I wanted to share with you girls one of the new gadgets I've been playing with over the past 5-6 weeks.. it's the Clarisonic skin brush and it's amazing!

I'm going to sound like an infomercial, but this thing seriously works. It uses sonic technology to get your pores clean, so all the dead skin, sunscreen, pollutants in the air, etc are cleaned. I have extremely dehydrated skin that's prone to flakiness in the dry winter weather. Since using this to clean my face, I've noticed that my skin is more supple and soft, with no signs of flaking. It's super easy to use in the shower, and you come out feeling like you've had a facial.

There are several versions of this available; the pink version I bought at Sephora donates a portion of the proceeds to breast cancer research. The only reason why I took points off is because the pricepoint of $200 CAD can be a bit steep, but the results are definitely worth it. The other caveat is that the brushes need to be replaced every 3 months.

Some tips:
- You don't need to use too much pressure for it to work; the key is making little circles so that the sonic action can work around your face.
- It can be drying, so I only use it once a day for best results.
- There is no need to buy any special facial wash, so long as the product you are using is non-abrasive. I use Philosophy's "Purity" facial wash and it works quite well.

My Wondrous, Glowing, Gushing Clarisonic review.

Firstly, the important details: This product is made by the same company that makes the Sonicare toothbrush. The company claims to use "sonic technology" to cleanse your skin by removing makeup and other gunk. It is programmed to run for 60 seconds and that is supposed to be how long it takes to clean your face cleaner than it's ever been.

I had seen other reviews of this gadget and was curious about it. I am a sucker for anything remotely related to beauty. I felt guilty(oddly enough) purchasing something this expensive for myself. The Clarisonic facial brush runs around $200. I just couldn't see replacing all the other things I buy at Sephora for that one thing. I will spend that much at Sephora, but I like to get a bunch of stuff! Anyhow, I sent a link to the thing to my husband who is clueless about gift giving. He's a wonderful person. He's an intelligent person. He SUCKS at gift giving. I've finally accepted this and so I either buy myself gifts or take him directly to the thing I want, point to it and say, "Buy that." OH! I did the same thing with the WiiFit. I will have to review that little piece of Heaven some other time. Back to the brush.

What a surprise! I got the Clarisonic for Christmas! Yay! It was even WRAPPED in wrapping paper! I eagerly plugged it in to charge and plastered myself with copious amounts of makeup so that I'd have a good and grody face to scrub in the evening. That evening, I used it for the first time. It comes with the brush head for sensitive skin. There are 3 different brush heads you can buy. I don't think I'd want anything more rough than the sensitive brush, though. My skin is pretty sensitive and will turn red at the least little thing. I used my own DHC facial soap and swirled the brush around on that, then pressed the button.

A three-toned beep sounded and then the brush began humming. In the literature included with the brush, they give you a rough estimate of how long you should use the brush on each "zone" of your face. First, you start with your forehead, then move to a cheek, then another cheek, then the chin, and last, the nose. The brush beeps and pauses very briefly to allow you to change facial areas. This is a feature I like. However, you have to estimate your cheeks so that you clean them both in the alotted time. It's just one time period for both cheeks. This irks me about this. Beep twice. I have two cheeks. Beep twice, for God's sake. How hard would that be? Don't make me freakin' COUNT while I'm enjoying scrubbing out my pores! If I pay this much for a facial brush, and it BEEPS for other areas, then it can at least beep two times for my cheeks. Petty, I know. Oh well.

Of course, you can always press the power button after the brush automatically shuts itself off and have another go at your face if you like. I do like. I do it every time I use the brush. I have decided to let go of the anxiety of counting so I get my whole face scrubbed and I just scrub until I think I should move on. If I run out of time, I press the button and go some more and continue to ignore the beeps. Now, there is an explicit warning against this practice in the manual that comes with the brush. One may OVER brush their face and end up with scabby nastiness instead of dewy glowiness. I have yet to over scrub, though.

I honestly think about this stupid brush during the day and can't wait to get home to use it. I use it in the morning and in the evening. It is supposed to eventually shrink your pore size, and help to minimize fine lines. The company claims that it removes up to 6 times as much makeup as other cleaning methods. That grossed me out. I don't want anything left on my face after I wash it.

Another perk of using this wonder of scientific beauty implements is that the company claims use of this brush can assist your skin in better absorption of all of those expensive facial serums and creams that you buy to fend off the steady march of time on your face. Sounds good to me. Does it do that? I don't know. I've been using it for about 3 months now, and I love it. I use it in the shower in the morning because the sweet little precious thing is waterproof! I use it at the sink in the evening. I have glorious skin. It's positively radiant. At least, I like to think so.

I wholeheartedly recommend this product. I wish I had had access to it when I was younger. It simply cleans deeply and thoroughly. When I take a cotton ball and toner and go over my face after using the brush, there is nothing on the cotton ball afterwards. With other methods of cleaning, I will still have remnants of makeup or oil or some disgusting thing on the cotton ball. Who wants to go to bed with that unidentifiable crap on their face? Not me. I know that when I put on my myriad anti-wrinkle potions that there is nothing between the product and my skin.

When looking in my gigantic bazillion X magnifying mirror, I can see my clean little pores. No gunk in them. No desperately applied concealer left in the small creases near my eyes. Just clean, smooth skin. With way too many lines on it. And what is that mole? Was that there before? Oh God, what is the thing you're supposed to look for in skin cancer? Moles that change size? Moles that weren't there before? Wait. Maybe it's a freckle. I get freckles. Not as many now as I did as a kid, but I do get them. Maybe it's a freckle. I'll try to scrub it off with my brush.

The Clarisonic Skincare Brush is available through Sephora.com; Ulta; Be Beautiful; and other retailers. The price is approximately $200. It is available in pink, graphite gray and white. Replacement brush heads will run you about $25 and you will need to replace your brush head every couple of months.

P.S. I went to get Botox and Juvederm a couple of weeks ago, and the lady who took the picture of my face to show me how badly damaged my skin is by UV rays told me that I had NO congestion in my pores WHATSOEVER. None. That's right. Clairisonic totally decongested all pores. There would be no extractions to perform should I choose to get a facial, as well. I told them that I credit this to the miraculous Clairisonic Brush.

Review on Botox part deux and Juvedern part un soon to come.

I have been reading reviews on this product and all the hype it has been getting and I was very intrigued by it. The only thing that concerned me was the price. I mean $217 is allot of money to spend on an facial brush. I decided to take a leap and try it. I must say that this is the best $217 taxes that I have ever spent. I have been using this brush for 1 month now and I can tell you that my face has never felt and looked better. I was waiting on that "time of month" to really put it to the test because that's when I get most of my breakouts. I am very happy to report that I didn't get any...and i mean not one pimply within the least month and I would give total credit to the Clarisonic. Girls I know its allot of money to spend but try to save up and give it a shot. I guarantee you would agree that it was money well spent.

I am in love with this product! I have been suffering from acne, scarring for a few years now and I've tried every possible treatment on my face. Unfortunately, nothing has been effective. The weeks prior to my purchase of the clarisonic, I started to break out really badly, to the point where I seriously considered going to the dermatologist because my face was just covered with small pimples and blemishes but after careful research, I decided to shell out the money to purchase this skincare brush. I've been using the brush for about 3 weeks now and I am amazed at how well my face has cleared! The bumps that I had before purchasing the clarisonic brush were completely gone and the texture of my skin was a lot smoother, more even and brighter!

The only downside to this brush is excessive use will greatly irritate your skin and dry it out, so I'd recommend using it once a day at night before bedtime. Another con to this brush is that there is only one button to turn it on/off, change the timer settings and that can be really confusing and frustrating because you have to change the settings by following the beeps (which I found to be confusing).

Of course, this brush is really really expensive but I would not consider it a downside to the brush because I think it is worth every penny (given that it will last me a few years and not break down!). Just think about all the expensive acne products you had to purchase, how quickly it'd add up and yet it still would not treat your skin problems and you'd realize that the price is quite reasonable for such an investment after all.

I know this is expensive - and especially if you don't have skin problems it is probably not worth it, however, this Clarisonic skin care brush has been the answer to my problems. I am 38 and since moving to Texas 4 years ago, I have had the worst problems with blackheads and whiteheads that you can imagine. I don't know if it is hormonal, or if it is the climate here (hot, dry and dusty), but I have tried everything. I have drunk water til it is going out of style, I have cut back my coffee drinking, I have tried skin care from Proactiv to ultra high end Dr. Kaplan MD skin care ($500 bucks!), and nothing has really worked until I tried this brush. I cannot tell you how wonderful it is, I wish you could see my skin. For the first time in YEARS, I was complimented on my complexion the other day. I had gorgeous skin as a youth, but acquired these acne problems after my second child was born, and then these blackhead problems more recently. This is amazing. :)