What a steal: the Advanced Sonic Cleansing Brush

When the now-legendary Clarisonic first entered the beauty market the buzz was almost deafening - and despite a pretty big price tag units just flew out the door. It wasn’t available in New Zealand for quite a long time, and I tried one overseas but could never really justify the outlay - and consequently never bought one home.

I had been obsessing about getting a Clarisonic Mia for some time when I was invited to the brand’s “official” launch into the New Zealand market in 2014. I hadn’t previously had the opportunity to give one a whirl but always heard rave reviews from therapists and make up artists in particular i.e. people who study skin for a living. It was great news therefore to hear that they had arrived in the country along with the original Clarisonic Plus Sonic Skin Cleansing Brush (RRP $335), which can be customised with three different speeds for facial cleansing, a three-minute body setting with two distinct modes and unique body brush head to gently exfoliate and remove dead skin cells. A little more on the compact side, the Clarisonic Mia 2 RRP $225) is the convenient choice for beautiful skin on the go as it’s small enough for travel and light enough to throw in your bag en route to the gym. Utilising the same Sonic Method as the Plus, Mia 2 comes equipped with two speeds, a one minute pulsing T-Timer and portable travel-friendly case. Both are suitable for even the most sensitive skin types, and the whole shebang truly leaves me with skin like velvet – even the day after!

But back to business. If you’ve been hankering for a Clarisonic too but can’t justify the high price for it, then the arrival in New Zealand of the Advanced Sonic Cleansing Brush is most excellent news - it’s the ideal way to see if brush cleansing system is right for your skin, at about a half (or less) of the price of a Clarisonic!

The advanced cleansing brush features technology that harnesses a patented range of sonic frequency, working with the skin's natural elasticity to beautiful transform skin's texture and appearance. Sonic cleansing removes makeup, pollutants and dirt more effectively than manual cleansing, and its sonic action helps removes impurities from pores so that treatment serums, and moisturisers are more effective.

There are two types of cleansing brush technology - sonic and rotational. Sonic technology cleanses with vibration and does not scratch the skin or damage its natural elasticity. Cheaper rotational technology units can stretch and damage the skin and scratch excessively, to which I say “hell no” and “why bother?” The Advanced Sonic Cleansing Brush has only one gentle cleansing head and two gentle cleansing intensity levels - very gentle and gentle. Units with higher intensity levels are likely to damage skin elasticity, scratch the skin and overly dry it.

The Advanced Sonic Cleansing Brush is waterproof and safe to use in the shower or bath, just charge her up, liberally apply your cleanser of choice and get to it. Press the on/off button once or twice to select your setting then gently move the brush using a small circular motion. The Advanced Sonic Cleanser gives a little buzz at 20, 40 and 50 seconds and switches off at 60 seconds. Too easy!

For best results, replace your brush head every 3-4 months - replacement heads are only $10.35, the entire unit just a little over $100! A veritable “steal” if ever there was one!

To find a New Zealand stockist near you call 0800 238 754