May 9, 2008

Clarisonic Skin Care Brush Review

After much consideration I gave into temptation and ordered the Pink Clarisonic Skin Care Brush. I’ve been using the brush for over a month now and I think I’m about ready to review it so finally in all it’s glory (with minor snarky remarks here and there) here are my babblings and review of the Clarisonic Skin Care Brush.

Honestly, shelling out $195 USD for a cleaning brush totally made me groan in agonizing pain. I have absolutely no problem shelling out $30 for a single eyeshadow but ask me about my indecision when purchasing this brush and I’ll tell you that the sale’s girl that sold it to me had to pry the money from my hands.

I haven’t seen an official review on this brush so I feel all special and stuff that I’m writing a long, babbling post about this brush because it deserves at least that for the price!

I’m not going to say it sucks. That would be too harsh of me. I am going to be very good about this and point out it’s flaws and point out it’s good features and all that jazz.

What is it and what’s it promise?

It promises to reduce dry skin patches, oily areas, blemishes, and get six times more makeup off your face! Take that! It also minimizes pore size, fine lines, and wrinkles appear smaller too! I’m generally curious about how wrinkles can appear smaller but hey that’s what it says on the Sephora description and who the hell am I to argue right? Although I think they maybe mean fade wrinkles?

I don’t have fine liners or wrinkles and my pores aren’t huge so I can’t really say whether this actually helped any!

Dry patches? No, those are still there.

Oily areas? It’s getting warm out and my oily areas are definately still there!

Blemishes? Don’t have much of a problem with any acne or blemishes so unsure if this works well at clearing those up!

Ok, so far we are off to a smashing start aren’t we? Everything it’s promised isn’t working for me!

After getting this home the first day I purchased it I was tempted to rip open the box with my teeth in excitement but I settled for setting it down and pushing it away while I washed my face as I do normally or you can call it manually if you so please, with my own two hands. I decided this would be an effective test to see how well the brush would be cleaning my skin!

After washing my face with Philosophy Purity and doing what I call a spot check with Witch Hazel it turns out my face was whistling it was so clean. I simply washed my face as normal and after drying off with a towel I soaked a cotton square in Witch Hazel, smoothed it on my face, and looked at the cotton square. No makeup remained. I decided to do so again with Lancome Bi-Facil and again the cotton square came back clean!

My bright idea to compare the brush cleaning to my hand cleaning had failed. It appears my cleanser was already doing a mighty good job by itself! But I wasn’t swayed! I just knew that the brush would work at making my moisturizer and other face products “sink” in better! My skin would be smoother and more polished once I used this daily! Yes, indeed it would!

Nope.

No, it wouldn’t.

Hello? Am I using it wrong?

I think it’s basically goof proof that you obviously know you can’t do full makeup removal with the brush. I normally remove everything on my face with my normal cleanser prior to using the brush as an EXTRA step. So now I’m actually adding time to my skincare regime (as if it wasn’t long enough).

The cycle:

Remove Eye Makeup with oil based remover.
Cleanse with Purity.
Rinse.
Squirt a bit of Purity onto brush and go to town for two minutes.

The time I spend doing all this boggles my little brain. I decided, after two weeks of use, that maybe I’d do the brush twice a day! If I used it in the shower in the morning plus in the evening it was sure to produce some dramatic effects.

Yea. Sure it did.

Not.

Maybe I need to use it a bit longer to see the ultra dramatic results it promises? It’s been almost two months since I got it and I am not noticing any difference in my skin at all. My products (moisturizer, foundation, etc…) do not work better or “sink” in better. My oily and dry areas are still very much there. I don’t feel polished or smoother thanks to this.

Honestly, the only thing I feel like is I’m wasting two minutes (4 minutes if you could the fact I use the bloody thing twice a day!) a day and I’m $200 broker!

Ok, so I guess this is where I’m supposed to say good things about the brush right? This is the hard part.

Well….mmmm…you get two brush heads with your purchase….that’s good right?

Did I mention that this thing is huge? It takes up some serious room on my bathroom vanity! I hate the clunky feeling of the recharging base as well! I wish they’d give an option to use either the recharger or batteries.

Fact is I’m seriously just a hater at this point. I don’t see the point of this. It’s expensive and it makes ridiculous claims. My skin doesn’t feel any better than when I originally began using it. I’m so sorry to the lovers…I can’t love it. I’m trying really hard though! Honest! My relationship with the brush is still a work in progress and I hope I’ll come back one day and post a brand new review where I am raving about the benefits of giving $200 to Clarisonic!

Fact is…if I were you…I’d stick to my hands and a good cleanser! Works just the same, if not better!

Clarisonic should stick to making toothbrushes.

If all else fails and you really want it maybe write a fan mail to Oprah begging her to send you one! It’s one of her “favorite things” after all!

27 Comments

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  • Taryn

    Oh, I could’ve warned you against this one. I had the old one that was recalled, so I sent it in for a new one and sold the new one on ebay. I had no desire to have even a brand spanking new Clarisonic with updated features.

    My skin is oily, I have two little lines around my mouth and my pores are large and usually clogged. This didn’t do a thing for them. Nothing at all. I get better results using a wash cloth on my face.

    I gave my mom one for Christmas because she loves any sort of skin care product and she likes it. But keep in mind the woman has perfect skin to begin with, so any changes she’s seeing are probably just like a mirage to her.

    Well, you can always sell it on ebay or Specktra I suppose. :\

  • *Jen*

    Izzy I was just getting ready to review this as part of my scrubs/masks overview!

    I remember liking this when I first purchased it, but honestly my SK-II cleansing oil gives me such a better deep clean and I dislike how heavy/clunky the brush is. Also I mainly purchased this to get at my blackheads and all the little nasties that take up residence in my nose, and it doesn’t do a great job of that.

    BUT i do like to use this in the shower with cleansers that are a bit more oily than purity. it leaves me skin feeling really soft at least 🙂

  • Kaoru

    I don’t think the brush is worth $200, but I still love it. What I did is replace my manual cleansing with the brush (I put the cleanser on my face, and then I use the brush to “rub” it in). I happen to have large pores and adult acne, and while the pores are not smaller, they are cleaner, and this brush made it so the only acne I get is the monthly kind (and even that has reduced to only 1). Still, I wish it was cheaper. Oh, and I don’t know about the one you bought, but when I bought mine, when you did the registration, they gave you another 2 brush heads. Considering each brush head is $25, that’s like the brush was only $100.

    Sorry you don’t like the brush, though. It always sucks to spend that much money, and have it not work.

  • Row

    $200 :/

    lady are you crazy?!

    Actually I don’t blame you. Clean skin is important right?!Is is just like an exfoliator?

  • CuttiBeBe

    thank god you reviewed it izzy!! i was so tempted to buy it on beauty.com with their GWP.. but i wanted to find a thorough review and can’t find it anywhere.. i was concerned that the brush head would be too big so u can’t get to the corner of your nose, or the device is too heavy and it’s too annoying to hold that thing for 2 mins (my problem with Zeno).

    that’s off of my list now and i can sleep better. =) thanks darling! can’t wait for your japanese brand reviews! i wish i could get my hands on some of those, but they are all so darn expensive buying it online.. =(

  • MandyPandy

    Just return it. It exfoliates a little and makes your skin feel soft, but I can’t be arsed to use it regularly. I would’ve returned mine, but it was just past the 30-day mark when I finally found the receipt. Best to get a chemical exfoliater instead. For $200, you can buy far more beneficial skincare products.

  • the Muse

    hey taryn!

    I’m one of those types that gets overly curious so I HAD to purchase it and find out the bad for myself 😉

    My skin is a combo and I have fine lines around my eyes. No clogged pores aside from my nose.
    I get better results using my hands in all honesty!

    I think it’s easy enough to convince yourself it working really well but in reality it does absolutely nothing imo!

    Big waste of $!

    I have the receipt and the box and such so sephora it goes back too 🙂

  • the Muse

    hey jen jen!

    I look forward to hearing your take on this!

    I dislike the clunkyiness of it as well. It’s huge. The base in particular peeves me as it looks awful with all the wire and such hanging out on my bathroom vanity 😛

    I purchased it for the blackheads in my nose as well! That was my main concern and the promise of blackheads vanishing after using this was a big appealing factor. But it didn’t do anything for them. They are still there after over a month of using this religiously 🙁

    I DO think it’s a pro that I can take it in the shower which makes me want to keep it but I just don’t feel like it’s done much 😛

  • the Muse

    hiya Kaoru!

    Me neither 😛

    It’s nice to hear you are liking it though. A good change from hearing the poor reviews on this 😛

    I think that the brush has a good chance of working if your pores are larger or you suffer from mild to severe acne. However if your skin has the normal woes (oily, dry, etc..) chances are you won’t see too much change. Which was the case with me 😛

    I did register but sadly no two free brushes 🙁

    Aw it’s ok! Lesson learned 🙂 I still have my receipt so I may still return it 😛

    thanks for your comment/view on this product!

  • the Muse

    hi CuttiBeBe!

    Please don’t! It’s crap hehe!

    I haven’t seen a review anyway either. I did see some reviews on MUA but no blogs have posted about it as far as I know.

    I HAD to try this myself and see if it lived up to the hype. And it does not 😛

    It is heavy and clunky. And the brush head is way too large to get in the corners of the nose 😛

    The 2 minutes does go quickly as you rotate it on the face but it’s just rather annoying and after the “honeymoon” period it becomes a chore to lug it out and perform the ritual of cleaning your face with it 😛

    You’re most welcome. Truly save your money this is a waste of cash 😛

    I know 🙁 Online shopping is the pits. Def try out jpmon! it’s decent prices and shipping isn’t too bad 🙂

  • the Muse

    hey mandy!

    I am I think 😛 I dunno..It does kinda but I still have flaky patches on my forehead and between my eyes that this failed to get at 😛

    You’re right. for $200 I can get a slew of products that work better and my hands are fine as well hehe!

  • Tina

    I’ve used the Clarisonic for about a month now and agree with a lot of what you’ve said about it. Really the only thing I’ve noticed is that my skin feels softer, but if I use it twice a day it actually makes it feel rougher, so I only use it at night.

    I have oily skin along with flakiness, large pores, and constant blackheads and the brush really hasn’t done much to improve these. The only thing I’ve noticed is that it does seem to loosen things up so that the blackheads are much easier to extract.

    Like you, I wash my face regularly first and then do a second washing with the brush. I always washed my face twice before and can’t imagine just using the brush as my only pass at cleaning. Plus I think the brush would get so dirty super quickly if I didn’t wash “manually” first.

    I also agree with you that it is overpriced. I think it’s ridiculous that it’s $200 and think $40-$50 would be more reasonable given what it actually does.

    I also don’t like the clunky charger and dealing with finding a place to set the big handle thing down after I’m done washing.

    Oh, I don’t think I’ve noticed any difference in fine lines, either. I think like a lot of products people may be experiencing the placebo effect with this device. People WANT to see some of these changes so they do.

    Basically, I think if you have good skin it will probably make it feel and look better but if you have problematic skin it’s just not going to be your miracle cure.

  • the Muse

    Hi Tina

    Sorry for my delayed reply, Thanks for the comment!

    Happy to read a similar experience to mine. I feel almost the exact same way about the brush as you do!

    I haven’t noticed a change in my skin at all. Not even softness.

    I have a combo skin type and my skin is virtually the same way it’s always been. Oily forehead, dry patches on my cheeks.

    My blackheads (nose area) are still here and it’s done nothing for those and you seem to have had more success with extraction b/c it’s dont nothing for me. I still have a hard time getting them out!

    I must say the idea of using this as my sole method of cleaning seems impossible as I wear far too much makeup to remove EVERYTHING from my face with just this!

    Agree again, the brush heads would be mud if I used this to take everything off!

    Your view in general is everything I felt and more with the brush. price, results, etc….

    Just not worth the time or the money to use this. I was sorely disappointed after all the mass ravings not only on tv and mags (can’t really count to these for a true review anyway) but also regular girl’s like myself on forums and MUA that rave on and on. I experienced no such results and have little to rave about..although I can rant about the $200 I wish I had lol!

    Oh well!

    Thanks for the awesome comment!
    Hope to talk to you again!

  • BEAUTYBOOTY

    I’d have to agree. This is crap. I have oily skin, fine lines, etc and I saw MORE success with a microdermabrasion scrub than with this brush. For the money I spent and the glowing reviews, I though this was a GODSEND… WRONG!!! Please Please don’t waste your money on this crap. Get a manual hand held face brush for less than $5 and exfoliate away. This was an expenive lesson!!!

  • the Muse

    hi beautybooty!

    Amen for that. It’s garbage 😛 195 dollars down the drain!

    The reviews are glowing what I want to know is who are these people and where do they live. we must hunt them down and shoot them for saying this is good

    lol!

    I agree a small handheld brush and some scrub would do a better job!

    Cheers!

  • Lisa

    Well, I just bought it and I actually adore it. I have very oily skin and I rarely wear makeup. I haven’t been able to find any SPF or moisterizer that does not cause acne because my skin is very sensitive. So the only thing I use on my skin is Clean & Clear Acne Cleanser (10% benzoyl). I do have some blackheads around my nose but mostly I have to deal with discoloration from acne and bumpy skin. I also get really large pimples on my chin and jaw line. I can tell a reduction in acne with this product or maybe a reduction in severity would be better.

    I used to use a handheld facial brush every morning to clean my face but that was it. I bought the Clarisonic Plus b/c i wanted to be able to do my face and my body. So far I can definitely tell a difference on the oil factor on my face and how smooth my skin is. I suspect the reason this product is working so well for me is because I never used a bunch of stuff on my face to clean it or remove make up in the first place so the difference is significant for me. I can tell my skin is dryer and that when i bother to put on a moisterizer that it does absorb better but only slightly. For the most part my skin has always been so oily that i could never use moisterizers any way because they just sit on my skin and often cause a breakout. I feel for the first time, with this product, that I would like to use one b/c my skin does feel better but I’m having a problem finding one that doesn’t irratate me. I’m still on the hunt for something that works on really oily skin so i would love any recommendations.

    Also, the reason i ditched my handheld brush was b/c it wore out much more quickly and while using it took slightly less time in the shower than the clarisonic does my skin never felt as smooth as it does with the clarisonic. The price is steep but I calculated the cost of the facial brushes I use ( around 6 dollars a month) and decided that the several years worth of use I would get out of the Clarisonic equaled what I would spent on the cheaper brushes over time. However, the intial high investment would only be worth it to me if I felt the product worked better than my current regime, which I do. Just my oppinion. Lisa

  • Gretchen

    My friend convinced me to purchase the Clarisonic brush, which is a surprising treat. I feel as if my face is experiencing the results of a facial, daily! Another unexpected treat. If I had one issue, it would be that my skin is very oily with its use, and I have broken out with a couple of sizeable zits. However, my friend states that my skin will eventually neutralize, and has encouraged me to continue using it. So, I will be patient, and keep blotting during the day. After I use the brush and wash my face, I then tighten my pores with ice cold water. I am not sure if this is what is stimulating the oils. Does anyone know?

    • the Muse

      hey gretchen! I heard a few reviews saying that! It prob will neutralize with daily use! I noticed that my skin was a tad oily as well when I recently re-tested a unit 😀 but it’s since started behaving normal again! I imagine it’s simply your skin adjusting to the treatment but it should go away with continued use.

  • ann

    I heard about lots of good reviews on Clarisonic, and always looking for buying one for my mom. I’m very excited that I just purchased a Clarisonic Mia.

  • Cristal

    Hi Muse,
    Love the site! Just wanted to know if you’ve ever tried the Clarisonic Opal? It’s an infusion system, aimed primarily at reduring puffiness and discolorations

    • the Muse

      haven’t tried ir cristal but look forward to checking it out!

      Thanks!

  • Luna

    I didn’t have any problems using the Clarisonic brush. I am skeptical about the Clarisonic Opal though…

    I would use Biore Blemish Ice Cleanser with the brush. I have to say, it really did help me clear up my acne!

  • Krystal

    this actually made my skin worse because i have really sensitive skin and it made my skin bumpy. i’m returning it. it did nothing for my blackheads.