Happy MARCH – who else has spring cleaning on the brain?! The second the air feels lighter and fresher (and warmer!), I’m ready to open the windows, welcome the sunshine…and purge all the things. Beyond simply purging, I’m also in the mood to make smarter, cleaner choices whenever/wherever possible. All in the spirit of freshening things up. 😉 I’ve got 3 new additions to my beauty routine as of late that I’m excited to share with you – they’ve helped clean up my makeup, skincare, AND oral care respectively, all in the name of glowing inside AND out. (Big shoutout to Premier Dental and their new izzo oral care system which I am SO stoked to introduce to you…you’re going to lovelovelove it!!!)
1.) Tarte’s Sea Hydroflex serum foundation – I bought this on a whim in Tarte’s last big custom kit sale; I hadn’t heard much about it but figured I’d give a lighter foundation a try, since I had been primarily using fuller-coverage CC creams in recent months. But I’m always here for dual makeup-skincare products – things that not only DON’T clog pores or make ya cakey, but that work to simultaneously benefit your base underneath. This foundation has a super serum complex inside with 8 different types of hyaluronic acid (and here I was thinking there was just one); it’s formulated to not crease or cake, provide a natural finish with medium coverage, deliver 12-hour hydration, minimize the look of pores/fine lines/wrinkles, work for any skin type, AND it’s waterproof and sweatproof.
Tarte’s website subs it “the yoga pants of foundation,” which I think is just brilliant.
When Chelsie was visiting from Utah, she whipped hers out and we took a hot sec to duet its praises. It’s also made sans parabens, mineral oil, phthalates, or any other “bad stuff.” Pair with Juicy Lips (my fave) for a ridiculously easy – but beautiful – clean look and natural glow! (Best Juicy Lips deal I’ve found is here – use a new email + code SURPRISE for an extra $10 off, making them only $9 a pop!)
2.) Tula’s new bright start Vitamin C moisturizer – I’m a big, big fan of cutting corner whenever possible by merging ingredients for the most efficient (yet effective) routine. Some mornings – especially if/when I’m trying to get fully glam on top of getting the OG out the door to preschool – ain’t nobody got time for a 5-step skincare routine leading up to makeup. On those mornings, I end up wiping off with a micellar water before applying SPF and calling it prepped. I recently tried Tula’s newest moisturizer launch, and y’all…I’m impressed. It’s a fabulous daily moisturizer for having quite the infusion of brightening power players: Vitamin C, mandarin orange, and tranexamic acid, which work together to tackle dullness + dark spots. But beyond that, it’s a nice lightweight hydrator (I’d say lighter weight than their Hydrating Day & Night Cream, if you know that for reference – that’s one of my alltime favorite moisturizers!), with a more gel-cream texture that really absorbs nicely and doesn’t leave you feeling greasy or wet. I’ve been using it + SPF to prep my skin before makeup, and it’s a nice clean, light way to start the day. (As always, Tula discount code is COMINGUPROSES to save some $$$).
3.) The izzo oral care system – When izzo first reached out to me to get my hands on the new system (thankyou! So honored!), I was stoked. I had cycled through a few different electric toothbrushes in the last year and a half or so after first being recommended one by a dental hygienist who was apparently working a backend deal with the company (and not disclosing that relationship…not cool) – and we came to find out it’s one of the poorest performing electric toothbrushes on the market. (Needless to say, I don’t use it OR see her anymore – ha!). My routine dentist appointment after having switched to that brush was eye-opening, because I had really thought that most electric toothbrushes and oral care systems were probably equal, more or less. Well…nope. I had had more plaque buildup than ever in my LIFE and knew I needed a different option. Fast forward a few months, and I get my hands on this bad boy: meet the izzo.
The company behind izzo (Premier Dental) has been in business for over 100 years and actually got its start creating tools for dental offices. When the pandemic turned everything and everyone upside down, they had to shift – many dental offices were closing, and their goal became taking the “dental experience” into people’s homes.
Enter, the izzo system.
While some electric toothbrushes come with your toothbrush and replaceable heads, the izzo goes above and beyond.
The kit serves to not just brush, but also polish, scale, and finish – just like you’d get in the dentist’s chair (minus all of the super uncomfortable scraping and bright lights that we probably all hate? Yes? Cool cool 😉 ). It comes with your power handle and brush head, a polishing cup head, enamel polishing paste, UVC sanitizer, scaler, USB wall charger, and the cable and charging base (although the rechargeable battery lasts two weeks – so you’ll get about 28 two-minute brushes in before needing to put it on the charger! Bless!).
At first, admittedly I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the circular brush head since I’ve been used to having a more rectangular brush – but I lovelovelove it. It really makes it feel like you’ve given dedicated attention to each tooth, getting every possible angle to make ’em all shiny and clean. It’s the closest thing I’ve experienced to actually being at the dentist, but remarkably more comfortable and significantly less anxiety-inducing. 😉
My personal favorite features:
- Adjustable speeds for your needs – When I first turned it on, my exact words were, “…WHOA.” There are actually three different speed modes: Ultra (the highest, recommended for polishing or just extra brushing horsepower), Daily (for daily brushing), and Gentle (which is great for most sensitive gums and my personal favorite speed). So beyond the fact that izzo understands brush speed is not a one-size-fits-all formula, it ALSO has a “soft start” feature to reduce splatter; the speed steadily increases to your chosen speed over 2 seconds, so you don’t turn it on to your toothpaste flying all over your sink. Or your mirror. Or your face. #BeenThereDoneThat. Aaaaaaand that’s not all – it’s also on a 2-minute timer, so you’ll feel a gentle buzz every 30 seconds to effectively time your toothbrushing.
- UV sanitizing head – This thing sanitizes your brush head with ultraviolet light in just three minutes. It actually cleans 99.9% of germs, bacteria, etc, which is SO WONDERFUL to hear when you think about how much yuck lives in our mouths all the time??? I mean…gross. Yes, our toothbrushes exist to clean our mouths, but what’s cleaning our toothbrushes? Knowing that you’re getting the gunk OFF and not just letting it sit before putting it back IN is quite reassuring.
- Enamel polishing – One of my personal favorite things at the dentist, now in my bathroom. Blessed be. While the company DID make actual dental products for actual dentist offices, this polishing paste doesn’t have as much fluoride or “abrasiveness” you’ll get from their actual paste, making it safe for frequent at-home use. It’s actually 43% LESS abrasive than the leading paste. The cute little pamphlet that comes in your kit has a handy dandy step-by-step guide on how to best polish (and how to best do, well, everything); they recommend polishing once per week and focusing on front surfaces that are visible when smiling (similarly to any other teeth whitening attempt, really). Statistically speaking, they whiten 73% better and clean 93% better than the leading advanced whitening toothpastes, so you could say the odds are in our favor.
Beyond that, the system also comes with a scaler to gently remove bigger pieces of food that may be stuck in there really good, so you’re reaaaaally cleaning up your smile in the best possible way beyond the dentist’s chair to prevent plaque from building up long-term (because ain’t nobody got time for cavities). Bonus: it’s dishwasher-safe!
Have you heard of the izzo system?
*Thanks to Premier Dental and izzo, a brand I lovelovelove, for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions + thoughts presented are entirely my own. Thank YOU for supporting the brands that support Coming Up Roses!