My Take on Elizabeth Arden Visible Whitening Line

As of this moment and to help my skin get Stellar-ready (at least the skin on my face), I am using Elizabeth Arden's Visible Whitening skincare line, the newest breakthrough regimen-based skincare for whiter and brighter skin, which is already in all Elizabeth Arden counters here in Manila now. For me, who tans and swims and walks around Ortigas and Fort at high noon from errands, this helps in evening my skin tone. I really wouldn't want to call it whitening that I'll be like part of the cast of Twilight. Realistically speaking, the fairest I can go is just up to the skin on my inner arm. It's more of evening up the skin and making it look brighter and better, even without makeup.

Elizabeth Arden is a brand I'm familiar with. I've been a recipient of their makeup GWPs from relatives who would give them as gifts when I started using makeup. Also, I'm a fan of the Green Tea fragrances and I always recommend it to clients and friends who want a light, fresh, and clean scent. Aside from their familiar favorite fragrances Green Tea, Pretty, Pretty Hot, 5th Avenue, and Red Door, they are also known for skin care and even including skin care in their makeup products, such as ceramide lipsticks.

The Visible Whitening skincare line controls melanin production (melanin is what is responsible for those dark spots we get from ageing and lifestyle) while enhancing the skin's ability to reflect light. It's got licorice root, vitamin C derivatives, and SpectraBright to help control melanin production. For the instant effect of brightening like we're naturally flawless like that, pearl powder, mica, silicone, and pigment plus - get this - diamond powder reflects light giving that instant radiance boost. With or without makeup, we've got glowing skin. Glowing not like a discoball but glowing like flawless glowing.

There's a whole lot of products on this range but I will just focus on a few products, which caught my fancy. The packaging is quite pretty too right? True to the diamond powder in it.

Visible Whitening Smoothing Cleanser Php2,400 (125 mL)

Horray for this cleanser being mildly-scented and non-drying. I like how clean my skin feels without it feeling cracked and dry. I haven't tried using this to clean my sponges but a few extra drops of this on my sponge would be great.

Visible Whitening Illuminating Eye Serum Php 2,950 (15 mL)

The eye serum is light enough for the delicate, soft skin around the eyes. It also decreases puffiness and brightens undereyes. It also moisturizes the skin around the eyes for concealer to glide on so much better without cracking or going creepey. The applicator does remind you of a Star Trek gadget right? It can be used to help apply the product on the skin while giving a cooling, comforting sensation.

Visible Whitening Melanin Control Night Capsules Php 4,950 (50 capsules)

These capsules are to be used during the night, after cleansing and toning and before moisturizer. It's actually more of a treatment too, to give the skin the TLC it needs. One capsule actually holds more than enough product for the face. You can actually maximize the capsule's contents on the neck and trouble areas like elbows, knees, underarms, and back-of-knees.

Visible Whitening Smooth and Brighten Emulsion  Php 3,850 (100 mL)

This emulsion is my day and night moisturizer, and with this summer's heat, has a light and easily absorbed consistency that doesn't irritate my pores, skin, or nerves during the weather where I forgo anything that seems to suffocate me. It's just quite hard to take this with me though during travels as the pump bottle has no "lock" function but maybe what I can do for travels is to pump a small amount in a travel-size container or something.

Not to worry for our ladies who love our naturally warm sunkissed glow, with 2 weeks of usage, the skin on my face and neck isn't significantly whiter than the rest of my body. It just looks more even and smoother. I also noticed a bit of reflective particles on the emulsion at the back of my hand too. They aren't chunky like glitter but they aid in diffusing light giving the skin a more radiant appearance.

Another mentionable is the BB Cream, which is available in two shades (1 and 2) and transparent. For those who love BB cream effect on their friends but can't find that one suitable for their own skin tone might be glad to know the existence finally of a transparent BB cream, which is great for all skin tones.

Ladies and gentlemen may start using this regimen at the age of 21, and would be recommended for anyone who would want to keep their radiant glow. I've tried this also on clients and even in flash photography, they didn't leave a grayish cast. I can recommend the emulsion, eye serum, toner, to be used on brides for weddings (for weddings we might need to skip the BB cream though, because that may reflect in flash photography).

Whiter Teeth Right Now

Achieving pearly whites (that are white-white) are one of our beauty wants. I mean of course, it could be an asset to smile. There's even an editing function to achieve whiter teeth in photographs. I remember this episode in FRIENDS where Ross Geller (i.e. David Schwimmer's character) bleached his teeth by leaving the whitening strips on his teeth a tad longer than the directions state. Here's a screenshot of the episode for your memory.

Oh no Ross! She has black light! And your teeth are really, really white. Omigod it's scary!

Of course we don't want that right? We want a moderate and beautiful beauty queen white for our choppers. The usual remedy for this is either a whitening toothpaste which take weeks to show results or an in-office dental bleaching which strips the tooth surface and could cause the teeth to be sensitive. Not to mention it's quite expensive.

While at the grocery, I spotted a new kind of Close-Up Toothpaste which, get this, promises white teeth right after you use it. I thought, why not give this a try? I'm a Close-Up consumer I did use it, but I didn't quite see much results in the whitening department. Yet I felt that the tooth surface was smoother than usual and there's less plaque buildup with all the food I eat. Okay, maybe I wasn't educated with the product much.

Anyway, I think I found my answer when I received an invitation to an intimate lunch at the Peninsula with the people behind Close-Up's new product, Close-Up White Now (rhymes with "right now") to answer our questions. It was a good thing that my schedule cleared up that day and I was able to attend the event.

After lunch (I just love the Vietnamese Spring Rolls), we were presented the product. Before that, we all had our pictures taken beforehand by a photographer, to show how our teeth looked before using Close-Up White Now. I did mention that I used the product before and I purchased it before the event. I said too that when I spitted out the foam, it was a deep blue color instead of the usual white with a tinge of the toothpaste's original color.

You know what that was? It was actually the Blue Foam Technology, a patented technology. Instead of using bleaches or abrasives which slough off the surface of the tooth weaknening it, the blue coats the tooth surface canceling out the yellowness. It's the same principle as using concealer to cover a blemish or pimple. Think the desaturation function in photo editing except it's in a toothpaste tube. So in other words, the instant whitening is actually a result of the blue film. It's like makeup on the teeth.

However, don't get me wrong. The blue stain is perfectly safe on the teeth, even on children. It does more than "put makeup" on the teeth though. Close Up White Now also contains a conventional cleaning system that also cleans teeth. So, in other words, you get the instant whitening plus the benefits of the toothpaste. Close Up White Now is also safe to use on veneers and false teeth as well. We were told however, that this product could stain clothes (and toothbrushes too, but staining the toothbrush with a blue tint is okay) so take the necessary precautions so we don't end up with a blue glop on our white shirts.

We were invited to try out the product after our very yummy meal. Before that, I was told to dispense a full amount on the toothbrush (a bit more than pea-sized for adults, even though I'm a crazy adult. :P) and brush on for a good 2 minutes (note that I was timed during the process) before spitting out the product and rinsing our mouths. After brushing our teeth, we had our pictures taken and the photographer showed us the difference. I guess that's why I didn't see much of an effect first when I tried it at home. I didn't brush for 2 minutes (think two Happy Birthday Songs).

So what's my take? I like the minty flavor. I personally prefer gel toothpastes than the opaque kind since the flavor's stronger. After two minutes of brushing, I was able to notice a difference that my teeth were whiter. Take note too that I used pink lipstick for the second photo. It was a warmer pink, and it's supposed to make my teeth look more yellow than my former blue-red lipstick, but I noticed it was whiter.

Here's the best part. Sometimes teeth could be sensitive after brushing right? After trying out the product, I still ate and even drank ice-cold orange juice and I didn't have any stinging. Deadma lang ang ngipin. I love it too that the surface still is smooth and there's less plaque buildup. However, note too that the degree of change varies from person-to-person, depending on the degree of yellowness on the teeth. The blue film does wear out with time, and we would need a retouch, just like how makeup needs a retouch. But hey, we still get the squeaky-clean benefits still of a regular toothpaste remember?

The price is around Php65.00 for a tube. It comes in one size right now though, and that was my only complaint, since it could be too big to fit my kikay kit. My solution here though is that i use it at home first and when I could fold it to a more compact size, that's when I tot it around with me.

Now for whiter teeth for a photoshoot or a special occasion, you know now what I'll be whipping out. By the way, it's still okay to use mouthwash with this. It won't stain or sting. And you'd be glad to know that it didn't have the Ross Geller effect.