Product Review: Clarisonic Mia

I haven't done a product review in a while so how about one!

A little over a month ago I was stoked because in one day I got my Birchbox, my Clarisonic & a new yoga DVD & blogged about it.  I kept the Clarisonic a secret.  I wanted to use it for at least a month before giving my opinion.  Well I've been using it for 5 weeks now & I can honestly say this product has changed my skin in the best way possible.

To start, I've made it clear how sensitive my skin is & it freaks out at change.  Like any change.  I can itch my cheek & have a huge red welt leftover.  Yeah, it's really fun to be me.  I did tons of research about the Mia & read oodles & oodles of reviews.  I only found 2 negative reviews & only 1 complaining that it caused bad breakouts.  So I decided to splurge & order it online.  I actually got a great deal & ordered from a website called lovelyskin where I get lots of my expensive beauty products.  This site always has some sort of sale going on, free shipping & you get a bunch of samples with every order.  Retail price for the Mia is around $125 & I snagged mine for $96.  Go me.  I also made sure to get in contact with the retail website to ensure a 100% money back guarantee if I didn't like the product.  No problem, you have 90 days for a full refund, no questions asked.  I also ordered a different brush than what it came with.  It comes standard with a sensitive brush & I also ordered the delicate.  Better safe than sorry.

Mia

Delicate Brush Head

Sensitive Brush Head

Ok, lots of reviews I read raved how once the Mia was used their skin was so soft & clear & they couldn't believe what a difference it made...blah blah blah.  I can only think these people must have never had a facial, never used any expensive skin care product & never ever exfoliated.  My first initial reaction after the first use was "wow this really made my skin feel clean" but I can't say I noticed an overnight change or miracle.  In fact, the first 2 weeks of using (I only use it at night) my face did break out.  Not massive volcanoes that usually erupt but it broke out randomly.  However the spots cleared up quickly & stayed small.  I expected this kind of reaction.  Different reviews described a "purging phase" for the first few weeks.  Ever use a Sonicare toothbrush?  Well it vibrates like a million times per second to give that feeling.  Maybe not that fast but really fast that you can't tell it's moving.  Same thing with the Mia.  So my description is that it vibrates all the crap that is deep deep down in your pores & pushes it to the surface of the face.  Now most of that dirt & crap gets rinsed away when you rinse with water but obvi not all of it.  And that might cause some breakouts aka...the purge.

I think around week 3 is when I had my "OMG" moment.  Let me explain.  I had really clogged pores to the point I could touch my face & feel all the tiny little clogged pores.  It felt like mini bumps all over my face & if you got close enough (which I am always inspecting my face in the mirror) you could see how clogged my pores were.  And I'm confident that's why I would breakout so bad, I just couldn't get my pores clean enough.  Back to my moment, I'm in the shower (that's the easiest way to use the Mia or you might get face wash everywhere) and I just used it.  I'm rinsing my face...& I suddenly realize my face feels smooth.  Not like freshly exfoliated smooth, like "um my pores aren't clogged anymore" smooth.  Hyperventilating I got out & got as close to the mirror as I could.  And yes, my pores were clear.  My skin was smooth.  I was in shock.  I've tried so many things to get this result.  Microdermabrasion, IPL, daily exfoliating, chemical peels, laser resurfacing (don't even get me started on that fiasco), etc. You name it, I've probably tried it.  Needless to say, I was beyond excited.

Another perk of using the Mia, because it provides such an intense deep clean, my other products are really working.  My toner, moisturizer and even eye cream.  It's amazing & I don't look in the mirror & hate my face anymore.  My face is still really red after getting out of the shower & pretty blotchy but I just put on my moisturizer, walk away for about 30 minutes & come back & literally it's calmed down.  I'm still in shock sometimes when I stare in the mirror & have no makeup on at all.  Oh yeah, I also notice that my powder goes on nicely & doesn't look gungy as the day goes on.  I still have some discoloration from really bad breakouts but those marks are slowly fading.  Overall I'm so impressed with this wonderful gem.  I really thought it was too good to be true & couldn't have been more wrong.   

The Clarisonic Mia was TOTALLY worth the money I paid & even worth the full price.  My skin is so much better and really doesn't break out that much anymore.  I still get some flare ups around my chin & jawline but that is all hormonal & I can deal with it.  It's a perfect daily cleansing machine & literally like getting a facial every night.  L.O.V.E.