I am not one to shy away from spending a small fortune on skin care. Not by a long shot. Ever since my days as a poor broke student came to an end, focusing on taking care of my face has been a priority. I may love those J. Crew cashmere sweaters, but will they be around in 30 years? No. But my skin will be.
That being said, even I have been wary of dropping nearly $200.00 on the Clarisonic Skin Care System. I have been eyeing the Clarisonic ever since Oprah featured it on one of her Favorite Things lists. My reluctance wasn’t because I was afraid to spend the money, it was just that I was afraid to spend the money and be disappointed in the product. So when my Blissfully Domestic editor contacted me about the opportunity to review the Clarisonic brush for the site, I was beyond excited. Just the week before, I offered it up for the Blissfully Domestic gift guide and I actually purchased one as a gift for my mother for Christmas. I had longingly been staring at the box, sadly attempting to justify why I should keep it for myself. But no more! When the package arrived at my doorstep, I did a little dance. Seriously, I did. Ask my husband.
Moving on…
My experiences with using high end skin care products have lead me to the following conclusion: celebrities are not just genetically blessed freaks with perfect, poreless skin. No, it’s just that THEY HAVE MORE MONEY THAN YOU. In other words, I often feel in skin care, you get what you pay for. And this is certainly true of the Clarisonic brush. Yes, it is a pricey item, but oh the results you will see! The return on your investment is incredible! This product is simply fantastic- the best skin care product I have ever used. And trust me, I have used a lot of skin care products.
How does the brush work? Well, it is made by the makers of the Sonicare toothbrush, and essentially utilizes the same technology that makes that an effective tooth cleaner. The brush has an oscillating head, which moves at a speed of over 300 movements per second. These brushes are supposed to massage the skin and loosen sebum (that stuff in your pores) and dirt. The Clarisonic is also designed to help prepare the skin to absorb other skin care products as well.
Does it really work? In a word, YES!
So, what’s so great about the Clarisonic?
It gets your skin so very much cleaner! The literature that arrived with my brush stated that the Clarisonic is clinically shown to be twice as effective at cleansing the skin, as compared to soap and water. I have to agree. I generally use toner after washing my face, and normally, the cotton ball still shows makeup residue from my skin. Not so after using the Clarisonic brush- the cotton ball was perfectly clean for the first time…ever! As a result, my pores are clearer and less clogged. And so much less visible!
My pores! OMG MY PORES!I have been told by numerous facialists that I have abnormally small pores.Sounds great, huh? Not really, because they are still clogged and due to their small size, it is impossible to extract their contents. This unfortunate circumstance is especially true of the areas surrounding nose. After just a few times using the Clarisonic brush, these pores were visibly reduced Some were shrunken to the point that I could no longer see the pore. All of that unfortunate brown guck that previously had resided in my pores had disappeared entirely. I was shocked!
My skin is so soft! Due to my obsession with skin care, my skin is already relatively soft. That fact did not stop this brush from making my skin even softer and smoother. I am amazed at how smooth and flawless my skin feels to the touch.
It really does help products absorb more effectively! Or at least it feels that way. According to the product literature, there is 61% greater absorption of Vitamin C after using the Clarisonic. While I don’t know about Vitamin C personally, I will say that my night moisturizer, which usually takes several minutes to fully absorb, felt like it sunk right into my skin immediately after using the brush.
It does an amazing job preventing blemishes! My brush arrived the week before that er, special time of the month. This time usually means break out city on my face. I used the Clarisonic during the entire week, and I had two small blemishes that disappeared with amazing quickness. This is a marked change from my usual pre-period week. I am very impressed.
It even worked on my husband! My husband’s unfortunate idea of “skin care” is using Pert Plus to wash his face. I wish I were kidding. Consequently, my favorite way to test the effectiveness of a product is to use it on him. He actually used it for 5 whole days, and I could definitely see an improvement. His giant pores were smaller, there were fewer blackheads, and his skin just looked generally fresher.
According to the literature, after 8 weeks of use, you should see an improvement in the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. I have not used the product for that long, and I do not have many fine lines. However, because all of the other claims made in the literature have been largely proven to be true, I have faith that this product could help diminish signs of aging.
All this to say, I really and truly love this product. I think it does amazing things for your skin and I am so grateful to have one. I think it would make a fantastic holiday gift, and to that end, Clarisonic is currently offering a payment plan for the holidays for those of you who aren't quite comfortable dropping $195.00 at once. It's an investment I feel certain you won't regret!
Slynnro is the author of Slynnro, a personal blog chronicling travel escapades, fashion and skincare obsessions, and various amusing anecdotes about marriage. She also reviews skin care products and much more at her review blog, What is in my…..
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I LOVE LOVE this little gem…sad it comes in pink now – back when I got mine (after the Oprah thing) it only came in white. The charge lasts a LONG time – I can charge it up and go out of town for over a week…and it's perfectly fine – charge can last at least 2-3 weeks.
I totally agree that it cleans better than anything else. I have to wear heavy makeup for TV (gotta love HD!) – and this seriously just melts all the makeup, powder etc. off and leaves skin super clean.
WELL worth the price – and chaeper for you if you consider you won't need those expensive spa facials every few months to give your skin a super-cleaning!
Thanks for reviewing this!
Did you use their cleanser or would be able to use a different cleanser? Is this something you would use everyday?
I actually tried their cleanser, but I didn't like it very much. I used my favorite (Chantecaille Rice and Geranium). I've been using it pretty much every day since I got it, with no ill effect.