We’ve all heard about it… and are curious.  “It’s like a sonicare toothbrush for your face” – the same technology that does such a number on teeth is used for a gentler cleansing on the visage.  I’ve been curious, but my firm belief was that the Clairsonic Mia wasn’t something I would buy for myself. I read user reviews on the Sephora site and was skeptical – how could this thing be any better than a microfiber cloth (hello, gentle exfoliation), especially at that price point?

The Clairsonic Mia at Sephora

Enter Spa Scotta – the event they hosted at the spa, featuring Clairsonic products, a genius and delightful experience. The well catered event offered “Shellac” manicures (a new favorite) and goodie bags stuffed with Clairsonic products – including the popular Mia cleansing brush and the new Opal.  Of course, this was my opportunity to try it. How could I not?! The induction charging base alone gave me the itch to tinker with it.

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After a long day at work, and then a busy puppy class, I felt grimy and over-tired. I’m not necessarily the best at cleansing before bed – read: I like to use baby wipes or the Neutrogena makeup removal wipes before hopping straight into bed.  Without even a rinse.  Or a cleansing toner.  And sometimes, without even moisturizing!   I know somewhere, someone is cursing me for this bad habit right now.

Instead of my usual regime, I rinsed my face off, squeezed some of the “sentsitive skin polish” onto the brush and set to work. First stop, forehead until the gadget beeps. Second stop, nose and chin, third stop cheeks. After a minute, it was done. Seriously – one minute. It clicked off and I looked at the thing, muttering “Really? Is that IT?”   Out of sheer disbelief I hit the little button again and I heard an audible giggle at my expense coming from a certain Mister somebody, in the other room.

After the second minute of cleansing – following the same three steps – I rinsed the brush and my face. I looked into the mirror hoping for some excellent results, and to my dismay my skin didn’t look noticeably different.  It did, however, feel a LOT softer. I made Mister feel my face and he agreed, and we turned in for the night.  I lay there in bed thinking about the little brush – softness is good for skin like mine with a touch of rosacea and it didn’t seem overly harsh on my skin.  Intrigued, I couldn’t wait to try it again.

I used it in the shower the next morning with about the same results.

A few days later, I noticed my skin was fairly smooth.  I still have my same-sized pores and they don’t seem to have shrunk; however they are less noticeable.  They seem to look lighter.  The same improvement showed after another week.  It’s not that my pores are shrinking but they look less “dirty”  there are fewer noticeable blackheads (something we all battle), though I still break out in one or two spots.  What’s remarkable is the incredible softness and tautness my skin has.  Ever the skeptic I continued to use the brush 2-3 times a week.

I feel like I’m not seeing a lot of improvement in skin tone – I’m still fairly ruddy, being freckled and fair.  My pore size is definitely not diminished – and I think I read somewhere that you can’t actually shrink your pores, but you can make them less noticeable with a good cleaning.  On that note, the brush is an amazing cleanser – after a long night of sweating my makeup off at Hollyhood, the Mia is the trick to a decent cleanse before bed.  The sensitive skin polish seems just right for my skin type and though I still do break out occasionally, the occurrence is much less noticeable than it was before I started using the Mia.  Overall?  I’m impressed.  And what about the retail price of a Clairsonic + brushes + polish?  If you don’t have the cash, a microfiber cloth and a gentle cleanser is your next best bet.  I’m overjoyed at the chance to try the Clairsonic products thanks to Spa Scotta.

For skincare tips or to read about the newest Clairsonic products, you can bop over to Clairsonic’s “Sonic Chatter” blog… And rest assured that even though this little goodie was free, I do reserve the right to an honest review.