If you’re a coffee or tea drinker like me, I’m sure you get annoyed by how badly caffeine can stain your teeth. I’ve only been drinking coffee on a daily basis for about a year now (before then I just sort of drank it sporadically), but my teeth have definitely been affected by it. It caught me off-guard the other day when I was looking in the mirror and it made me wonder what they could look like in a few years if my coffee consuming habits continue.

Since I have no intention of cutting caffeine completely out of my diet, I decided I would try out a teeth whitener. I’ve been using one of those whitening toothpastes for years now, but it hasn’t been tremendously effective. So I wanted to purchase something that’s sole purpose is to whiten teeth, thinking I would get better results. While yellowing teeth obviously don’t signify the end of the world, I’ve really wanted to get mine back to looking stain-free. I’ve been annoyed with the stains on them for quite some time, especially when wearing bright and pigmented lipsticks. I did a bit of research into several different at-home whitening treatments and, as luck would have it, I learned that Tarte released the “Pearly Girl” teeth whitening pen earlier this year.

I recently got a gift card to Sephora, so last week I went out and picked up this teeth whitening pen. I’ve been using it between two and four times each day ever since I bought it and so far I’ve had a pretty good experience. I think I’m going to do an updated before and after post in a few weeks, once I’ve used the product for a while. But for now I wanted to share my general impressions of the teeth whitener.

While I know it isn’t particularly important, I first wanted to talk about this packaging. (Please ignore my horribly painted thumbnail…lol. I don’t know why I didn’t repaint it before shooting). Tiffany blue happens to be my favorite color, so when I spotted this pen, it pretty much sealed the deal for me. Unimportant, I know, but who can resist good packaging?

Looking at qualities other than attractiveness, one way this whitener differs from ones I’ve tried way in the past (such as Crest white strips) is that it’s applied with a pen tip rather than on individual strips. I’d never tried a pen whitener before, but I was really impressed by how simple it made application. It doesn’t have to be handled as precisely as white strips, nor does it create a mess. When I’ve used white strips in the past, I’ve been irritated by how careful you have to be picking up the strips. If you mess up with white strips, even just a little bit, you’ve basically wasted the entire thing. Considering how expensive most white strips are, any mistakes you make are costly.

It’s different with the pen applicator and it’s certainly a lot more user-friendly. “Pearly Girl” is like a lipgloss or liquid lipstick for your teeth. You roll the bottom of the tube until product appears on the bristles, and then you apply it to the desired areas. It’s mess-free and very simple to work. While I’m not a big fan of this style of applicator when it comes to lip products, I think it works well for a teeth whitener. Compared to white strips, it’s the easiest thing to use. Plus, it’s good for travel or on the go.

Using the bristle applicator, you then proceed to apply the product to your front teeth. The instructions say you can use “Pearly Girl” up to four times per day. If you’re busy, you’re probably best doing it twice. Once in the morning and once at night. After you’ve applied the product, you’re supposed to wait 30 seconds before closing your mouth. Also, you can’t eat or drink anything for the following fifteen minutes. These directions really aren’t too convenient. As long as you’re not in the middle of a meal, you can pretty much continue about whatever you’re doing without having any problems. I like to use my pen while I’m taking blog photos or writing posts. It makes the time seem to go by faster and enables me to knock two things off my to-do list at once.

The whitening paste itself has a semi-clear color that becomes whiter once it’s on your teeth. It has a taste that’s both minty and medicinal. I imagine if there was a mint-flavored cough medicine, this is what it would taste like. It isn’t a particularly good taste, but it isn’t a bad one either. One thing that’s nice is that the mint leaves your mouth feeling refreshed.

As for the actual effects of the product, my teeth clearly appear less stained. My teeth were only slightly yellow to begin with, so I don’t know how well it would work for severely stained teeth, but I can definitely see the difference in my own. In the coming weeks, I think I’ll do an update either on here or on one of my social media accounts to give you a better idea of how effective “Pearly Girl” has been. But I can conclude that I’m much happier with the appearance of my teeth since I started using this product.

Overall, if you’re in search of a new teeth whitener, I would recommend giving this one a try. At $22, it’s roughly half the cost of most teeth whiteners. The pen applicator makes it both mess and hassle free. You don’t have to worry about accidental tears or smudges like you do with whitening strips. The product goes on smoothly and causes you no trouble later on. Plus, it leaves your mouth feeling fresh and minty. My teeth have improved a lot in the last week and I’m curious to see how they will look a month from now.

What’s your favorite teeth whitener? 

Sincerely,

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