I’ve heard many sing praises of what the Clarisonic has done for their skin, but I always had thought it would be too harsh for my super sensitive face! I was getting to the point where I just needed something to exfoliate, so I thought I should at least give it a go. I purchased the Clarisonic Mia ($119 USD) in the shade Teal (I did really want the hot pink one, but I’m still I’m super in love with this one)!

The Packaging

The Clarisonic Mia is a bit smaller than the classic Clarisonic, and it only comes with a magnetic charger instead of a dock charger.  You get the handheld tool, the charger, a mini cleanser and an instructional booklet all packaged nicely in this the box.  It’s pretty straight forward and I love minimalistic skin tools. It’s actually really neat how the charger just magnetically attaches to the handle!

Clarisonic Mia

Clarisonic Mia

The Tool

The Clarisonic Mia is really the perfect size- it fits nicely and comfortably in the palm of your hand and is easy to maneuver around your facial contours.  It only has one speed (differentiating it from the original and the Mia2) and the instructions say to move it in small, circular motions around your face: 10 seconds on each cheek, 20 seconds on forehead and 20 seconds on your nose & chin for a total of 1 minute. I find these to be the perfect amount of time and I’ve really been following it nicely.

The difference between the Clarisonic and many other handheld exfoliating tools is that this one actually vibrates instead of rotating- it’s much more gentle, yet completely effective (it removes all your makeup)!  My skin feels so soft, clean and smooth after using this tool and my moisturizer seems to just sink right into my face much easier.  It’s totally simple to use and really takes no extra time to add it to your routine.  Plus- sensitive skin gals, fear not… this didn’t even make my skin turn RED (and that is a huge deal).

Clarisonic Mia

Clarisonic Mia

Clarisonic Mia

Clarisonic Mia

Many people claim that their Clarisonic made them break out and this could be for a few reasons… first, when you start to exfoliate deeply and properly, your skin purges all the gross stuff out of your pores (if you slough off the top layer, it signals to your skin to build new fresh skin underneath, thus pushing the layers up).  Secondly, you could be doing it too much (this is usually my case).  Irritating sensitive skin can make your skin breakout as well, sort of like an adverse reaction, so I recommend what I’ve been doing and only use it once every 2-3 days to start. Once you’ve been in the clear for a while, then go up to every day or two.  All of the tools come with a mini cleanser of some sort, this one being just the “Clarisonic” one but I really have nothing to say on it because I refuse to switch up my beloved Bare Escentuals bareMinerals Deep Cleansing Foam!

Clarisonic Gentle Hydro Cleanser

I haven’t been using it long enough to see any shrinkage of pores or rejuvenated skin; that’s not really what I was looking to do either way. I wanted a super gentle yet effecting skincare tool that would help cleanse and exfoliate regularly!  I chose the Mia because for what I was looking for, I didn’t feel it necessary to have the extra bells and whistles of the original one or the newly released Mia 2.

Summary

• Price: $119 USD
• Availability: Sephora
• Overall: A fantastic gentle yet effective skincare cleansing & exfoliating tool. I love the gentle vibrations and my sensitive skin doesn’t even turn red! My skin feels soft and smooth every time I use it, but be careful not to use it too much when starting out! It is an investment piece, so keep that in mind!
• Rating: A