Clarisonic Skin Care Brush - Week 3

Nothing has really changed from the second week. The brush is continuing to help remove all my makeup and sunblock from my face at the end of the day. My pores are much smaller, but that is largely in thanks to Estee Lauder's Idealist, which I was using before I started using the Clarisonic. One thing that is upsetting me is that I still have clogged pores and blackheads on my nose. I expected the Clarisonic to be able to purge my pores completely, but when I look in the mirror, I can still clearly see that they are not clear. So I suppose there's a limit to how much cleansing can achieve.

However, the Clarisonic did provide a good foundation for some serious pore cleansing I did the other day. After washing my face, I put on a Biore nose strip while my face was still wet to see how much gunk I could get out of my pores. Nose strips haven't always worked that well for me. The advertisements always show a ton of gunk on the strip after the model takes it off. For me, it's usually only a couple blackheads, whiteheads or sebum plugs that came out, so it's never gratifying or reassuring. But this time when I took off the strip, there was A TON of sebum stuck to it. So, what I gather from this experience is that 1) exfoliating is key to clearing out your pores, and 2) the Clarisonic isn't a "miracle worker," just a helpful assistant--if I want great skin, I still have to do all the steps I normally do.

On a side note, I want to point out you should never dry your skin after you wash and exfoliate if you're going to put on a peel off mask or pore strip. When you wash your face, the warm water loosens all the dirt and sebum, and if it hasn't come off your face completely, you're just going to pat it right back into the pores when you pat your face dry. So before you wash your face, have all your other peeling products ready, so when you're done, you can put them on while your face is still soaking wet for the best result.

Anyway, back to the Clarisonic. I'm not convinced I should keep it. Yes, my skin is looking great, but I do still have clogged pores, and I am still getting pimples (though nothing too serious). Kind of disappointing when I expected all my skin problems to magically go away after using it. I might keep the Clarisonic for a second month, actually, since I did purchase it from Sephora which has the 60 day money back guarantee. If I don't have the "flawless glowing skin" that everyone else claims to have by then, I'll be taking it back for a refund. If that happens, the good news for you guys is I'll probably come up with exfoliating reviews to see if I can maintain the Clarisonic's results. I've read on a couple blogs that some people didn't notice the difference the Clarisonic made until they stopped using it. So..we'll see. If my skin deteriorates after I return it, despite my exfoliating, I'll just have to buy it again.

I'm going to temporarily refrain from my regular reviewing so I can focus on my finals. However, I will continue to blog about the Clarisonic, since I want to keep giving weekly updates, and I'm sure I'll need a break from writing papers anyway. Some skincare things I'm planning on reviewing eventually are: Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion & Gel, Clinique Turnaround Concentrate Visible Skin Renewer, Kiehl's Abyssine Serum, and MAC Prep + Prime Face Protect SPF 50. I'm also thinking of purchasing more Japanese mascaras (the only kind which seem to work for me). I really want to try Majolica Majorca; does anyone have good recommendations?

Wish me luck for getting through the next couple of weeks! If you're taking finals also, good luck to you too!