Hi Everyone!
I bought the Clinique Sonic System Purifying Cleansing Brush for $40 CAD at the MAC Warehouse Sale in September. It normally retails for $111 CAD and the replacement heads are $54 CAD for a set of 2 of the purifying ones. Last week, I went to the December MAC Sale and I found the replacement heads for $10, so I got 2 purifying cleanser ones and the Airbrushed Finish Liquid Foundation Applicator brush head (which normally retails for $34 CAD).
In the box, there is the brush, a charging dock and two replacement heads. It’s a nice cleansing brush, it fits in your hand easily and doesn’t slip. I like how it’s not battery operated so there’s not backing that water can accidentally get into. Once I brought it home, I started to charge it. It takes a while to charge, but once it’s charged, it lasts for a while. I admit that I hadn’t used it a lot because I didn’t want to pay $54 for the replacement heads and it says to replace after a few months. After 30 seconds of use, it will automatically shut off. This is useful because you’re not supposed to use it longer than a minute or so, so two cycles is the ideal length of time to keep it running. The brush heads snap onto the brush, and the purifying brush heads are oval-shaped and stick out from the top of the brush so you can grip the top and take it off easily.
The cleansing brush is good, the sonic vibrations deeply cleanse the skin. It’s best to use a more liquid cleanser, I used one that was a bit too thick and it took a bit of rinsing to get it out of the brush. Obviously, the best cleanser to use is probably one of Clinique’s. The white bristles are softer than the green ones. The green ones are meant for areas like your T-Zone and nose, while the white bristles are gentler for your cheeks.
The brush is great to use when I take a shower after wearing makeup. I use makeup wipes, micellar water or makeup remover to remove my makeup, but my brush still gets dirty from the leftover foundation that I missed or that got into my pores.
I saw the foundation brush head and knew it retailed for $30 or more, so I thought I’d try it for $10. I dabbed some liquid foundation on my face and turned the brush on. It was going on really smoothly and looked really good. It still looked like I was wearing foundation, but it looked as if I used a damp beauty sponge. I’m not sure how much of the foam sponge absorbed my foundation, but I think it was about the same amount as a normal beauty sponge. If you’re not careful, the foam sticks out a bit from the plastic on the head and it caught on my cheek as I was moving the brush. After using it, I realized the foam brush had ripped. It broke after one use! Also, the brush head is round, and unlike the purifying brush head, it was hard to grip and pull off. Also, since the brush head is just foam, you have to be careful or you might rip the foam. I had to use a letter opener to get it off. It definitely wouldn’t be worth $34, I’m upset that I even paid $10 for it.
RATING: 4/5
The brush is great, but I take off a point because the replacements are so expensive and also the foundation applicator was terrible. I’ve heard the Clarisonic foundation head is good (theirs is similar to a brush, not made of foam like Clinique’s) and hope that Clinique comes out with something comparable.
Have you tried a sonic cleansing brush? Which do you prefer?
Love,
