The Clarisonic Mia and Cetaphil: a match made in heaven

A few months ago, I volunteered to test-drive the Clarisonic Mia for a BlogHer Style post. I'd heard a lot of great things about the Mia, and I figured this would be a great excuse to buy one and see whether it lived up to the hype. But BlogHer didn't want me to review just the Mia, because reviewing a single item would seem like an endorsement. Instead, they wanted me to review three different face brushes, and talk about their pros and cons.

That killed the idea for me. I like to shop, but buying three spinning face brushes is excessive, even for me. But I bought a Mia, anyway, figuring I could review it here.

Let me start by saying that I've used a Sonicare toothbrush for years, and the technology of the Mia is very similar. The bristles move, but the secret is the sound waves. These things basically hum the dirt off.

Having used a Sonicare, I predicted that

1. initially the Mia's noise would bother me; 
2. I would get used to the noise very quickly, and
3. rapidly reach the point where if I didn't use the Mia, my face wouldn't feel clean.

I'm happy to say that all of my predictions came true.

The first time I used the Mia, I was bothered by the buzzing sensation that I felt when I did the sides of my nose and the area over my sinuses. I can only describe the sensation as WHOA that feels weird. But by the third time I used the Mia, I was used to it.

When I rinsed, I definitely felt cleaner, but my skin wasn't stripped. After a few days, my skin started to look rosier and had a healthier glow.

With that little extra bit of exfoliation, my various moisturizers seemed to sink in faster, and my vitamin C serum felt ... extra tart. My makeup applied better, too.

I have fine, dry, freckly, burns-but-doesn't-tan skin, so the size of my pores hasn't really been an issue. Still, I was delighted to notice that after about a month of using the Clarisonic, my pores had dropped a dress size.

The best part? A few milia that had been troubling me completely cleared up. Within six weeks of starting to use the Mia, they were all gone.

One thing I wasn't crazy about was the cleanser that came with it. The Mia came with a sample-sized tube of a Clarisonic cleanser with green tea extract. It certainly left my skin feeling clean.

But after about a week, I noticed a slightly crinklier appearance to the skin under my eyes. It reminded me of my mother's face, and not in a good way.  Since I was running out of the little sample-sized tube, I thought I'd try something milder.

Now, Cetaphil is about the mildest cleanser around. It's one of those legendary products whose popularity mystifies me. It's always getting recommended by famous dermatologists and Paula Begoun, the Cosmetics Cop. Cetaphil makes the Top Beauty Products lists in InStyle and Allure. It's inexpensive, widely available, unscented, and inoffensive.

I was OK with Cetaphil's bland, boring, goody-goody image, but I never felt that it got my face clean. It's so mild that it feels like I'm rubbing hand lotion or ladies' shaving cream on my face.

But I figured the cleansing power of the Cetaphil would be increased by the high tech whizziness of the Sonicare Mia. And I was right! While Cetaphil alone leaves me feeling vaguely coated (not quite slimed a la Ghostbusters, but something akin to it) the combination of very gentle Cetaphil and a high-tech Clarisonic is complexion perfection. I get clean but my skin feels soft and moisturized.

Also, on days when I'm wearing a lot of spackle, I double cleanse. Not by using a fancy Japanese oil like the cool kids, but by using Cetaphil twice. I massage in some Cetaphil, then tissue it off. Then I use more Cetaphil, this time with the Mia.

Double cleansing with only one product? And a cheap one, at that? #Winning!

OK, why am I bringing this up now, when the Mia has been around forever?

Two reasons. First of all, do not expect the trendiest of the trendy from me, for I am now and have always been the last by whom the new is tried.

Second, you have the opportunity to score a Mia for a pretty good price right now. There are some really cute colors available at the Nordstrom Anniversary sale--coral! Fuschia! Zebra print!

The Nordstrom models cost $149, but come with two brush heads, and since a replacement brush retails for $25, this is a pretty good deal.

And since Nordstrom is offering the latest and greatest in cute Mia designs, other retailers are offering the older colors for a better price. Check Amazon and you'll see Mias being offered by several retailers. You can also get replacement brush heads there.

(BTW, Ulta is offering their 20 percent off everything in the store. Watch your mailboxes for the coupon. I don't know whether this will work for a Mia, but at least it will work for the Cetaphil.)