Guest Post - Clarisonic? I want one too!

Today I'd like to welcome Cas from Hair and Beautylicious, a great little blog that has been running for a few months now.  This is Cas's first ever guest blog post, and I'm very honoured to have her here today.


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Hello ladies **waves**, it's Cas here from 'Hairandbeautylicious', and I will be today’s guest blogger, for the wonderful ‘Get Lippie’. I have decided to blog about a product that we all, lets face it ladies, want and that is the . . .Clarisonic. But I have discovered an alternative! Want to know more? Then read on . . . 

A few years ago, as a present from my mum, I received a cleansing kit, which I originally thought ‘’what the heck is this’’. My mum kept banging on about how wonderful this kit was and that it would do wonders for my skin. As a ‘not so bothered’ teenager at the time, I kindly shoved this kit to the back of my wardrobe and thought nothing more of it. 

Following blogs, and the trends that seem to crop up from time to time in the wonderful blogging world, I came across a youtube video from a well known blogger discussing a Clarisonic. Filled with curiosity and feeling very intrigued, I decided to watch the video. By the end of it, I thought ‘’WOW, what a great machine’’ and then I had a light blub moment ’ding’. The kit I received a few years was in fact very similar, if not more or less the same as a clarisonic, that every girl in blogging world would like to own. I darted into my wardrobe, and found this neglected product that was looking back at me as if to say ‘’you’ve neglected me all this time, and now you want to use me’’ lol.

This kit is actually called ‘FacialSpa Ultra Cleansing & Microdermabrasion System’, manufactured by Homedics and was released mid 2000s (2005-6 maybe?). Homedics are renowned for selling products that promote health and wellness to its consumers as stated below:
 
Since its foundation in 1987, HoMedics has worked hard to achieve the number one name in health and wellness. We believe that nothing is more important than looking after yourself and we strive to bring you products that take the effort out of maintaining your wellbeing (Homedics, 2011).
 
So you’re now wanting to know what came in the kit? well I am just getting onto that bit.
Included in this kit came the following:

·    Rechargeable wand with 2 speeds
·    7 attachments; 2 x microdermabrasion sponge, 1 x large suction cup, 1 x small suction cup, 1 x massage roll
·    Cleanser, toner, moisturizer and microdermabrasion cream
·    Manual
·    Storage case for the attachments, with cleaning brush
·    Storage bag
 

This kit I thought contained a lot, which really does emphasise on the point that Homedics aim to achieve ‘’ We believe that nothing is more important than looking after yourself and we strive to bring you products that take the effort out of maintaining your wellbeing’’. Unfortunately due to receiving this kit as a gift from my mum, I cannot price it, and she also won’t tell me -_- lol.


After several years of owning this product, but not actually putting it to good use, I decided to try it out, and to my astonishment, it works! YAY J After 16hours charging, reading from page to page of the manual, I decided to give this product a whirl, once and for all. Although the kit came with cleanser, toner and moisturisier and microdermabrasion products, I didn’t want to use them, as my skin is very very fussy, so I took to using good ol Liz Earle products and Aapri facial scrub to replace the microdermabrasion cream. 

I won’t detail step by step what I did, apart from name which attachment I used in what order:
 
1) Cleansing brush – exfoliate
2) Large/small suction cup - deep cleaning of the pores, removing impurities
3) Microdermabrasion sponge - remove dead skin
4) Massage roller – encourage the circulation around the skin
 
At the end of this process, my skin felt incredibly smooth, soft and glowing. I have to say in the 10+years since I have been battling to maintain my skin and improve it, my skin looks so much better. It hasn’t instantly made it better, got rid of every blemish, but it certainly has rid away all the impurities and improved the general appearance of my skin. (Oh how I now wish I’d started using this product when I first received it lol).

As illustrated in the above picture, this wand also carries a little mist sprayer. What is the point in that do I hear you say? Well once you have completed the process, it is suggested, in the manual to lightly spray your face with the sprayer, as this will close the pores. I have used this function a few times, and I think it works alright. Although I personally like to splash my face with cold water, as it’s less time consuming and then pat dry thereafter with a dry clean towel for face purposes only.
 
In comparison to the Clarisonic, which if I am brutally honest, is a product that more or less does the same as the product discussed in this review, I can imagine it was good value for money (although I do not know the exact price), and adheres to what the company sets out to achieve. Although I do not know how much this kit cost, I highly suspect that it did not cost in the region of £155 (current amazon clarisonic price), which for that amount of money, could easily go towards shoes, clothes, handbags, make up ;-). Although this product is no longer sold on the high street, and I haven’t seen it advertised elsewhere online, I suspect however there are other products similar to this that do the same task. If not by HoMedics, then possibly by another company.
So I guess it comes to the following questions;
 

• Will I continue using Homedics Facial Spa Ultra Cleansing and Microdermabrasion system? Yes, of course, until my ‘little find’ decides to shout ‘’I’ve had enough’’!
• Will I be investing in the Clarisonic in the future? While I have a product that virtually does the same task, no. 

However if a Clarisonic ever crossed my path, I’d be willing to, at least, give it a try to see what the difference between the 2 are. 




I do hope you’ve enjoyed my review. Don’t forget to check out my blog, which is ‘Hairandbeautylicious’, or tweet me at @H_beautylicious.
 
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Get Lippie says: I've had a quick look around the HoMedics site, and sadly, I can't see this product listed on there any more, which is a real shame.  I can't be parted from my Clarisonic these days, and it strikes me that this would be an excellent replacement if - heaven forfend - the worst did happen ... That whining noise you hear?  That's me praying that Monarch airlines haven't lost my luggage, and my Clarisonic along with it ....

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

My Picks of 2010

Needless to say, you'll have seen a million of these posts already, and I was in two minds whether or not to post my selections too, but some of these products have been life-changing for me, and I thought I'd share them anyway ...

Bath Products of The Year:


Aromatherapy Associates

Early on in the year, I was sent an Aromatherapy Associates Miniature Bath and Shower oil selection, which I adored, and since then, I've been through two - count them! - full-size bottles of the Deep Relax bath oil.  Both heady and relaxing, this stuff has seen me through an operation, a change of job, and moving house, I can't recommend it highly enough.  A capful (or two, in my mega-bath's case) is more than enough to soothe my aching bones, and ease my weary head.  You can also use it as a shower oil, or, in extreme cases, you can dab it on your pulse points and sniff as required. They do great candles too.


Lipstick of the Year

Guerlain Rouge G in Georgia

Adore the packaging, love (love!) the colour, and the fact that it's both £10 cheaper than Tom Ford's Pure Pink, alongside being slightly easier to wear makes this glorious shade my pick of the year.   The Tom Ford Private Collection lipsticks did grow on me throughout the year (to the extent that I now own three of them), however, this is the shade I'll be buying  back up of very soon.

Shampoo/Conditioner of the Year:

Andrew Collinge Smooth & Shine

An oldie, admittedly, but a damn good one.  I found this moisturising, and made my hair behave beautifully.  Easy to rinse, and it left my hair with an amazing shine, and at a bargainous £4.99 for a 500ml bottle, it lasted forever too!  If it were SLS-free, I'd be using it still (I had a keratin treatment at the end of year, so am using SLS-free formulations right now), but I had no issues with colour-stripping whilst I was using this on my dry, colour-processed hair.

Blusher of the Year

Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush

2010 was the year I really started to get into blusher, it started with Estee Lauder's Bronzed Goddess bronzer, and ended with Nars Douceur, but in between were these little gems. I love them still, and now own three, in Truth, Cherub and Dare (plus I intend to get my hands on Flush and Gentle at some point too), as they're practically perfect.  Long-lasting, buildable and perfectly tinted, after I learned to handle them, I fell in love.

Eyeshadow of the year

Le Metier de Beaute Kaleidoscope in Le Cirque

To be fair, everything I've tried from Le Metier this year has been great, but the Le Cirque Kaleidoscope blew me away a little bit. Beautiful and endlessly versatile, this is practically the only eyeshadow palette I've reached for since I bought it a couple of months ago. Alas, it's limited edition, so I'm glad I arranged a backup when I could.

Foundation of the Year

A tough one, this, so there are two winners (and a runner up ...):

 Guerlain Lingerie De Peau and Bourjois Healthy Mix

Both great for a glowing finish (even though the Bourjois is technically only a "satin" or semi-matte finish), I genuinely couldn't choose between the two.  The Guerlain is a lighter-than-air, dewy finish that I find works best when set with just the tiniest bit of powder, whereas the Bourjois doesn't need setting, but I find the coverage is a little heavier.

Just want to give a mention to a distinguished runner up, which is Armani Face Fabric.  Amazing mousse texture, but for me, I need to be having a really good face day to do it justice.  But this is great stuff:

Nail Varnish of the Year

Deborah Lippmann: Hit Me With Your Best Shot. 

A glimmering steel-grey shade with hints of multi-coloured micro-shimmer, I've reached for this polish again and again since it arrived in my stick little paws, I love it, and it just edged out Dolce & Gabanna's Perfection (which it very nearly is) as my pick of the year.  Unfair as I still don't think House of Fraser have it in stock yet, but when they do, snap this one up!

Candle of the Year

Jonathan Ward Idina's Locket

No competition - unless you count the rest of the candles in this superbly-scented Amber range from Jonathan Ward, of which I bought the entire range of the day it was released!  And I know I wasn't the only person to have done the same, either. Warm and evocative, this candle smells like it was stolen straight from the boudoir of  Coco Chanel herself.  I now have more candles from Jonathan on my "Candle Wall" than I do from any other maker, and the reason for that is because they are wonderful, not to mention very clean burning.


Perfume of the Year

Untitled by Maison Martin Margiela

A possibly controversial choice,  but my blog, my rules, so ... I have to say that out of all the mass perfume releases I smelled this year, this was by far the most interesting, and it's definitely the scent that's responsible for getting me interested in perfume at all during 2010, so for that, it was a very important discovery for me.  Not every perfume in store smells like sweeties, and thank goodness for that.  You're going to be hearing a lot from me about perfume in the coming months, so you can all blame the 'Martin.

Skincare Range of the Year:

 Much like Le Metier above, where I haven't had a duff product from them all year, Alpha H has been the same for skincare.  I've tried practically every product from the range now, and (one exploding eyecream aside) I've liked (at worst) all of them, and loved some of them.  Start with Liquid Gold, try the facial oil, then move onto the masks, you can't really go wrong.  I'll have some more in-depth reviews of a couple of things coming up soon, but this is a great, no-frills brand, and I highly recommend them.

You might also want to have a look at Mir Skincare, which is formulated for sensitive skin, and is a bit of a marvel, in particular I loved the (vegan-friendly) Argan Oil, which I'll shortly be placing a replacement order for.

And finally - if you're still reading!

Overall Product of the Year

Clarisonic

Quite simply, it's a life (and skin) changing bit of kit.  I've banged on about it at relentless length several times before now, so I shan't go on, but suffice to say, I can't imagine life without this now.  Even if it is, essentially, a giant toothbrush for your face.

This has been one massive post, sorry!

Clarisonic Giveaway!

Yes, I'm still giving one away, but this is just a little heads up that the competition ends tomorrow at noon.  If you haven't entered already (and if not, why not?), here's the link to find out how to enter.

Looking forward to hearing from you!  C'mon, it's pink, you know you want it ...

Review - Clarisonic (First Thoughts)

Ever since I read Gemma's Clarisonic Diaries posts about her experiences of using a handset for a month over on London Beauty Review a while ago, I've wanted one of these sonic beauties!  A couple of weeks ago though, this desire was cemented by the amazingly talented Jody Bloch at the Fern Skin Clinic, who told me that a Clarisonic would definitely help me with some dry skin issues I've been suffering from lately.

It took me a little while to get my hands on one, but I finally have one in my sticky little paws, and, after a week of use, I thought it might be interesting to get some thoughts down about how using a giant toothbrush Clarisonic to clean my face has been.

Here is what Clarisonic claim for themselves (from the Clarisonic website):

Benefits beyond just clean skin: Clarisonic improves the appearance of skin tone and reduces the appearance of pore size

Clarisonic is the sonic technology proven to gently yet effectively loosen dirt and oil to clear your pores. The Clarisonic Cleansing System uses a patented sonic frequency of more than 300 movements per second to clean, soften and smooth your skin. In just 60 seconds a day, the Clarisonic micro-massage action cleans more than twice as effectively as manual cleansing.

Clarisonic Sonic Cleansing Benefits

• Removes 6x more makeup than manual cleansing
• Leaves skin feeling and looking smoother
• Cleanses so well that products absorb better
• Gentle enough for twice daily use
• Helps reduce oily areas, dry skin patches and blemishes
• Helps reduce the appearance of visible pores
• Reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles 

I've been using mine twice a day for the last week, with an old favourite cleanser (Nude's Facial Cleansing Oil), and, I have to say, I've been astonished at how much I love using this thing. Essentially, you apply your cleanser to your damp skin, then, after wetting the brush head with warm water, you move it in small circles over your skin, moving to different parts of the face when the handset beeps.  Once the brush turns itself off, I usually go over my skin with a warm facecloth and remove any last traces of cleanser that are left behind, and give myself a little steam-treatment too.

So, how have I found it? Well, after my operation, I'd been quite openly complaining about my dull, grey, flaky skin, which not even my usual hot-cloth method of skin-cleansing had been able to shift.  In addition, I've been "suffering" from a constant patch of dry, flaky skin on my forehead for a matter of months that has been driving me bananas - it was diagnosed by a couple of people recently as "lipid dryness", meaning that oil wasn't able to penetrate beyond the most superficial layer of my skin.  From the first use, Clarisonic has helped with both of those problems. 

My dry patch has disappeared, and my skin has been uniformly more even in tone, and it's soft. So soft that it feels like velvet!  I do find that my skin most definitely feels a lot cleaner when I use the handset, and from the first use (for me), it's been a bit of a revelation. I've also found that I don't need to exfoliate at all.  Astonishing.  Astonishing enough for me to actually look forward to cleansing my face as a result!

Now, has my skin been visibly changed for the better?  I can't in all honesty say so.  Yet.  MrLippie hasn't noticed any difference in my skin (then again, he'd only really notice a change in my skintone if I suddenly dyed it to match his London Irish rugby shirt, to be honest).  Skin creams certainly seem to sink in better after using it, and  I think this might be raising their efficiency slightly.  Oils, in particular just seem to vanish into my face with only the bare minimum of massaging, and my skin has been brighter as a result.  The main skin oil that I'm using at the moment is Liz Earle's Superskin concentrate, by the way, I just adore the neroli-scent as a night treatment.

Things I don't like: it takes a long time to charge - when it first arrives, you have to charge it for 24 hours before you can use it, and, I've found it can be tricky trying to change the programming.  It has three speeds, which are very easy to sort out, but moving it from a 1 minute timed setting, to a 2 minute timed setting or a setting without a timer can be difficult.  So difficult, in fact, that mine appears to be stuck on the 2 minute timer, and I can't, for the life of me, figure out how to get it back onto a one minute timer!  This is eating up my battery life, which ties back into my point about it taking a long time to charge! It's also on the pricey side, coming in at £150 for a face-only version, or £175 for a face and body unit. You can pick one up from Selfridges, Harrods, or SpaceNK.  That said though, a course of facials would cost a similar amount, and, this is something that I feel is definitely going to make a big change to  my routine, so, on a cost per use basis, it actually works out pretty cheap.  I've always believed that getting your cleansing right is the key to any skin routine, and, well this is a big step along that route.

Overall, I'm exceptionally impressed, and I'm looking forward to seeing if the coming weeks bring any differences to my face that other people can notice ...

The Fine Print: Unit was accidentally provided for review purposes.  Long story, it involves Selfridges, a champagne cocktail or two, another encounter with me talking WAY too much to Daniel Sandler and some lightly embarrassed gatecrashing.  Probably best not to ask ...