by | May 12, 2014 | Beauty |
Hi Elegant Readers,
Smile Brilliant Professional Teeth Whitening
A smile gives a first impression that can say a thousand words. I have heard the cliche, “show me your pearly whites,” because stained yellow teeth are not what I want people to see when I smile. I was asked for my honest review of the Smile Brilliant teeth whiting gel system. The company asked me if I wanted to try its LED Light and Pen, so I took to them up on their offer. After trying the application only one time, it has left me all smiles. The process is very easy and can be accomplished without trips to the dentist office.
The first step is to coat your teeth with the gel in the pen. It is a twist pen that allows you to release the amount of gel that is needed for your mouth. If you need only a little amount, than only a few twists are needed. If you need more, keep twisting until the desired amount is achieved.
Smile Brilliant Gel pen
The gel does not have a taste and goes on quite smoothly. You can see my teeth are already pretty white before using the Smile Brilliant application. The application brush is ideal for areas that are more stained. You can apply additional gel to these areas without any problems. The brush get in between your teeth and in the back of your mouth with ease.
Coating my teeth with the whitening gel
After I coated my teeth with the gel, I put the mouth guards in and applied the LED Light on my teeth for 25 minutes. The guards need to be snapped together in order to get them in place when using the LED Light. This ensures that the gel is maintained on your teeth and allows the light to work effectively. I could not feel or taste the the gel in my mouth. It is a good idea to keep a towel or tissue at hand, in case any of the gel or saliva oozes out of your mouth. Doesn’t sound pretty but stating what I have learned from using the product.
My teeth are already pretty white, so it doesn’t take much to make my teeth bright and sparkling.
After photos
I put the Smile Brilliant to the real test by asking my hubby to try it. His teeth are more stained than mine and I knew if the Smile Brilliant really worked, it would be seen on his teeth. This is a picture of how his teeth looks before he used the gel.
Before teeth whitening
He followed the instructions exactly like I did. He used the LED light for 20 minutes because he thought that was long enough. And look at the after picture below, quite a difference.
After 1st application of teeth whitening gel
These are results after only one treatment. My hubby was so impressed that he will continue to use the gel and light until he gets his desired results. Smile Brilliant makes it quick and easy to use.
I give this teeth whitening gel system a thumbs up.
“Smile Brilliant Teeth Whitening gel ingredients:
Glycerin 77.1% | Carbamide Peroxide 22% | Carbomer 0.5% | Menthol 0.2% | EDTA 0.2%”
“Carbamide Peroxide is said not to cause damaging to the enamel of the teeth, sensitivity to gums may occur.” Smile Brilliant
Do not teeth whitening if you are:
– Pregnant or nursing
– Under the age of thirteen. Those under the age of 18 should have parental consent.
According to the ADA youth 13 and up are considered candidates for teeth whitening but should consult with their dentist first.
-If you have dental cavities
Teeth whitening will not alter you teeth, it will remove stains. Teeth whitening will restore natural coloring.
I think that if I did the teeth whitening treatment three days in a row my teeth could become sensitive. I would recommend trying every other day or maybe once a week. Smile Brilliant does have a gel that you can apply to your teeth if you have any sensitivity issues.
This is a great at-home product. However I believe that you should consult your dentist first to see if you qualify for teeth whitening. Teeth whitening in a dentist office can cost over $1,000. The Smile Brilliant treatment is more economically price and gives the same benefits as an professional application. That will give you something to smile about.
Smile Brilliant provided me with the products to use for this review. I was not paid to provide my personal and honest thoughts.
by | May 12, 2014 | Fitness, From the Heart, Inspirations |
People have heard it time and time again, but how many actually listen when they are told that they need to keep a closer watch on their alcohol consumption? It’s likely that many people reading this will be aware of the dangers of excessive drinking and yet it is also highly probable that they will not know exactly what constitutes ‘excessive’.
Would people, for example, be able to tell precisely how many units are in a glass of wine? Chances are that they wouldn’t if they think that they could as there are so many variants involved in such a calculation. Things such as the size of glass and the alcoholic volume of the wine must all be taken into consideration in order to accurately measure the amount of units being consumed.
Whether it is a diagram from a medical stock illustrations specialist or a photograph of the damage done to the liver, it is easy to see just how badly alcohol abuse can disrupt the performance of this vital organ. And yet so many people continue to drink excessively without even knowing that we are doing so. According to UK guidelines men should not exceed 3-4 units per day, while women should only consume a maximum of 2-3 units. This only amounts to 1.5 pints of 4% beer for men and a single pint for women per day, far less than you think.
So what can be done in order to start making a change in our drinking habits? Well, the fact that if people are reading this article, that is a great start as any knowledge that they can obtain will help to make a change in their lifestyle. However, what they can do next is far more important:
1) Calculate the intake – Finding out just how much that they are actually drinking may come as a bit of shock but that should be seen as a good thing. If it shocks, then people need to know that they need to start making a change in your drinking habits. There are numerous online alcohol calculators available that will give people their seven day intake amounts. Use this figure to find out how alcohol is affecting the body and also as a barometer for change. Once people have their current weekly figure, they will have a target to work towards lowering.
2) Monitor the intake – Now that people have their seven day intake amount, keeping track of all of the alcohol that they consume will give them an insight into whether or not they are on course to lowering consumption. It will also give them a new target to work towards breaking.
3) Lower the intake – Once people have a few weeks of statistics to work with, they can begin to consciously set themselves achievable goals if they have not already started to do so. Lower the amount of alcohol that they consume at home by switching a fridge full of beer and wine to some soft drinks instead. Make sure that they have some completely alcohol free days too, as this will give the body an opportunity to recover as it progresses to a healthier lifestyle.
Following these steps will help people become more aware of their daily, weekly and monthly alcohol consumption. If people feel as though they need further help with your drinking there are plenty of options available to you. Speak with a doctor or medical professional; they can advise and suggest how to lower the intake healthily. Stick with it and do not regret it, the time to make a change is now.
*promotional content*
by | May 10, 2014 | Music |
Hello Elegant Readers,
My Birthday weekend and birthday month of May is in full effect.
I have been to many big name concerts in my life, but nothing compared to the Summer Shed Tour that I experienced over the weekend.
The brief tour consisted of only seven venues in ten days and featured four and a half hours of music from six diverse musical acts. It was by far the loudest, most explosive, and most uplifting concert that I have attended.
Summer Shed Tour – May 2014; via tobymac.com
So far in 2014, I have attended two concerts with my hubby and our new concert cronies, Eugene and Roxanne, who invited us to the Winter Jam concert back in January. These two concerts have literally opened my eyes up to a new concert-going experience. For more on the Winter Jam concert, click HERE!
Toby Mac, of the famed trio DC Talk, organized and headlined the Summer Shed Tour, bringing together an eclectic group of rap, hip-hop, pop and heavy metal. Typically if you mix together heavy metal and hip-hop into one concert, it is a disaster waiting to happen. The styles of music, not to mention the audiences, would clash. But what makes this concert works is the fact that each of the acts are focused one mission, to spread the good news of Jesus Christ and His redemptive power. No matter the type of music, the message was the same.
The four and a half hour show included newcomers WE AS HUMAN, CAPITAL KINGS and TEDASHII; with veterans LACRAE, SKILLET and TOBY MAC. When Eugene and Roxanne invited us to this concert, my hubby was not sure if he wanted to go to a concert and we did not know four of the six acts. We had seen Lacrae at Winter Jam and we had listened Toby Mac for a while now. But looking at the ticket prices, my hubby thought, sixty dollars for a ticket was not a bad price for six musical acts. Ten dollars per act was a pretty good price. And I am glad that he made the decision to get the tickets. By getting a pre-sale password from Toby Mac’s newsletter, we were able to get tickets in the fifth row. We had never been able to sit so close to the stage. The seats were awesome!
We waited in line maybe twenty minutes and that was not bad because it was not hot and we like to people watch and get a since of what the crowd is like, Eugene and Roxanne bought the front of the line passes so they walked up to the gate and when the doors opened at a quarter to six they got right in.
The Crowd by JTWISDOM
The concert started with MC / Pastor Sammy at 6:10 p.m. introducing WE AS HUMAN and we were so close that the bass was thumping. This band is heavy metal and got the crowd pumped. We were really close so the energy was all around.
WE AS HUMAN photo by JTWISDOM
Capital Kings came to the stage after WE AS HUMAN. The music was high energy and reminded me of being on the beach with the ball floating through the crowd.
Capital Kings
Up next Tedashii, he keeps the crowd pumping with his love for Jesus.
Tedashii shared his testimony about how he lost his one year old son. This really touched me and his performance was heart-wrenching but powerful.
Tedashii
The music keep coming and it’s all good. Lacrae officially had the crowd hip hopping. He included his testimony from “I AM SECOND,” which is awesome. Christians can have fun, yes Christians can have fun. He sang some of my favorites, I can Play the Background and Faking it.
Lacrae photo by JTwisdom
The first photo below is a clip that was shown of Lacrae’s testimony from I An Second. Lacrae, Tedashi had fans come on stage for the one of the songs. Really cool!
Lacrae with Tedashii and fans
The artist just keep coming. Skillet was next and Pastor Sammy said that this group will make you melt, so get ready. He was right. He said as soon as the video comes and the music starts to get up out of your seats.
Skillet
This band is literally on fire for the Lord. I really like their sound. We could feel the heat from the flames and every beat of the drums, the bass and guitar riffs.
Skillet
Next is the one and only TobyMac. I have been listening to this dude since DC TALK so I know quite a few songs. Lets say I can sing along to practically every song.
TobyMac
This was a fun set and the main focus was Jesus. Priceless!
TobyMac
After TobyMac’s set, the crowd gained more momentum for an encore and raised their phones to beam bright lights and here comes the artist.
Summer Shed Tour Finale – “Jesus Freak”
This was four and a half hours of awesome music.
A few words from my hubby about the concert:
“I have attended some major concerts in my life: Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, REO Speedwagon, Sade, Duran Duran, Paula Abdul, to name a few. But his concert is by far the best concert that I have ever been to in my life. The sound, the message and the atmosphere left me wanting more. I will be searching out these acts to find all of their songs and albums.”
by | May 5, 2014 | Food |
Hello Elegant Reader,
I recently had the opportunity to try VeganSmart All-In-One Shake by Naturade. Naturade has been providing innovative and natural products since 1926. I really enjoy drinking shakes for breakfast or lunch and I had been looking for a smoothie that did not have any artificial flavorings, nor high amounts of sugar or fructose. Naturade is exactly what I was looking for. The VeganSmart shake is certified vegan and is naturally flavored and sweetened.
Information from the Naturade site.
VeganSmart™ All-In-One Nutritional Shake provides 20g Non-GMO protein, 6g dietary fiber, 22 vitamins & minerals, whole food complex, omega 3, probiotics and digestive enzymes.
Everything you need for optimal health in one delicious shake… And nothing you don’t! No cholesterol, zero trans fat, no egg, no dairy, soy free, gluten free, no artificial sweeteners, no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives, no acesulfame-k, no MSG.
Naturade sent me nine packets – three chocolate, three vanilla and three chai. The first packet I wanted to try was chocolate. I had the option of only adding water and drinking the shake that way. However, my hubby and I added frozen peaches, bananas and water with one whole packet and blended in our Ninja Blender. We added the extra fruit to boost the flavor even more. By adding the extra fruit and the water (about nine ounces) allowed me to get two shakes (one for me, one for my hubby) out of the one packet.
So simple, Chocolate All In One Naturade nutritional shake
This shake is delicious and good for feeling healthy.
In this picture I am drinking the vanilla VeganSmart All in One nutritional shake, with frozen blueberries, raspberries, peanut butter and water. Delicious!
I will make sure that when I finish the sample packets that Naturade provided me, I will be purchasing the shakes again. It is very impressive that the shake has so many essential vitamins and minerals. I love the fact that it is dairy, soy and gluten free, with no artificial sweeteners! One packet is only 170 calories. If you are counting your calories, this shake is a safe way for you to get the proper nutrients from a quick, on-the-go meal.
I am going to try the Chai flavor next.
Another benefit I’ve noticed is that I don’t have an after taste with this shake.
JT drinking Naturade All-In-One nutritional shake
Naturade provided these shake packets to me for free. I was not paid to provide this review. All opinions are honest and are my own. Thank you Naturade for the oppurtunity.
Check out Naturade on Twitter : @naturade
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Naturade/80018411867
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Website: www.vegansmartshake.com
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