Clarisonic Mia 2

The lovely people at Current Body were kind enough to send me a Clarisonic Mia 2 to test for the next 3 months! I was so excited to receive this today, it's something I've been thinking about buying but I have to be honest, the price tag was making me a bit unsure. 

Clarisonic say the Mia 2 is the essential first step in your daily skin care, using a gentle sonic micro-massage action to cleanse deeply. It cleans pores without harsh abrasion or chemicals, cleansing so effectively that skin care products will absorb better. They claim 6x better cleansing, reduced appearance of pores, fine lines and wrinkes, and improved skin tone. The Mia 2 has two speed settings and a T-Timer that pauses to let you know when to move on to the next area of your face.

In the box was the Mia 2, charger, travel case and a sample cleanser from Clarisonic. I excitedly plugged it in to charge as soon as I got home and waited for it to be charged enough to use for the first time.

Lately my skin has been really dry, with flaky patches. The cold weather seems to be playing havoc with it and even my emergency slapping on of Eight Hour Cream hasn't rescued it, so I was intrigued to see what effect the Mia 2 would have. 

First, I took my make up off. Here's a lovely picture of me with no make up before using the Mia (I can't actually believe I'm putting make up free pictures up!)

You can use the Mia 2 to remove make up but I've read lots of reviews saying this stains the brush head so decided not to do that. Then I applied cleanser to my face before turning on the Mia and letting it go to work. You spend 20 seconds on your forehead, 20 seconds on nose/chin and 10 seconds on each cheek. There is a little pause when it's time to move on.

Then I rinsed off the remains of the cleanser and my skin feels smoother than before, still a little dry and a little red around the forehead and cheeks, but definitely an improvement. Here's a picture after cleansing and before putting any product on.

They say this is gentle enough to use twice a day but I think I'll start off with once a day and see how it goes. Considering I had removed make up before using the Mia I was surprised to see how much grime there was on the brush! Scary to think that all that muck would have just stayed on my skin all night - yuck! I've put some moisturiser on since taking that picture and maybe it's just wishful thinking but I think I can feel the difference in how products absorb into the skin so hopefully they will be a little more effective.

I'm going to try my Soap & Glory face wash with the Mia as well, and maybe try out a few other products to see what has the best effect and I'll keep you updated with my progress and whether I'm going to invest in a Mia 2 when the trial is over :) Watch out for my video review as well!

Mia 2 is an extension of our popular Mia family that gives you all the benefits of sonic cleansing in a compact, easy-to-use style. Mia 2 features two speeds, a one-minute pulsing T-Timer® and a protective travel case for on-the-go sonic cleansing. Now you have more choices for beautiful skin. - See more at: http://www.clarisonic.com/shop/sonic_skin_cleansing_systems/sonic_skin_cleansing_system_mia2/#sthash.scljfAT5.dpuf

Benefit Hello Flawless

I'm now on my second of the Hello Flawless powders and recently bought Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow liquid foundation.

First the liquid foundation:

I find it so so hard to find a foundation that doesn't dry out my skin, and I've bought pretty much every foundation Benefit have brought out over the years, and always been in love at the start and then disappointed after a week or two. I bought this expecting it to be the same but I have been very pleasantly surprised! This has become my go to foundation for every day.

It's oil free, has SPF25, has a brightening effect and is buildable in coverage level. I have pretty uneven skin but I don't like to look like I've caked on foundation. SPF is a big plus for me, I love the sun but have the damage it does to my skin, and we all know how ageing sun damage is! This is a very liquid foundation, very thin in texture but goes on nicely with a foundation brush and you only need the tiniest amount, I don't even use a full pump. That gives me a decent coverage. It stays put for about 12 hours before needing a touch up, another big bonus for me!

Now the powder:

Powder is another big bugbear for me, I like to use it to set my foundation and give a nice polished look but find lots of them too drying. This powder can be used with a brush to give fine coverage or with a sponge (both are included) to give more heavy coverage. The powder has a very fine texture, almost like talcum powder, and again I only use a small amount and get a good result, in fact I find too much can start to look a bit cakey. The brush that comes with the powder is nice enough, very soft but kind of small and I have a set of brushes that I use but it's handy for those on the go touch ups, if you need them.

All in all, 4 stars from me, and only because the liquid is only available in 9 shades and the powder in 10 shades so a bit limiting in who can find a shade to suit. I've been desperate to love a Benefit foundation for a long time and finally I do!

Available here: Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow and Hello Flawless Powder, both £24.50