Guest Blogger: Michelle on White Teeth — The Pain-Free Way

Michelle is a stay-at-home mom who spends her days changing diapers,
doing laundry, running carpool and figuring out what to make for dinner. When
she doesn’t have her three kids in tow, you’ll find her wandering
the aisles of her local CVS, enjoying a little peace and quiet, while feeding
a growing addiction to lip gloss. She writes almost daily at her personal blog, Life
with Three.

I had my teeth whitened two years ago.  I have since come to refer
to the experience as “Hours of Torture that I Would Rather Not
Relive.” Not only did the hygienist have me panicked about burned and
blistered gum tissue (a thought that still makes me cringe), but my teeth were
painfully sensitive for several days after.  This is why, where teeth whitening products are concerned, I say, “Been
there, done that.  No, thanks.”

But, I have three children under the age of six. I’m not giving
up red wine coffee any time soon. So, when I read about a lip gloss that
would make my teeth look whiter sans peroxide, guess who cleared her
calendar and hopped on over to CVS? 

For those who don’t know (and I was one of them), Sally Hansen —
the people who do nail products — have an entire line of lip products.
With great expectations, I picked up a tube of their Smile Brightening Lip
Treatment for about $7.  The Sally Hansen folks claim it’s
“the first lip gloss with the secret to instantly whiter
teeth.” 

What is this secret you ask?  The gloss is full of blue-based
pigments and “brightening pearls” designed to highlight the color
white, rather than the color yellow.  It’s also packed full of
vitamins A, C & E to help soften dry lips.

The gloss comes in five shades.  I chose
“Luminous.”  It’s more mauve-y than I usually wear (I
prefer neutral/brown shades), but for a pain-free white smile, I figured it was
worth a shot.

And can I tell you?  The shade is perfect.  It’s
surprisingly neutral and natural
looking — the type of color that I’m pretty sure would compliment most
skin tones. 

The gloss itself is not the least bit gloppy or sticky and has a lovely
vanilla mint scent.  It provides a little more coverage than a typical
gloss, but doesn’t feel as “heavy” as a lipstick. It also seems
to last a little longer than my other lip glosses.  And the teeth?  I
think they actually do look whiter when I wear it. 

I’ll confess, I’m already on my second tube.  It’s
become one of those products I reach for daily, and at half the price of my
favorite department store gloss, it leaves me with plenty to smile about.