Shit I Bought and Liked: Dirty Mouth? Clean It Up!
Shit I Bought and Liked: Dirty Mouth? Clean It Up!
Shitters! I originally planned to send this out during the blissful lull between Christmas and NYE, but instead I ended up sick and confined to my childhood bedroom with Kleenex, Ricolas, and Harry Potter (Ed note: In the future, if any of you find yourselves remotely sick on Christmas Eve, do everyone a favor and DON’T COME TO THE PARTY).
So here we are, on the eve of 2024, finally free from my room with my very last recommendation of the year! And to give you a sense of the magnitude here, this is easily one of my top five purchases of the year—maybe even top two (number one is this perfect every day bag by The Row that I found on TheRealReal, but there’s not much that could compete with that).
We all (hopefully) brush our teeth. Up until recently, I was using your run of the mill drugstore toothbrush—what can I say, I’m a woman of the people! I also happen to be lazy, so when my Quip broke down for the 885th time (awful product, great replacement policy), I went old school, mostly for convenience, and because spending money on a pricey toothbrush would mean less cash on hand for… literally anything else.
Anyways. I didn’t realize I was living in the Stone Ages, but since upgrading to this Oral-B brush, my eyes have been opened! I have a renewed lease on life! I am now a girl who is telling all her friends about her TOOTHBRUSH because that is how little else I have going on at the moment it feels like I got a professional dental cleaning twice a day, every single day, and it has truly blown my mind!
Let’s start with the basics: The whole thing is super easy to set up and use (I put off opening the box for a couple weeks because I expected set up to be complicated and time-consuming, but it took under three minutes total). You plug in the charger (this one isn’t bulky, which I appreciate because it has to live on my bathroom counter), pop in the toothbrush head, and you’re set. There are a few modes you can choose from on the home screen—daily clean, sensitive, whitening, etc. But that’s really it. Pick your mode (once), add your toothpaste of choice, and go!
But that’s all stuff you should expect. What sets this brush apart to me (aside from how insanely clean my mouth feels now), are the little bells and whistles. The most practical is the ring that lights up around the handle while you’re brushing to let you know if you’re using the right amount of pressure—red for too much, green for just right. I feel like, at the tender age of 29, I learned how to brush my teeth the right way for the first time?? Instead of brushing the shit out of my teeth like I was doing before (RIP my enamel), I feel like Michelangelo polishing the David. My orthodontist’s masterpiece!!!
But my favorite is the timer. The screen displays how long you’ve been brushing (handy if you’re like me and zone out during brushing time) and the brush buzzes three times once you hit two minutes, but this is what happens when you finish:
If I’m being honest, I bought this because I liked the smiley and hoped it would give me a half decent clean, but it really blew my expectations out of the water. Morning and night, I look forward to that little face with the starry eyes telling me I did a good job (and in the process have realized that I was probably brushing for 35 seconds max before…).
Silly? Perhaps! But the clean really is insane, it’s among the least visually offensive options to have on your bathroom countertop, and though pricey, it’s less so compared to some of the other options out there.
Other things to know: The charge lasts around 10 days, so if you’re traveling for a week or less, you should be good to go without bringing the plug. I think there’s also an app (can these companies QUIT IT with the apps already?!!), but skip it—you do not need it.
Aside from being one of my personal favorite purchases of the year, this felt like an especially appropriate rec as we head into the new year. This is something you can treat yourself to and feel good about, that doesn’t add any additional steps to your routine, that you can upgrade once and not worry about for at least a few years—all the makings of a good purchase to me!
Other things I’ve been loving lately: After MONTHS of try-ons and deliberation, I finally settled on a heavy duty winter jacket (simple, so warm, and on major sale! I wear without the belt). I’ve been wronged by far too many healthy Instagram recipes over the years, but these salmon bowls were the opposite—easy, flavorful, and soooo tasty. I snagged this cashmere tee in an XL for an oversized fit from the Theory Outlet—huge score. Lip products are my weakness in life, and this shade/formula from Kosas is my latest obsession.
Wishing you all a safe and happy new year!!
Priyanka