As resisting really isn’t my strong suit most of the time…well, I gave in to temptation.   I fired up the laptop, and I got my Mia from Amazon where thankfully, I have a Prime shipping account, which meant that my new toy was going to get to me lightning fast.  Mine is white, so it looks like this:

I decided on the Mia over a full size Clarisonic because the Mia has a smaller footprint, and I have limited counter space.  Plus I thought it would be nice to have something that was designed to be travel friendly. 

I was curious as to how the Mia could be waterproof,  yet chargeable.  That question was answered by examining something  that Clarisonic calls a “pLink® International Charger”.  The charger has a standard plug on one end, and a round, slightly concaved disc on the end.   That disc and the end of the Mia handle have a magnetic attraction, and current is passed through that way.  I had to pause and have a geek moment in appreciation of the charger.

As part of the package, I received a trial size of the Clarisonic Gentle Hydro Cleanser.  The full size verison is 6 ounces, and retails in the neighborhood of $25.  It’s paraben-free, and the ingredients include algae, aloe vera gel, and antioxidants Vitamin E and Japanese green tea.  I like the cucumber scent of it, and it does feel soothing on my skin.  However, using this cleaners is not a pre-requisite for using the Mia.

As mentioned above, the Mia is waterproof.  It measures about 5 1/2 inches long, and is comfortable to grip.  The Mia is one speed, and turns on with a single touch.  I always use it the full amount of preset time, but you can turn it off by touching the button on the handle again.

You can use your Mia twice a day.  My first brush head was for sensitive skin.  I just replaced my brush, and I went with a standard brush this time around.  So far, I don’t see any signs of this one being too harsh for my skin.

The brushes are $25 a piece.  It pays to shop around for these as you can find them in twin packs and save yourself $10 or so.  You are supposed to change them after every 3-4 months.  They are easy to clean; I just use liquid antibacterial soap and water.  When you get the brushes, they have a clear plastic cover over them.  I threw mine away, and that wasn’t the best choice.  The cover helps protect the brush, and it also makes it easier to remove the brush every few days to rinse out any gunk that has worked its way underneath.

One minor note of disatisfaction is with the charge time.  I am not known for being patient, and it seems like it takes forever for it to reach a full charge, which is good for about 20 minutes worth of cleaning time.

The Mia leaves your skin feeling incredibly clean. It’s like that wonderful feeling after your teeth have been professionally cleaned, but only for your face.  I love, love, love this product!  However, I have been rather bad, and have not used it 100% religiously.  I am about to change that when I swing into a new skin care regimen that I will be posting about soon.

Bottom line, is the Mia worth the $150 price tag?  For the way it makes my skin feel, the answer is an empthatic yes!  If you’ve been sitting on the fence over this one, come on and jump on the bandwagon with me.  Your face won’t regret it.

As soon as YouTube cooperates, I have a demonstration video to show you.

Update:  After several hours, my Mia video finally uploaded. You can see it here.

Until next time, beauties!

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Disclosure: I purchased this product. The links in this post contain affiliate referral codes. Want more information on that? Check out the FAQ’s.

Clarisonic Mia Sonic Skin Cleansing System

When you take that fact, add in that 49 is looming on my personal horizon, and I am really self conscious about my eye area, I got really excited when looking through this week’s Sephora mailers.  If they don’t have it by the time you read this, they are soon to get the Clarisonic Opal Sonic Infusion System.

In case you’ve not yet heard of this, here is a promo video that explains it a little.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyNLVSPD0xU

Granted, that clip is a commercial, but I almost salivated when I saw the demonstration on one of the models. Could this thing really work as well as they said that it did?

At $245, if you live in my economic world, the price is downright scary. I just did a small amount of quick research to get some more information about the serum that they are using. It appears that this is not going to be a product where you can substitute another (insert cheaper) serum to go along with it. Math isn’t my strong suit, but if I am figuring it correctly, if you buy one and see good results, the serum is going to cost you $400 a year to use. That alone makes my bank account wince. However…if I tried it and it worked, I probably wouldn’t think twice about the serum cost.

If you live near any of these places, you can go check the Opal out for free.

What are your thoughts on this?  I know I shouldn’t want something that costs that much, but I do anyhow. ~lol~  If any of you are able to go to one of the salon parties, or if you have seen the results of the Opal first hand, please let us know how it works.