In the world of beauty pageants– and I’m pretty sure everywhere else, too, you’ll take more photos in December than you will during the other 11 months combined. With the halls conveniently decked all over town, there are handy photo ops every which way you turn. Since the majority of my family members and coworkers  aren’t sufficiently adequate in Photoshop, it’s important for me to look my best whenever possible– or suffer the consequences of looking disheveled on the cover of my familial holiday newsletter. I’m never a fan of wearing heavy HD makeup unless I’m in a pageant underneath heavy stage lighting, so in place of toting around clown paint, I carry my sunglasses with me everywhere I go, and I make sure my smile is as white as it can be.

To be completely blunt, I’m extremely insecure about my teeth– primarily because of my history with eating disorders. I can only use the best of the best whitening products, since there aren’t many sensations worse than avoidable tooth sensitivity, so this year I tried the Crest 3D White 1-Hour Express Teeth Whitening Kit. I started whitening the first week of December, and thanks to Crest’s limited-time BOGO deal at Walmart, I was able to get a 2 kits with 4 treatments each for the price of 1. Each set of strips removes years of stains in just one hour, and I could tell an insane difference after the full 4 treatments. I like to whiten every 6 months or so, so I’m keeping the second kit for summer. Also, the Advanced Seal Technology’s no-slip grip actually stays put, which is incredibly nice, so you can talk, drink water, and actually multi-task while whitening– instead of having to sit in a dentist’s office for God knows how long staring at scary-looking “dental” torture tools.

To showcase my whiter smile, I slathered on some Mac Ruby Woo matte lipstick, since nothing looks better with bold red lips than a pearly white smile, and styled a casual festive outfit around this H&M red plaid shirt dress. Full outfit details are listed at the bottom of this post.

Plaid Shirt Dress: H&M (No Longer Available), Similar Style Linked | Leggings: Target | Boots: Nine West (No Longer Available), Similar Style Linked | Bag: Tory Burch | Earrings: Kendra Scott | Watch: Michael Kors | Cuff: Kendra Scott | Sunglasses: Fantas-Eyes (Sold Out), Similar Style Linked

If you need a super quick, convenient, and effective whitening solution for any upcoming photos– planned or unplanned– or holiday events, I highly recommend Crest 3D White 1-Hour Express Whitestrips for the job. Again, Crest is having a limited-time offer, where you can buy one kit at www.walmart.com and get another for free. Plus, the set comes with over $20 in coupons, which can be used throughout the year. Pretty sweet little deal you got there, Walmart.

What other whitening treatments are y’all using? I feel like I’ve tried just about everything, but I’m curious what else works– and works well!