Review! Crest 3D White Luxe Glamorous White Toothpaste

With the warmer weather, I've been in the mood to play a little more with my makeup. I normally wear fairly natural makeup: mascara, blush, and brow liner are my staples, with plenty of concealer to hide my dark circles. If I'm feeling extravagant maybe I'll smudge some kohl liner around my eyes. I tend to neglect my lips, mainly because I'm often constantly snacking throughout the day and the idea of touching up my makeup after every nibble is more upkeep than I want.

Lately, though, I've been craving a poppy orange lipstick--I'm talking Maybelline Vivids Electric Orange-level of brightness. The thing with bright lips of course is that they draw attention to your mouth and teeth...what state are my pearly whites in?

Before:

Say Cheese!

Not too bad right? I had braces in high school, prior to which I had some MAJOR buckteeth going on, but thanks to an agonizing 4 years (and like 7k, thanks Mom and Dad!) they're nice and straight. There is some enamel decalcification which are the whiter spots, caused by trauma to my permanent teeth before they were fully formed. Since I'm a regular tea and coffee drinker, it stained my teeth a bit so I feel like the white discolorations are even more visible.

Of course, probably no one but me notices such things, but it's nice to feel happy with your own appearance, even the small things that no one else sees. Overall I've always felt that my teeth were a little dull and yellowed, but I've never really bothered about them enough to really do anything about it.

I *have* noticed that wearing reds and corals brings out the yellowness in them, though, so almost on a whim I picked up a tube of Crest 3D White Luxe Glamorous White toothpaste from Duane Reade for $6 (which, by the way, is a total ripoff--it's only $4 on Amazon).

What the box claims:

-Removes 90% of surface stains in 5 days
-Shines to brighten teeth in just 1 day
-Uses the same enamel-safe teeth whitening agent dentists use

I wasn't really expecting it to work, since I've used whitening toothpastes intermittently in the past without any noticeable effect. I didn't notice any change in the brightness of my teeth after the first day, so I figured it was another dud. I kept using it though, since I needed toothpaste. I've been brushing with it 1-2 times a day for about 3 minutes, for about a week. Last night I looked closer in the mirror in surprise, because...results!

After:

I'm pretty impressed that the toothpaste actually whitened my teeth noticeably, maybe 2 shades lighter! Even though I had zero expectations, this was a pleasant surprise for relatively little work and cost. I had no problems with tooth sensitivity, which has plagued me in the past.

The ingredients list contain no bleaching agents, only hydrated silica, which means that this toothpaste whitens your teeth by polishing the enamel to its natural whiteness with the abrasive silica...as you can see, it works! I'm pretty okay with that. A has been using it with great results too. It does make me wonder why all those other whitening toothpastes didn't work, though.

In conclusion:

Does this product do what it claims? YES!
Would I buy it again? Definitely yes!

Disclaimer: The product reviewed in this post was purchased by me, and all opinions are my own :)