The Clarisonic Plus!

The Clarisonic seems to be a love it or hate it product within the beauty community, it took a lot of researching and blog reading before I even thought about committing to buy it.

What I seemed to find was that most people with dry sensitive skins did not like this, whereas those with more combination oily skin, and acne prone skin felt like it made a huge difference. 

Falling into the oily/combo/acne skin range I decided (after much deliberation) I would purchase this after Christmas. 

Luckily for me the Clarisonic did get reduced from £179.00 to £143.20 just after Christmas, so with my £75.00 worth of vouchers I was given as a gift from my boyfriend, I only paid £68.20 of my own money towards it. 

I personally chose the 'plus' over the 'Mia' because there's three different speeds (the Mia has two), a body brush setting, and it also came with 3 trial size cleansers, a body polish, and a body brush head. 

The Clarisonic also comes with 2 years warranty, which I felt comforted by as electrical products tend to hate me! haha!

The Plus itself feels expensive, it's good quality, sturdy, and got a nice weight to it. I know these things seem trivial but when you're buying something priced at £179 you expect it to feel/look worth the price.

Obviously being a typical girly girl I went for the baby pink, as I knew I wouldn't get sick of the colour, I have to say I'm extremely glad it came with the sensitive brush head as after research I'm more than certain that some of the others would be way too harsh on my skin. 

Now down to the nitty gritty... I have been using this for over a month now and I have to say I've noticed a definite improvement in my skin, it is much more supple, and I've definitely noticed a difference in my pigmentation and acne scars. My skin has over the past three months been acting up again, I get hormonal acne in cycles, and generally it does get worse around this time of year and with stress, therefore in terms of my cystic acne it's not changed, I was expecting to get a big 'skin purge' as everyone calls it but I honestly so far haven't noticed any changes or difference in my breakouts. I think if you skin maybe wasn't acne prone already you maybe would notice this more. I use this after I've taken the bulk of my makeup off at night, it gives such a lovely refreshing and deeper clean, perfect if you wear heavy duty foundations like me!

The body brush setting is also great, and much more gentle than I was expecting, definitely a good one for anyone who is a lazy exfoliater!

I love this little machine and I'm very happy I decided to purchase it.

Personally I do think it's very expensive and there are cheaper alternatives and competitors out there, one thing I will say is that the general up keep is also expensive, replacement brush heads are priced at £21 for one, or £35 for two. I have noticed that there's a definite price difference between the UK and the US (you guys get all the best deals!) so I think I will stock up on brush heads when I go to NYC in March.  

I've also really enjoyed the gentle hydro cleanser which came as one of the samples however I've been reluctant to buy the full size as I feel I could find something similar for less than £21. 

Overall I would say if you have the money to spare this is a good investment, but also be aware that the upkeep is also not cheap! I am happy I purchased this even if it did give me a little pain in my wallet! 

Thanks for reading! Have you tried any Clarisonic competitors?

Hannah -ox

My Favourite SPF!

I'm just going to put this out there...I do not wear SPF everyday, I tend to rely on my makeup for SPF protection. I realise people have different opinions on SPF, some sunlight is good for your skin, and in my personal opinion I do not feel that SPF is necessary everyday if I'm not spending a huge amount of time outside. 

I used to use the SPF 50 for face from La Roche Posay, and I really liked it for a long time, however my skin has changed, and not only do I feel that Factor 50 is maybe a little too high protection now, but I also found that I started getting little bumps under my skin after I'd been wearing it, and even when I would double cleanse. 

Obviously having sensitive skin has meant that some SPF's have broke me out like nobodies business, and I'm always cautious when buying them because the majority also don't seem to sit well with oily skin and give you a ridiculous shine.

By chance I picked the Solait SPF 30 up in Superdrug before I went to Portugal this summer, the thing that drew me in was the fact it claimed it had a 'light texture' and also that it was mattifying. I was so pleasantly surprised by this! I used it throughout my holiday and found no irritation, no shine and it protected my face from the sun perfectly, not a single burn!

I've continued to use this on days when I have wanted SPF protection in the UK and I still love it, it is hands down one of the best facial SPF's I've used for my oily skin, and it's also not got a hefty price tag!

I would definitely recommend! 

Thanks for reading!

Hannah -ox