Tuesday 7 January 2014

Review: 3 Months with the Clarisonic Mia 2

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3 months ago I caved into the hype and purchased the Clarisonic Mia 2 at the Selfridges Autumn Beauty Event. As with any skincare product, I wanted to use this for a decent amount of time before coming to a conclusion about whether I like it or not. After 3 months, I can conclude that I really love it!


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For the first couple of uses, I wasn't particularly impressed. I was expecting some sort of miracle immediately, but it just felt like I'd washed my face normally. After a few days though, my face started feeling really clean and polished after using it. It improved more and more from there on.

The Clarisonic Mia 2 has 2 cleansing speeds adjusted by pressing one of the buttons on the handle. It remembers which setting you last used it on which is quite handy. I have it on the higher setting. Despite looking quite harsh, the Mia 2 is surprisingly gentle on your skin. It has never caused me any irritation or redness. It also has a range of alternative heads you can purchase separately. By default it comes with the Sensitive brush head which is suitable for most skin types but you can also purchase:

  • Deep Pore Cleansing Heads - these are ideal for cleansing oily skin, pores or hard to reach areas of the face such as around the nose
  • Delicate Heads - softer than the default Sensitive brush for really sensitive skin
  • Normal Head - which are perfect for normal skin and even for shaving prep or for use on the décolleté and body!


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Personally, I think I will soon switch to using the Normal head on a daily basis soon and the Deep Pore once or twice a week as I like the idea of getting a super deep cleanse! It's only when I begun writing this post that I discovered you can use the normal head on your body! The Mia 2 is advertised as a facial cleanser and Clarisonic also sell a more expensive Clarisonic Plus which is advertised as a facial & body cleanser as it allows for a larger brush head attachment specifically for the body. However it seems you can use your Mia 2 for this too! Clarisonic suggest replacing your brush head every 3 months for the best results.

The Mia 2 features a pulsing T-Timer® which indicates when you should move the brush around your face. It stops buzzing temporarily to indicate that you should switch to another part of your face. It starts with 20 seconds on the forehead, followed by 20 seconds on your nose and chin, then lastly 10 seconds on each cheek. This feels like a good amount of time for each area and I do stick to their suggested timings.

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During the first 6 weeks, I did notice I got considerably more spots than usual, but they were very small and disappeared fast. It did feel like my skin was going through a purging phase. Eventually they cleared up. I do still get spots from time to time, but as I mentioned above, they are always small and fade quickly, usually in a day or two. Strangely it also seems like the dark shadows under my eyes have actually lightened up after using this.

My skin tone actually looks more even and fresh. I now feel I could get by with just a couple of dabs of concealer, rather than a full face of foundation (not that I do, but if I was trying to save some time I might!). Dry, flakey skin around my nose soon disappeared completely.

The Clarisonic Mia 2 comes with a handy travel case which came in handy with my Christmas travelling! It's sturdy and doesn't really add any extra bulk. Obviously you won't be able to fit the charger in there but hopefully you wouldn't need to anyway! I find I usually need to charge it once every 3-4 weeks. I charge it for 24 hours each time. Also included in the box is a mini Clarisonic Refreshing Gel Cleanser which foams up nicely with the Clarisonic. I'd definitely consider purchasing the cleanser once I've run out of my current one.

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After 3 months of using the Clarisonic Mia 2 every day, I definitely feel like the Clarisonic gives a much deeper clean than simply washing my face normally. I hate to go a day without using it now. I don't really use it for washing make up off. At night I just use my usual cleansers to remove my make up, then I use the Clarisonic the following morning with a foaming cleanser to really wake me up. I have read varying advice on how many times you should use the Clarisonic, but their website says you can use it up to twice a day, so I may increase to this, just so I get that extra clean feeling at night too. These are the steps I follow when I use it:

  1. First I use L'oreal Skin Perfection 15 Second Miracle Cleansing Oil to remove my make up and wash it off
  2. I apply the Clarisonic Refreshing Gel Cleanser directly to my already moistened skin
  3. I turn the Clarisonic on (I permanently leave it on the higher setting)
  4. I gradually cleanse my face by moving the brush head in small circular motions - following the timings of the T-timer
  5. Once the T-timer is done, I rinse and dry my face and the Clarisonic brush

The Clarisonic Mia 2 is available for £125 and sometimes you can find special edition packs which often contain additional brush heads or extra cleansers. I'm really glad I've purchased the Mia 2 and I wouldn't like to be without it.

6 comments:

  1. Love this review, really thorough...just like the Clarisonic! I'm jealous of your travel case, I definitely need one of those. I included the Clarisonic it in my 'Top 3 Cleaning Products' here - http://bit.ly/1cVAPWv let me know your thoughts.

    Liv x

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    1. Thank you! Aww, did yours not come with one? I love the cute print on yours! I sometimes use Liz Earle's cleanser too.

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  2. Oh man, you have confirmed my suspicions... I clearly need to invest!!!

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    Replies
    1. Heh, I'm sure you won't regret it :) I love mine, I'm feeling so much better after using it!

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  3. The Clarisonic Mia 2 definitely made a huge difference to my skin. Xx

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