Face brush battle – Philips vs Clarisonic

Getting down to the nitty gritty… I’ve decided to review the two most popular face brushes on the market:

• Clarisonic Mia2
• Phlips VisaPure

I’ve been using a face brush for the last three years and, when my first brush (Philips VisaPure) stopped working without any warning, I decided to try and cleanse my face without one, just to remind myself of the difference. The result was that the next day, during my lunch break I was off to get the other ‘best face brush’ contender on the market : Clarisonic Mia2. It’s not that I wasn’t happy with my Philips, on the contrary, I loved it, but I’m not the type to actually buy the same beauty gizmo twice, especially since I’ve had my VisaPure for more than two and a half years. I just needed a change and I really wanted to see which one was better.

To be honest, after a lot of online research, I concluded that both products promise more or less the same things:

1. Deeper, better cleansing of the face
2. Better control of clogged pores
3. Less zits
4. Fine lines reduction
5. Beauty products are supposed to work better on perfectly cleansed skin
6. An overall better appearance of the skin

After more than two years of being addicted to my VisaPure, I can tell you that it ticks most of the above mentioned benefits. I say most, because I haven’t really seen any improvement of my fine lines, at least not thanks to the face brush – I’ve got Chanel to praise in that department. Maybe that was what actually convinced me to switch to the Clarisonic. I really wanted to believe that the much appraised sonic vibrations will be able to make me switch to a cheaper face cream, cos Chanel ain’t cheap, my friends. So here I was, back home, excited about my new acquisition. I waited patiently for what seemed like forever for my new Mia2 to charge and I started jotting down my first impressions of the new gizmo.

Upon unpacking and comparing the two, I have to say that none of the companies missed a single detail where quality of craftsmanship is concerned. Both products feel very nice and sturdy, and in my opinion, the VisaPure charger looks a bit better and is a bit more comfortable than the Mia2 charger. But, again, that’s my opinion only. The Mia2 charger is magnetic and quite easy to carry around when you go away on vacation, but the one from Philips looks way better. Another aspect about the battery-life that I’ve noticed in the past few months (this is why I’ve postponed this review so much) is that the VisaPure battery lasts a bit longer and charges a bit faster than the Mia2.

When it comes to the quality of the cleansing I think that both brushes score equally even though the two brushes use completely different motions and timers. What I mean by that is that motion wise, the Mia2 offers a sonic vibration of the bristles, without any rotation at all, therefore you have to do the rotating part by hand, while the VisaPure offers a rotating motion as well as a bit of a vibration but that’s very different from the VisaPure. Timer wise, the Mia2 divides one minute into two 20 second parts, each for your nose and chin and another for your forehead, and two 10 second parts for each cheek. The VisaPure divides one minute into three equal 20 second parts, one for the T-area and two for each cheek. For my needs, the Mia2 is better, simply because my problem area is my T-zone and therefore it needs better and deeper cleaning. That aspect is entirely up to the user and her needs.

There is a very obvious difference where the two brushes are concerned. The Mia2 offers a bigger brush head than the VisaPure and that again, is an aspect that is up to the user. Some may argue that a smaller brush reaches more spots o the face – not true in my experience as both brushes reach every single inch of my face, while others might argue that a bigger brush covers a larger area. This again is a matter of preference because there is virtually no difference in the texture of both brushes. I was happy with my VisaPure and I am just as happy with my Mia2 brush.

I’ve said something earlier about the VisaPure not delivering where fine lines are concerned, and after two moths of using the Mia2, I can honestly say that this one doesn’t deliver either. The only viable solution to fine lines is either a good face cream – but that doesn’t necessarily stop them, it maybe postpones them, or fillers. These brushes will not be as efficient as fillers, so do not get your hopes up. The good thing about them is that it actually helps face creams work a bit better because your face is cleaner than ever. So yeah, if you are an optimist, you could say that they help, but there is no real difference between the two.

Price wise, these two products cost basically the same, the brushes cost basically the same and you need to change them every three months for both of the products. To reach a conclusion, I’d say that choosing between the two is simply a matter of brand and design preference and nothing else. But I do have to say that ever since I’ve started using a face brush I’ve become an addict and can’t really stand cleansing my face without one, so be careful as they are addictive!

L.