Sisters, Not Twins

A lot of women ask me what the difference is between our colour correcting tinted moisturizer (CCTM) and our MakeSense Foundations. Why would you want one over the other? I love both of these products and I utilize them in different ways. It all depends on what I’m doing that day and what kind of coverage I need. Some women love a natural look whereas some women prefer full coverage.

On an everyday basis, I love our CCTM. Not only does it moisturize your skin, it actually helps balance out the redness on your face (which I have a lot of) and feels absolutely weightless. On top of that, it helps decrease sun and age spots. It honestly feels like I’m wearing nothing at all, which I love for my more casual days, and I can apply this with my fingers. It’s so quick and easy to apply. Every day I work out in a warehouse managing shipping, so most of the time I don’t want to feel like I’m wearing makeup at all. I want to look polished, but still natural as I run around and organize paperwork with skids. Freckles still poke through, which I love some days. I’m embracing the freckles!

When I want a little more coverage and to look like I have a flawless complexion, I will reach towards our MakeSense Foundation. This stuff is amazing! I apply it with a brush, however you can also use a sponge or even your fingers if you wish. It goes on so well and blends like a dream. Our MakeSense Foundation is water-resistant and lasts on me all day long. Many foundations will break down on me at the 5 hour mark (which is inconvenient for those of us with a 9-5 job!) and will look terrible by noon hour. This foundation lasts until I decide to wash it off. Below shows a photo of me waking up after a fun night out, when I fell asleep without washing my face first (this is a big no-no! You should always wash your face before bed time). But our cosmetics are jam packed with our incredible SeneGence skincare, so although it’s not great to sleep in your makeup, my skin did receive some anti-aging benefits!

               

Full Disclosure: This was after a night of heavy 

drinking, dancing, sweating, and eating.

This foundation also has our mechanical shield in it which is equivalent to an SPF 15! If you top it over our Day Time Moisturizer, that shield bumps up to the equivalent of an SPF 30!!!! I love our makeup and skincare. These babies also colour adjust to adapt to your skins pigmentation. That technology in a foundation is so cool and very much needed. That means that there is minimal stress when picking a shade.

So whether you’re looking for lightweight and natural, or full coverage flawlessness, we have you covered! Both will give you a different look, but one of these is right for you. Hey, maybe even both.

Until next time, good night my friends.

Xo

CherryTrish

Volcanic Bliss

People have asked me over the years if it really is important to exfoliate your skin. The answer is always YES! Whether it is your body or your face, exfoliating your skin is crucial because it sluffs off old, dry, flakey skin and exposes the youthful, radiant, healthy cells that give us the sexy glow we all crave. However, when choosing an exfoliator, there are some things to think about.

Some exfoliators can be way too harsh on your skin and actually end up causing more damage than benefits. If the exfoliating particles are too large and too sharp, you can actually tear your skin and cause infection. That is NOT the result we are ever looking for. People think that they require an abrasive exfoliator to see any results. This definitely is not the case.

One of the most incredible, natural exfoliators on the planet is volcanic ash. Not only is it a very fine particle, it does more than just sluff off the dead cells. The Vanuatu volcanic ash that is used in SeneGence products also has anti-bacterial qualities which makes it great to help with skin rashes, blemishes, eczema, psoriasis, acne, and yes, even cellulite and stretchmarks (heck yah!!!!). This volcanic ash is also high in sulphur which is an active mineral ingredient to help your body resist bacteria AND also destroy it. What an awesome ingredient this is that makes a HUGE difference in your skin!

When it comes to looking after your skin, all over your body from your head to your toes, you really should be taking advantage of the natural wonders of the world. Look into ingredients that people have been using for centuries and embrace them. I love finding the skincare secrets of the world and experiencing them myself. When I was able to discover products with Vanuatu volcanic ash as a main ingredient, I was blown away and I will definitely be using these for years to come. My skin is healthy and glowing, smooth and radiant. I use the Body Scrub with Vanuatu volcanic ash before I self-tan (to help get the streak free glow I love) and the Polishing Exfoliator twice a week to keep the dead cells off so my skincare can treat the healthy cells and penetrate deep to correct any damaged ones. Both of these products (as well as the Facial Resurfacer) also include the amazing SenePlex Complex! In a nutshell, this patented formula works to rejuvenate your cells 23.3% faster. That means that plumper, healthier cells are coming to the surface quicker. This is a GAME CHANGER in your skincare regime.

Overall, understanding your skin care ingredients are crucial to ensure that your skin is getting the pampering it needs so that you are looking your best at all times. Utilizing some of nature’s hidden secrets is also a great way to care for your skin and begin to understand other cultures from around the world. To me… it’s a win-win!

Until next time, goodnight my friends!

Xo
CherryTrish

No Make-Up, Make-Up!

As much as I love glam, rock star make-up, a natural makeup look is more my go-to. It’s also something that a lot of women want for day to day. When I do makeup demos on my clients, a lot of them ask for a “natural look that looks like me… only better”. I completely understand that. Women are learning to embrace their natural beauty and I am completely living for it! I love how women want to let their freckles show or maybe a memorable scar. Women are really embracing their unique and imperfect images and I love how powerful it is! I, too, am embracing my natural beauty and love showing people who I am.

Sometimes women just want to look like themselves, only a little more polished. People always ask me how they can achieve a natural look, but still look flawless. The main thing you want to do to achieve the no make-up, make-up look is to even out your skin tone. If you want a true natural look, you will still have your freckles and unique marks to show through, but you’ll most likely want to even out any redness or discolouration on your skin tone. Using something like a tinted moisturizer is a great way to get the sheer coverage you desire, yet balancing out any uneven tones in your skin. I am obsessed with our Color Correcting Tinted Moisturizer (CCTM) and wear it every, single day. I only wear foundation to events and special occasions now (when I want to look perfected and glam). I have a lot of redness in my face. My cheeks, around my nose, my chin and even my forehead are covered with redness throughout. But when using the CCTM, it helps balance everything to turn my face into the perfect, canvas for anything else I’d like to add on top of that. I am only wearing three products in the photo below, which means this face was quick, easy and looks like I’m wearing nothing at all!

*Color Correcting Tinted Moisturizer – Light

*First Love LipSense with Glossy Gloss

*Eyebrow Pencil to fill in any sparse areas

I wasn’t even wearing mascara this day (which is absolutely unheard of for me) but I loved this look! To me, this really is what no make-up, make-up is all about. Do you want some product recommendations on helping to recreate this natural look?

~ Tinted Moisturizer (or even mixing a little bit of your Original MakeSense Foundation with your Daytime Moisturizer to create your own CCTM in a pinch!)
~ Neutral LipSense Colour (shade suggestions – First Love, Apple Cider, Nude, Bella)
~ LashSense mascara (Black-Brown or Black colour)
~ BrowSense or an eyebrow pencil to fill in any uneven areas

~ ShadowSense waterproof, crease proof cream to powder pigments

These are my favourite products to use every day. ShadowSense is marketed as an eyeshadow, but I love using it for everything on my face. Eyeshadow, eye primer, eye liner, eye brows, blush, bronzer, highlight... everything! I love using colours like Moca Java, Mulberry, Sandstone Pearl, and Candlelight to help cover my redness and veins on my eyelids. They’re a great, versatile product to use on glam days or no makeup days. I am OBSESSED (as most of you already know)!

I love my no make-up, make-up days. I wear this look more than any other! I am truly embracing all of my natural beauty, and enjoying every second of it! I hope you are too!

Until next time, goodnight my friends.

Xo
CherryTrish

Miracles Happen When You're Fast Asleep

There’s a lot of truth behind this statement. I have just spent the last week battling one heck of a virus. My favourite defense? Sleep! I love sleep normally, but when I’m feeling worse for wear there is nothing like a full on, 10 hour, coma-like sleep. You can wake up feeling like a million bucks! Do you also remember your mother and your doctor saying “go home and rest” whenever you were sick or injured? It’s a real thing!

Did you know that when you’re asleep is when your body’s cells repair themselves? That’s why whenever you’re not 100% rest is really important. Your cells will fight off bacteria, heal infections and beat those not-so-perfect cells into oblivion! It wasn’t until I understood this that I understood why a night cream is really beneficial for you. I was always the girl who would only use one cream. One for the day time and the same one for at night. Why invest in two creams (the night cream being the more expensive generally) when the day cream does the same thing? In reality… they are very different.

A day cream usually has a thinner consistency compared to the night cream, as it is generally worn under makeup, and can have some sun protection in it (hopefully a mechanical shield as opposed to chemical, eek!). Night cream is the gold mine. Your night cream is filled with all of the goodness of the day cream, only at a much higher potency. This works in conjunction with your skincare routine and amplifies the results. While you’re asleep, your cells will take all of the vitamins and minerals in your night cream and help repair those cells on your face, neck and décolleté. Although night creams generally don’t have any sun protection, as you really wouldn’t need it at night time, it is jam packed full of all the ingredients you skin requires in order to help restore your skin to being the most healthy, youthful, radiant skin that you could possibly have. I have found how essential having a night cream is in any persons beauty regime, especially when anti-aging is a concern for you.

Not only is our night cream filled with SenePlex Complex, which is a kinetic enzyme that increases cellular renewal, but it’s also loaded with ingredients like Algae Extract, which hydrates skin and helps enhance skins ability to repair itself, and also Yeast Extract, which aids in formation of new healthy tissues and promotes new cell formation. This baby works hard while you’re dreaming of big things!

So, now I’m a true believe in the power of a night cream. I won’t go back now! My skin has seen a huge improvement and I think it’s partially due to the impact of benefits my skin see’s while I’m fast asleep. The potency of the night cream is key to improve your skins health and appearance. I’m sold for life!

Until next time, goodnight my friends!

Xo
CherryTrish

Topher's Beard & Soap Co. ~ Bath Bombs & Bubble Bars

I am a very big fan of baths. There is nothing like laying back and letting hot water soak into a tired, aching body. When Topher asked me to test out some of his bath products, I was pumped. I live for baths and anything to make that experience better.... I'm all for it!

I had never used a bubble bar before. I love bubble baths, but I never understood how this ball could turn into the mountain of bubbles I crave. I was skeptical on this, but I very quickly became a fan. The idea of having a bar instead of a liquid inside packaging that will just be thrown away, intrigued me. I like the idea of minimal waste. Just rubbing this bar under running water for a few moments will quickly fill your tub with any amount of bubbles you desire. The longer it runs under the water, the more bubbles you will have. This bar has also lasted me quite a while. I actually haven't finished it yet and I've had three baths so far. These should be available on their website in the spring, but they are currently available at select retailers and also through them directly. These are only $5 (CDN) each and worth every single penny. I will be repurchasing these to keep in my collection. You never know when you need bubbles!

I was also fortunate enough to try a few of their bath bombs. At a first glance they are a bit smaller than the ones you might be used to, but they are more affordable as well. At $3 (CDN) each or 4 for $10, you can't go wrong! I was concerned that the slightly smaller size would affect how they would perform, however they still fizzed and completely filled my bath with natural ingredients that my skin could soak in. I do have some videos on my instagram showing these bombs in action. For you men out there, they now have bath grenades which have some of their most popular beard bomb scents. I know some of you men out there love a good, hot bath. Now you'll have a better excuse to enjoy them! I highly recommend these bath bombs and these too will be repurchased. I enjoy hot baths a couple times per week, so having items like this and the bubble bars on hand are very necessary... aren't they? These, too, are not available quite yet on the website, but are available at selected retailers and through Topher directly. They are definitely worth a try.

Topher's Beard and Soap Co. has many products on their website, even something for your fur baby! They are local, natural, and a lot of products are even vegan. If you are interested in checking out the products that they offer, their website and social media information is listed below. They are available in many stores across Canada and even a couple in the US. You can find a full list of retailers on their website, along with the products that each one carries. It is best to contact the individual retailer to confirm stock quantities. Of course, you are always welcome to shop online! They will ship worldwide as well (for my international friends!).

Topher's Beard and Soap Co.

http://www.tophersbeardco.com/

Instagram - @tophersbeardco

Facebook - Topher's Beard & Soap Company

Twitter - @tophersbeardco

As always, you guys can find me on Instagram @cherrytrish or on Twitter @cherrytrish17. I also do that SnapChat thing, which is CherryTrish. Let me know if you have tried anything from this company or are interested in trying anything. Did you enjoy these products as much as I did? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

And until next time, goodnight my friends!

Topher's Beard and Soap Co. ~ Dead Sea Spa Products

Over the past few weeks I have been testing out some items from Topher's Beard and Soap Co. They are a local company that started with beard care in 2015, but have expanded into bath products as well. They have a Dead Sea Spa Line which includes Detoxifying Dead Sea Bath Salts, Dead Sea Salt & Shea Butter Scrub, and a Dead Sea Mud Mask. I have been testing out the scrub and mud mask over the past couple of weeks.

Dead Sea Salt & Shea Butter Scrub (6oz $12 CDN)

Dead Sea Mud Mask (8oz $22 CDN)

I started with the mud mask, which can be used on the face and body. I have combination skin, which leans more dry in the winter and oilier in the summer. I do also have very large pores with blackheads, so mud masks are usually something I lean towards generally. I was very surprised at how fine the particles were in the mud and how easily the mud spread across my face. I was quickly able to apply a thin, even layer. Immediately you could feel the mask start to work it's magic, but at no point did it ever burn or feel uncomfortable. Within fifteen minutes the mask was totally dry and ready to be removed. The part about mud masks that I really dread is removing them. It usually consists of scrubbing and pulling at your skin, which is NEVER a good idea. This mask came off so easily with warm water. There was no harsh rubbing required. Once the mask was removed my skin felt smooth, soft, and my pores visibly smaller. I will say that after the first use, there was a dry patch on my nose, however when I followed up with my night cream, everything was fine. I also relate that to the season we are in. After the second and third use there were no dry patches, my pore size has reduced dramatically and my overall skin tone has improved. I usually battle redness, which nothing has ever helped, but this mask has been able to reduce that as well. Compared to the L'Oreal mask I reviewed a few weeks back, this one is much more effective and is actually cheaper per oz (L'Oreal is around $15 CDN/1.7oz and this mask sells for $22/8oz). When you're comparing on the other end of the scale, there is GlamGlow SuperMud Treatment. This is a mask that is very hyped up in the beauty community that I did try a few months back and it was nice, but I do find better results with the Dead Sea Mud Mask. GlamGlow is also $79 for only 1.7oz!! Overall, I would highly recommend this mud mask for anyone looking for a pore purifying, skin smoothing result. I think that anyone could use this mask, however if you have very dry skin I would follow up with a moisturizer (which you should do anyways). I was so impressed that I will be repurchasing this mask in the future.

I did also try out the Dead Sea Salt & Shea Butter Scrub. When I saw how large the granules were, I immediately lowered my expectations as I thought that either a) the granules would be too harsh for my sensitive skin, or b) they wouldn't do much as they would be too large to exfoliate properly. I tried this product out on my arms and legs as I have dry skin all over and "alligator skin" on my elbows. As soon as I rubbed the salt over my skin I could feel an instant improvement to the texture. By lightly rubbing granules over my elbows, I was able to penetrate the "alligator skin" and moisturize the layers underneath. Within second my body was able to absorb the natural oils and sluff off the dead, hard skin. I then rinsed the area with water and I couldn't believe the results. I did not apply moisturizer after as I wanted to get the full effect of the oils. After 24hrs, my elbows did have some dryness, however that is a drastic improvement to the "alligator skin" that they were the previous night, and this was after only one use! My arms and legs also still felt just as moisturized, soft, smooth, and healthy as they had the night before when I rinsed the product off. I am very impressed with this product and the effect it has had on my winter skin. I highly recommend this for anyone in the winter months, especially those with very dry skin all year round. I believe this product will become your best friend. However, I will say that you do need to be careful when using this product in the bathtub/shower as the oils will make it slippery. I always have to give Will the heads up when I use this so that he uses extra caution when he goes in to bathe after me.

Overall, these two products were very impressive, especially the Dead Sea Mud Mask. If you are only wanting to try one item from Topher's Beard and Soap Co. first, I would recommend that, especially if you have oily skin. If you are on the drier side, try the Dead Sea Salt & Shea Butter Scrub. I am confident that you will be impressed!

Topher's Beard and Soap Co. has many products on their website, even something for your fur baby! They are local, natural, and a lot of products are even vegan. If you are interested in checking out the products that they offer, their website and social media information is listed below. They are available in many stores across Canada and even a couple in the US. You can find a full list of retailers on their website, along with the products that each one carries. It is best to contact the individual retailer to confirm stock quantities. Of course, you are always welcome to shop online! They will ship worldwide as well (for my international friends!).

Topher's Beard and Soap Co.

http://www.tophersbeardco.com/

Instagram - @tophersbeardco

Facebook - Topher's Beard & Soap Company

Twitter - @tophersbeardco

As always, you guys can find me on Instagram @cherrytrish or on Twitter @cherrytrish17. I also do that SnapChat thing, which is CherryTrish. Let me know if you have tried anything from this company or are interested in trying anything. Did you enjoy these products as much as I did? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

And until next time, goodnight my friends!

WunderBrow.... Lasts for Days???

The first time I had heard of this, Tati (@GlamLifeGuru) was reviewing it for her channel. She gave it really good reviews! I have always loved exploring new ways to complete my brows, so I was intrigued. She had mentioned buying it online and I'm always skeptical on buying things through websites I'm not well aware of. When I went to look into the Morphe items at Showcase here in Canada, I was pleasantly surprised to see this there as well. I got it on sale for $25 (CDN) regularly $35 (CDN). I grabbed it and figured I would try it out for you guys!  

This product claims to create the "perfect eyebrows that last for days". It also says it takes "less than two minutes" and it will "last for days". If these claims were true, it would be a miracle! I don't mind going without makeup, but I find that my eyebrows have a little sparseness to them. Having something like this that is water resistant on a vacation would be incredible.

The WunderBrow came with the product, a spoolie, and instructions. The shade I purchased was blonde. I also wasn't sure about the applicator, so I purchase a dual ended ELF brush (spoolie/angled brush) for $3 (CDN) as I had thought it might be easier for a novice like me.

I have been testing this out for a few weeks now. The applicator the WunderBrow comes with is very difficult to use. It's basically a brush, similar to a small paint brush. I don't understand how they would choose that applicator for this product, but when I use the ELF brush it works wonderfully! First, I spoolie my brows in the general direction that I want them to lay. I have been loving fuller, more natural looking brows lately. I start by lining the base of my brow with WunderBrow using the ELF angled brush. After that, I flick up to blend in with my natural hairs and diffuse the harsh line. Using the pointed end of the brush, I start to create hair like strokes upward and outward. This helps create fuller and more natural looking brows. Using a spoolie, brush the product through to ensure there are no clumps. This will help your eyebrows seem more authentic. If need be, go back through filling in the sparse areas.

 This is a photo of myself (right) and my friend, 

Jackie, at her baby shower. I am rocking 

the WunderBrow here.

Now for the claims... I do believe this product wears for a long period of time. It will only come off when I go to take it off. I believe that I could go swimming or go to the gym and feel confident that my eyebrows would be in tact (at least for the most part). I don't believe it lasts for days, unless you just refuse to wash your face which I find a little unrealistic. This comes off fairly well when using a make-up wipe (as I usually do first) and then the remainder comes off when I use my face wash. You will need to reapply (or at least touch up) the next day. Also, I think that if you're an eyebrow pro you could get great eyebrows within two minutes. I, however, am not so it does take me longer than the claimed time.

Do I think this is a good product? Yes. I think that this is something I will continue to use on days when I have a little more time to get ready. During the week, I do a basic face of makeup and I use something like Benefit Gimme Brow to just add a little volume to my sparse brows. I don't generally have time of creams or pomades.

Would I repurchase this? Yes. I think when I run out of this I will repurchase. I think it's the best eyebrow product that I have used thus far and would be my vacation buddy if there were a beach or swimming pool involved. I really enjoy that it looks so natural, I could even wear it on days that I don't wear much makeup. That is what really makes it travel bag friendly. If I go to a beach, I want to wear SPF moisturizer, waterproof mascara, tinted lip balm, and this.

What are your thoughts? Have you tried this before? Did you enjoy it as much as I did? What did or didn't you like about it? LET ME KNOW! I'd love to find out more about the eyebrow products you're loving, especially for vacationing! Tweet me @cherrytrish17! Or, you can find me on Instagram @cherrytrish!

Until next time, goodnight my friends.

Drugstore Face Mask.... is it better to splurge?

First of all, I want to apologize for being absent for the past few weeks. Between Christmas and New Years I got hit with a cold that morphed itself into a flu virus of epic proportions. I am just starting to feel like myself again, so I knew it was time to get back at it. Time to play guinea pig!

One of my goals with this blog is to try things out and give my unfiltered thoughts so that you guys (my friends) don't waste your money on things. It's so hard to to know the honest reviews of people on the internet, because there are so many sponsorships (both announced and hidden) that can alter how someone presents something. I will not do that. I'm hoping that you guys can look to me to find out the truth on how a product performs for me. As always, if you guys have any questions about products, please feel free to ask me via Instagram, Twitter or even as a comment here! I would love to help in any way that I can. This is my passion!

Now, onto the review.

Last night I tried out the L'Oreal Pure-Clay Mask, Exfoliating & Pore Refining. This is the one with the orange coloured clay. If you didn't know, I have the largest pores I have ever seen. I'm not saying this to be overly critical of myself, I'm saying this as it is an absolute fact. Anything that says "pore refining" or "pore minimizing" always gets my attention. They also have a green mask that is "Purifying & Mattifying" and also a black one that is "Energizing & Brightening". Everywhere I looked people were talking about how much they enjoyed the "Energizing & Brightening" mask and how it was a dupe for the GlamGlow masks. If that is something that you think would benefit your skin and you pick it up to try, let me know what your thoughts are on it! I moreso needed the pore shrinking variety which is why I swayed the way I did. Plus, I hadn't heard anything on it.... good or bad.

First, let's look into the claims that this product has. It is said to:

          ~ Unclog and tighten pores
          ~ Exfoliate dead skin cells and smooth skins texture
          ~ Draw out build-up of impurities, dirt and pollution
          ~ Refresh skin and allow it to breathe

Not only that, but it claims visible results IMMEDIATELY. These claims include:

          ~ Skin texture looks refined and smoother
          ~ Pores are visibly minimized
          ~ Dead skin cells, dirt and oil feel removed from skin

This mask was pretty simple. Apply a thin layer to your face, avoiding the eye and mouth area. Let sit for ten to fifteen minutes. Rinse off using circular motions to help exfoliate skin. Applying it was very easy, it has a really nice texture that isn't difficult to apply to the face. To me, it felt almost whipped with fine particles for exfoliating. It didn't burn or tingle at all, which was great! It was very comfortable.

I let it sit for the full fifteen minutes and began to wash it off. I will say that, because of the soft texture, it wasn't very difficult to wash off. One thing I dislike about most clay masks is that it takes you twenty minutes of scrubbing and harming your skin in order to get everything off. I don't like to use anything too harsh on my face and cause any damage.

Now, the results.... my skin did feel a little bit smoother and cleaner than before the mask, however my pores didn't look any smaller. I was slightly disappointed as my main goal was to minimize the appearance of pores, at least a little bit. My skin does feel like it can breathe a bit better, which was great when it came time to using my night cream. I felt like it really was able to penetrate the skin and get the layers nourished.

Would I use this again? Yes. I will definitely use this face mask until I use it up. It did make a slight difference in my skin and made it much easier for my night cream to apply. I did also notice that my makeup went on nicer today as well, however these results are typical of many other exfoliating face masks I have tried.

Would I repurchase? Most likely not. Again, these results are pretty typical to most other exfoliating face mask I have used. If I were to recommend a drugstore face mask that exfoliates AND shrinks pores, it would be the Black Sugar face mask by Freeman. You can get it at Walmart for around $3 (CDN) and it is amazing. This L'Oreal face mask was $13 (CDN) and that was even on SALE! Unfortunately, this didn't do enough to justify a repurchase. I may look into the "Energizing and Brightening" one as there is a lot of hype around that formula.

If you guys want me to give one of the other two a chance and review it on my blog, let me know! I would love to try any products you guys are curious about. Anything I can do to help save you money, I am down for. Speaking of which.... have you thought of any Pintrest beauty hacks you want me to try? Leave me a comment down below and I would be happy to look into it!

I hope this review has been helpful for you. I'm always up for trying new products or answering any questions that you have. You can reach me on Instagram @cherrytrish or Twitter @cherrytrish17 anytime!

So, until next time, goodnight my friends!

Charcoal to Whiten Teeth?

This is something I had seen floating around Pintrest and Instagram for quite a while now. But, with most things you find on social media, you have no real idea on who you can actually trust. Who's being sponsored? Who's lying? Who even cares, really? I decided to be brave and actually try something I had seen online. Everyone wants white teeth, but not everyone has hundreds of dollars to get them professionally whitened. Hell, I was hesitant to spend $60 on a whitening kit from my local drugstore. I decided to try this first. I purchased a bottle of Activated Charcoal from my local Shoppers Drug Mart. 90 capsules for only $9.99 (CDN$). I could try something for ten bucks. If it didn't work as a teeth whitening product, it is known to be very good for upset tummies. So really... I had nothing to lose.

It's really a simple process and you're done in ten minutes. Personally, I use a second toothbrush for this. You could use your everyday toothbrush, but it turns the bristles black. I also like to rinse my mouth with cold water first. Brushing your teeth with charcoal is a very dry activity, so I find the quick pre-rinse to really help move the product around just enough.

First, open up a capsule of activated charcoal. Be careful because black powder will get everywhere (and I mean EVERYWHERE). I like to do this with my toothbrush resting in the bowl of my sink and I open the capsule above it. Shake as much of the product as you can onto the bristles of your toothbrush. Be advised not to get the charcoal wet as you want it dry to brush into your teeth.

Slowly and carefully move the brush into your mouth and begin to brush your teeth as you normally would. Move the charcoal into your teeth for a minute or two and be sure to cover all teeth with the charcoal, especially at the front. That is where everyone will seem them gleaming! Be warned that your first instinct will be to either spit the powder out, cough, or swallow the powder you have as it becomes a liquid. Resist doing this as the charcoal needs to sit for about five minutes. This is the time you catch up on SnapChat stories, scroll Instagram, or read some Tweets. Your mouth will look a little scary, but I promise you it will not stay like this.

After five minutes, rinse your mouth out with water multiple times until the water runs clear. You may notice a few particles of charcoal left over. Now, just brush your teeth as you normally would with toothpaste.

This process won't dramatically whiten your teeth from yellow to white in one sitting, but I do believe it gets them a few shades whiter. I like to do this before big events such as holidays, weddings, etc. Below I have a photo of the before and after from doing this tonight. Note that these photos were taken within ten minutes of each other, in the same bathroom with the same lighting. I tried very hard to get the same angle as well to keep the results true.

BEFORE

AFTER

Would I recommend this? Sure, I would. I already have to numerous people in my life. I've actually provided them with the charcoal, too. I mean, I do have 90 capsules. I wouldn't do this process every single night. I believe once a week should do the trick!

Hopefully this helps you to decide whether or not it's something you want to try. I really like it. It's easy, cost effective, and it works.

Do you have any other hacks you want me to try? Let me know! As always, you can find me on Twitter @cherrytrish17 or Instagram @cherrytrish. 

Until next time, goodnight my friends!