold over here I feel a bit worried that I’m doing some permanent damage whenever I’ve used them. There is also a bit of sensitivity after which isn’t great for someone who loves a glass of coke on ice.
So when I got an email through about Polished Teeth Whitening, I emailed the lovely PR back fairly swiftly to find out whether it was cruelty free because I was at the point of being desperate to get my former smile back but also trying to be a more ethical human. Hooray it was/is, and Vegan too. According to the promo material provided, Polished Sonic Teeth Whitening Kit is 100% safe and contains no harmful ingredients or abrasives. Unlike other at-home teeth whitening kits, this innovative device has 7 LED PULSING LIGHTS to work their magic and is considered the most advanced on the market, providing super intensity UV light to activate the signature whitening formula.
They recommend you have a rest period of at least a week between your 6 consecutive sessions. I personally would always choose to follow these instructions, because doing damage to your teeth for the sake of vanity is silly, we only get one adult set after-all. Plus with my finances how they are I certainly can’t afford multiple Dentist bills right now should something go wrong!
They also very kindly sent me the Polished Charcoal Teeth Whitening powder, which is made with premium activated charcoal. Containing a refreshing peppermint flavor and extracts of coconut; this product neutralizes mouth acids, lowers abrasivity whilst freshening breath without fluoride.
I’ve been in contact with charcoal a lot over my life, at brownies and Guides when on fire duty, at life drawing classes at Art School, and as an adult with crippling IBS related issues. When doctors were throwing all manner of random treatments at me, many which seemed to have no positive effect, charcoal would often be recommended, and it’s actually one of a few ‘treatment’s’ I was always okay with. It didn’t have a strong or unpleasant taste, or have any nasty side effects and even seemed to soothe my sore tummy. Similarly, despite the off-putting colour of black (black isn’t a colour but you know what I mean) it is actually completely inoffensive. If anything it’s got a subtle minty freshness about it and you quickly get out the counter intuitive nature of applying something dirt coloured in an attempt to lighten. You apply the charcoal by dipping in a dampened toothbrush. You then brush your teeth for 2-3 minutes. If you look in the mirror during the process you do have one of those ‘what the hell am I doing’ moments, then you begin to enjoy it and start pretending your some sort of horror movie character (maybe that’s just me). Before you know it it’s time to spit it out and see the staining removing effects of the Charcoal. Now I have to heed a warning at this part of the process. Be very measured with your spitting out, don’t propell the solution out of your mouth with any sort of velocity or you’ll end up what could be described as a unintentional but powerful piece of abstract art all over your bathroom sink. While I was admiring my pearly white my clean freak boyfriend was pulling his hair out at the monochrome carnage I’d left in our shared bathroom.
Back to the main kit now. When you open up the box it may look a bit intimidating with all those syringes, you think that it could maybe be a bit of a faff. It really isn’t, because they actually have everything ready to go for you. There’s very little you have to do before you can start your journey to brighter whiter teeth. It comes with a little instruction manual inside, although at first glance it wasn’t sure when I should be using the pen, so ignored that till I’d finished the 6 day course of syringed whitening.
The first time I used the syringed part of the kit, I did it all from my bed and chose to remove it from my mouth after the ten minutes was up, while still under the covers. I had no idea THAT much saliva would have been produced over the duration of time, my duvet was completely drenched with with the spit/whitening combination liquid. Lessoned learned. From that point onwards I headed to the sink whenever the time was up and it was the point at which you should remove from your mouth. After each usage its very easy to pull of the gum shield part of it to rinse off to clean so it’s good to go the next day. Another bonus of this treatment is that it forces you to have ten minutes to yourself to do something for you, and with our lives being so busy and with so many obligations to complete in our days it sometimes feels hard to justify this. Even with the mouth guard in you can still fire off those emails and reply to whatsapp messages even if you find it impossible to stop for a mere ten minutes though.
I didn’t feel any sort of sensitivity after my treatment, nor did it seem to have an adverse effect on the appearance or feel of my gums. I was very pleased with the results after the one week routine, and if the touch up pen doesn’t have a drastic enough effect moving forward, I wouldn’t hesitate to order another kit to carry out another 6 day process. You can buy refills for a very reasonable £14.99.
Talking of the pen, this is a very handy and compact piece of kit to maintain the level of white you've managed to achieve, and gives you the ability focus on certain teeth that may have more staining for whatever reason - I have a tooth that’s a bit set back from the rest and is slightly more yellow because it missed out of some brushing being so tucked away. It's small enough to easily pop in your travel bag too which is a bonus.
I of course can only speak about my own experience with my teeth, I can’t predict how yours would react, so If you have any worries or questions you should of course email the customer help team or ask your dentist if you need further reassurance.
But as you can see from one of this week’s instagram posts I’m now feeling confident enough about my teeth to post a selfie in full on cheese mode, exposing all of my wonky, but now very white, gnashers.
P.S Have this one on me. Us bloggers tend to try and show the glam side of this career, but this is the reality. But it worked, so who cares what I looked like to get there in the privacy of my home!
I'm generally and genuinely thrilled with my recent hair transformation, and honestly believe cutting off half of my hair is the most freeing move I've made in a long time. It's cleared up minutes if not hours of my time each week, saved by weak arms from needless strenuous activity and resulting aches, and nudged me into changing my style, choosing outfits that showcase this shorter length.
I feel fresher and more youthful, and most importantly less weighed down. I don't know if my old long hair served as a metaphor for other negative stuff, but I feel that perhaps it made my morose face appear even more long and drawn out, and that I used it to hide behind it, even rely upon it.
With this shorter length, I can't as easily use it as a veil to hide my face and boobs, nor use the sheer mass of it to distract from other parts of my vessel. I'll be forced to stand more confident and proud in my blog pictures, as I won't be using my hair as an something to give my hands something to do, pulling the long mermaid tendrils out so they flow in the wind, or to do those back shots where you showcase the length resting on your back. Instead my body and my full face will be exposed and the focus will no longer be on my hair, which I've away used as a trademark and as an distraction, now they'll be seeing me....or more of me at least.
While I'm pleased as punch with this new low maintenance style for it's ease and time saving credentials, I'm not happy to allow my hair to lack impact and I still want my hair to be a feature that adds to my overall appearance. While I can't look to the length of it to deliver drama or wow factor, I can still consider colour, texture, volume etc.
That's the only slight downside to this sassy new mid length style. I've lost a lot of bulk so even though I have a lot of hair still it can get to look slightly flat if I haven't made efforts during the drying process to ensure it has volume - tipping my head upside down or adding a thickening product to the root for instance.
Today was one of those particularly flat days, in more ways that one, but lets keep it focused on my hair for once shall we. I'd just dried my hair very quickly as I was in a rush to get going with my day and make the most of the Autumn sunshine we were having this Sunday morning. Later in the day after the lift the wind delivered had subsided, I was looking very drab and my hair almost looked stuck down to my cheeks, with absolutely zero height at the root. Because I have relied on my hair to give me a confidence boost for all these decades it's foolish to expect to be able to let go of that completely, so I still need to be able to feel good amped up with this look.
I've tried many hairsprays, mouses and volumisers in the past to deliver the enlarging effect I'm after and while all have some positive and extremely effective qualities I haven't found one without having to make a sacrifice when it comes to the appearance or feel of my hair. We've all tried the products that make the hair feel so crispy it's as if its frozen and could snap in to if bent. Then there's the type that makes it feel like you have treacle drizzled on the scalp, which you hope the lad won't discover when he tried to recreate an extremely passionate movie kiss which involves putting his fingers through your hair and grabbing at your skull. If they don't create a horrifically dead or overly shiny finish to the hair's texture, you'll left choking on the toxic fumes.
The closest I have gotten to perfection before was a volumising dry Shampoo so when I was given this got2b Fresh it Up Dry Shampoo I felt like I was on the cusp of realising I'd finally discovered the holy grail product. As instructed I shook the can, held 20cm away, and sprayed in short bursts. I tipped my head upside down to get the roots underneath and also lifted up layers to ensure I have sprayed throughout. No cough inducing toxicity, just a transporting subtle tropical scent this time.
Unlike many dry shampoos there is hardly any residue with this one, perhaps just a tad mattifying which goes instantly with a quick rub with your palm or a brush through. In fact this had the least whitening effect of any non colour specific dry shampoos I've used before, which is a major plus point. As you can see from the images my hair instantly had more zest for life, no more slick rick for me.
The biggest plus point of this product was the fact that it didn't have any noticeable effect on the feel of the hair to the touch. No extreme stiffness or stickiness, if any whatsoever. I find that I often feel compelled to wash my hair after one use of some of these sorts of products becasuse the hair feels so clogged up or changed by the product. In the past it has felt so dense and rigid at the root that I've hated running my fingers through it as it's stopped even feeling like hair, and I've felt gross and unclean a bit like Worzel Gummidge, Stig of the Dump.....or Frankie Cocozza.
Okay, if left to it's own devises by the end of the day your hair won't have maintained the level of oomph it gets when you first spray and massage, but all it takes is more massages periodically
to wake the product up and allow it to wave its magic wand again. There's really no need to spray more throughout the day to get the initial wowing effect, you just need to stimulate it with your fingers.
So for those that don't like to or choose not to wash their hair often, those who feel their hair needs to be uplifted, or who, like me are adapting to a new style I thoroughly recommend this Schwarzkopf got2b Fresh it Up Dry Shampoo. I guarantee as I continue to enjoy the lack of hair washing this new do requires this will become a staple, constant travel companion, and last minute plan saviour.
