Product Review: Clarisonic Mia

So as I mentioned previously, Husband got me a Clarisonic Mia for my birthday. I've wanted one for a while: between QVC and other bloggers, it seemed like every time I turned around, there it was, assuring me that it would make my skin cleaner and clearer than it's ever been.

The original sized Clarisonic is close to $200 (available here). Now, I may seem like a bit of a compulsive shopper, but $200 is one heck of an experiment. I don't even know if I like this contraption! So when I saw the Clarisonic Mia, priced at around $150, but eligible for a 20% off coupon at Skinstore (click here), it seemed much more reasonable.

I've never really had what you would call "problem skin". I occasionally get a pimple here and there, but nothing ever really that serious...until last year. All of a sudden, my cheeks were covered with little red marks. It wasn't acne per se, but it was annoying. I changed cleansers to the philosophy line (available here) and saw tremendous improvement, but the faint marks were still there.

Finally, I reasoned that the issue was my makeup. I'm a makeup fiend and wear it every day. If I wasn't taking it off completely, I decided, my skin was never really "clean" and it made sense that I'd have some irritation and redness. In my mind, the Clarisonic Mia would solve that problem.

Okay, so immediately after opening the box, I tore into my new skincare acquisition. Luckily, I read the instructions first: charge for 24 hours before first use. ARG! The charger plugs into the wall and then magnetizes to the unit. It buzzes to indicate that the connection is good and then a light blinks until the unit is fully charged. According to the manual, a charge is good for 20 uses.

Exactly 24 hours later, I grabbed my Clarisonic Mia and trotted into the bathroom. There are two options for use: either rub cleanser directly onto your face or apply cleanser to the brush and apply to your face that way. I prefer rubbing the cleanser on my face myself. When I apply cleanser to the brush, it gets rather runny and concentrates in certain areas of my face (i.e. there's tons of cleanser on my forehead since you use the unit there first, but then not much cleanser on my chin since that's last). The cleanser also ran down my face into my eyes, which was rather unpleasant, when I applied it to the brush first.

Using the Clarisonic Mia is ridiculously easy. You press the large button on the handle of the unit and it turns on for 60 seconds. During that time, you start with your forehead and drag the unit across your face. I've been using it around my chin/jawline as well just because I had experienced some redness/bumps there. I've found that there is plenty of time to clean my entire face and then go back over my face a second time before the unit automatically turns off. There's a plastic cover to keep the brush clean and the unit is waterproof so you can use it in the shower or bath.

As I write this, I've been using my Clarisonic Mia every night for the past two weeks. I've noticed a bit of improvement in my skin. The redness is almost entirely gone and my face is much smoother. I love the way my face feels too, especially right after I use the Clarisonic Mia.

The company recommends changing brushes every three months. A set of two brushes is about $40. The unit comes with "sensitive" brushes, but there are also "regular" and "delicate" brushes available.

I'm glad I decided to try the Clarisonic Mia and I'm definitely a convert!