I never expected to have a job which involved putting my face on the internet. To this day I'm not entirely sure why I started the blog but it was for anything but any kind of "fame." I'm very aware that I'm a small fish in the pond when it comes to blogging but the decision to "reveal" myself from anonymity wasn't an easy one. It doesn't matter whether 1 person sees a photo, or a million - instead it's the concept of just having the photo out on the World Wide Web. It took 3 friends, one being Briony and a lot of gin to get me to pose for it.

I, like most girls have hang ups and have struggled with my shape and body for various reasons at various times.  One thing I've always had an issue with is the colour of my teeth. They're by no means awful but I wanted them to be white without question (or camera setting). I'd tried at-home whitening kits before (including the various concoctions you can buy in the US) and one professional course but they had never given the kind of results I was hoping for.

So when Enlighten got in touch I was initially dubious, but at the same time desperate for it to work. I went to a dental practice (the word "practice" freaks me out - surely they shouldn't need to practice, they train for years!?) in St John's Wood near me (this one) and had moulds made to make my dental trays and two weeks later went back to collect them. They also coated my teeth with a protector to stop enamel erosion. In truth having half a tonne of pink goo shoved in your mouth whilst it's held open with dental pliers wasn't a top 10 life moment, but the trays that came back fitted me perfectly and (best news of all) were completely unnoticeable when I put them in...

Enlighten recommended I put the low-dose gel whitening concentrate into the trays each night for a week, and then a slightly higher dose for a further week. I followed this for 10 days and by then my teeth were super white, so stopped. I've used the remaining gel to act as a top up once a fortnight to make sure the results stay. I did get some sensitivity for a couple of days, so didn't use the gels one night and was fine by the next day... You could most definitely wear them during the day if you needed/wanted to - they trays are transparent and more or less invisible - bar speaking with a very slight lisp.

I've realised that I've missed an enormous point here; I am ecstatic with the results. You have no idea how lovely it is for me not to have to worry about my teeth anymore. I showed my teeth on my Instagram here and had a surge of you ask for details (so apologies for the delay with this). It made me realise how many of us worry about this but on the flip side, how easy it is to fix.

Last weekend I was away with a big group of friends and I didn't need to worry when other people took photos of us all together, whereas before I'd close my mouth or instantly have fear about my teeth looking bad compared to others. They aren't "Hollywood" white either, so it looks totally natural. 

This was one of the best projects I've worked on with the blog (on a personal level) and something I will keep up for life. Results last around 2 years according to the dentist, but if you continue to "top up" with the gels once every few months it can last a lifetime. You can also buy a whitening toothpaste from Enlighten here which prolongs results...