Inspired by these lovely fairy tale like sparkly nails I found on Pinterest (left), I went and got my own bottle of sparkly nail varnish to try (right)!

Clearly, I got lost in the many shades of pink and types of sparkles available as it doesn’t look nearly the same or give off the same vibe. How come those nail art pictures don’t come with DIY instructions?

Ever since this summer I’ve been trying to look for the right shade of taupe. There’s just something so refreshing but elegant about it.

When I saw Lady Gaga’s fingers on the recent cover of Vanity Fair, I knew that it is the color I want. A quick flick to the contents page revealed that her nails were done by Deborah Lippmann. But alas, the Deborah Lippmann counter at Joyce Beauty in Hong Kong didn’t have a shade that was close!

So I went to Cher2 looking for something similar. But unfortunately, when it comes to color description, I’m at loss for words. I wanted something…. greyish. And so I  came home with the Playa del Platinum. After 2 days though, I had to wash it off. It was simply too gray. But it must be something with the lighting at the store, because I picked up the same shade the second time I went! Luckily I did some homework the second time around and finally found the right shade of taupe. Jazz is exactly what I wanted! In case anyone else is looking for the “right” shade, you might want to try this one.

Image Source: Vanity Fair and Essie

I missed my Mia over the long weekend, but I’m beginning to think that I should restrain myself and use it maybe every 2 days instead to always get the awesome feeling of cleaniness. My skin actually feels slightly raw after a few days of daily usage. That would give my skin time to recover from the cleansing and my break outs to heal. Maybe I need a gentler brush head. Or maybe it’s really all about adjusting the duration between usea for individual skin types? I wish it came with a manual on how to fine the optimum usage!!

Another friend of mine recently tried it. She usually has perfect skin and she said the Clarisonic did nothing for her and that drug store microdermabrasia kit had more noticeable effect than this. The reviews have been so mixed!

I think I’m getting addicted to my Mia. I just love the feeling of the oscillating brushhead against my face. It makes me want to continuously use it to make sure that ALL the dirt is gone. It’s a good thing it automatically turns off after 1 minute! And of course, I love the feeling of clean and smoothness afterwards. Though nothing quite compares to how my skin feels after I use it when I’ve not used it for a few days or a week. That’s when you feel really really clean.

I’m happy to report that the crazy purging period seems to have passed. But alas, I’m still waiting for the promised land of clear and poreless skin. It seems that when one zit dies down then a new blocked pore suddenly surfaces and develops into a pimple. When will this purging end? Or should I just reduce to using it every few days instead? Maybe I’ll take a break from it over the Thanksgiving break. I could use the extra suitcase space for something else- I’m going to NYC! 🙂

My friends and I have had our Clarisonic Mia for 2 weeks now, and we’ve had mixed reviews. D has super sensitive skin. Her skin still felt raw a week after the first try using the delicate brush, and so she’s resolved to only use her Mia once a week as a scrub. J just moved to London and has forgotten about her Mia, but from the one week of devoted usage she had, she had no adverse effects. K has used it for over 2 weeks, reducing it to once a day recently to accomodate the drier weather, but she too has had no adverse effects. As for me, I believe I’m going through the ‘purging’ period.

One week after using it twice a day, I noticed small and large pimples surfacing on my forehead and cheeks that are not usually there. At that point, I was unsure of what to do because as much Clarisonic discussion as there have been online about this process, no one has specifically say what one should do about it. Do I stop using it, to prevent further irritation and spreading of bacteria? Or do i forge on, to conitnue with the purging process? In the end, caution won out and I stopped using it for the last week. I mean, what if the purging period never ends???????????? It’s like all the stuck pores on my cheeks all decided to surface at once!

 So far, the large scary bumps are gone, but there are still a few small ones left to heal here and there. I’m planning to give it a break for another day or two, and start using Mia again on Monday. But only for once a day, because I think even my skin was feeling chafed by it. I use the sensitive brush, and it is definitely not as sensitive as it is marketed out to be. I hope this marks the end of the purging process….because I miss the baby smooth clean skin I had when I was using the Mia!!!

I wish the Mia came with guidelines on how to identify if you’re purging or just not suited to the product, and if you are purging, what you should do. So far, it’s been a lot of my own judgment call as a user and that frankly is kind of scary. I’ll let you know if the purging comes back next week!

Clarisonic first got onto my radar when my friend told me that it was on her list of things to buy during the Sephora F&F sale last month (yes, I’m slow that way). At first I was resistant to use anything so extreme on my skin, since it was perfectly fine. Well not perfectly, but there wasn’t anything wrong with it and I didn’t want to mess up with the median. But then I eventually saw it everywhere, featured prominently on the Sephora website and in Michelle Phan videos etc. So I started my research. I figured if I was going to buy it, now was the time since it the F&F deal was really good, they were giving out two free brush heads worth $50 and it comes in this adorable pink color because of Cancer Awareness month!  

By the time I made it to Sephora (last week), I was a semi professional Clarisonic sales. As the lady explained the theory to my friends and I, I pitched in my insight and even the lady was impressed! Interesting things you need to know about the Clarisonic:

• The Clarisonic can be used with any non-abrasive gentle skin cleanser such a Cetaphil
• It uses a special technology to oscillate the brushhead to give your skin a deep cleansing, removing everything from the surface that should not be there. And yet, it is still gentle enough for daily use. This will allow for cleaner skin, smaller pores and allow products to sink in 6 times better. What more can a girl want?
• There is a built in 1 minute timer, by which time it’ll stop, preventing you from over cleansing
• You can kiss your exfoliator goodbye with your Mia
• The brushhead is made of the best bristles money can buy (or so they say), which naturally reduces the chance of bacteria build up
• According to the lady, the brushhead can technically be used forever if it didn’t get a bit battered. She suggests changing it every 4-5 months (contrary to the 3-4 months instruction on the box)
• It is waterproof, so you won’t electrocute yourself even if you’re using it in the shower (the charger magnetically attaches itself to the Mia!)
• The charger is universal and you need it charge it for 24 hours the first time around

Then the lady tried it out on our hands/face. Our skin felt so amazingly silky and smooth afterwards that all three of us were immedaitely SOLD!

Image Source: Sephora