Clarisonic Mia or Clarisonic Mia2?

This was the big question I had before jumping on the Clarisonic boat. Well, I had a discount to buy it in certain store so I decided to buy the one that was available there so I ended buying the Mia.

Clarisonic Mia

I had it for about a month and loved it. It made my skin so clean and soft and you can feel how your skin products penetrate better into your skin after using it. So I was pretty happy with my purchase. However the colors and other features in the Mia 2 kept me tempted.

Short story, my mum came to visit me to Australia, tried my Clarisonic and loved it as well, so she decided to buy one, offered me to buy the Mia2 for me and she would keep the "old" one.

That´s how I ended buying the Clarisonic Mia2 (you can see it in the pic below).

Clarisonic Mia2

I can say I´ve tried both, and after 1 month using the Mia, and 2 weeks using the Mia2, I´m ready to tell you if the differences worth the difference in price...let´s see.

The main differences between these are that the Mia2 has a timer which tells you when to change to another area of your face and it has two speeds. In Australia the Mia2 comes in bright colors such as apple green and fuchsia, whereas the Mia only comes in light pink and white. Not a big deal for most reasonable people but I really wanted to have one in a bright color. Stupid I know, specially when in other countries the Mia comes in a great variety of colors. $40aud more just for the color?, no way.

Let´s talk about fundamental issues, does the two speed and the timer in the Mia2 make the difference? To be honest, I don´t think so. I didn´t have any issues using the Mia, 20 seconds in your cheeks and forehead, 10 in your chin and nose. Mia2 rings after the 10/20 secs to change position and after using it for 2 weeks I don´t think it is something important. When it comes to the two speed...I haven´t changed the speed since I´m using it, so I have to say it is not a big deal as well!

To sum up, if you have to choose between Mia and Mia2, go for Mia, you don´t need a timer, you don´t need two speeds and the color, it is absolutely not important to spend $40aud more. 

Do you need the Clarisonic? Yes you do. I am crazy about skincare and makeup so probably my advise is not the most logical, however my mum doesn´t wear much make up or expensive skincare products and she swears by the Clarisonic. She got back to Chile with the Clarisonic Mia from Australia so happy because her skin looked brighter, glowy and polish so for me, that means that the Clarisonic does make a difference.

I´m not a dermatologist but I am a GP, I don´t think you need to use it twice a day, on the contrary, I use it every two days because we don´t need deep exfoliation every day and the Clarisonic does that and also clean. I haven´t had any issue so far so I´m pretty happy with my new tool and I´m pretty happy to be able to compare the two Mia versions. 

As I said before, I recommend you to get the Mia to save money and get same results. I also recommend don´t abuse it, nobody needs to use these brush every day. Our skin cells have a normal cycle that we don´t have to disturb. Using it like this, save money to buy the brushes, because you wouldn´t need to replace them every three months if you´re not using it every day.

 Is this brush going to prevent spots or cure acne prone skin? As a doctor it´s going to help but it is a help for your normal treatment and other products you´re using. This is only a brush to clean your skin and that´s how it may help with other problems, but it is not a solution, so don´t expect too much please. It is a luxurious item, so if you are in a budget don´t think it is elemental. I love it but I´m realistic, I still have breakouts here or there but I feel my skin it is more balanced. I noticed it helps to control my shine, so I´m pretty happy with that and also it helps to diminish or dissimulate my big pores. We´ll see the long term benefits.

That´s my experience, I hope it will be useful for anyone willing to buy the Clarisonic who doesn´t know which one to get.

Have a lovely weekend

See you soon

Kisses

Javi ♥

Hourglass Ambient lighting powder in Diffused Light

This post comes after many weeks of testing, I bought this powder a couple of days after it was launched in Australia. It was a present for myself after finishing Uni exams and after all these days on my hands I can say I love it.

I chose the shade Difuse light because it has a slight yellowish tone which is good to hide redness. 

I have to say that the packaging is amazing, very elegant but because the powder is so fine, the mirror inside tend to be always dirty. The only thing I don´t like at all. However, I did not love this product inmediately, I was like, yes it is nice, but nothing extraordinary. 

 Now, I love it because it gives a soft touch to my makeup, making everything works perfectly together and giving me a radiant look that always make me get compliments about my skin. It is something that you can´t notice, it is like magic, an invisible effect, I don´t know how to describe it but I love it. In one opportunity I took a pic of myself before and after using this product, and the difference is phenomenal, bye bye ugly oil of my face!

Can you see the difference? OMG, it is magic! But the effect doesn´t last long enough, so I have to re apply this like twice a day. I´m not a fan of touch ups, but with this powder I do it just because I know how beautiful makes my face looks. Also how it makes my blush blend into my cheeks. 

Anyway, I´m happy I bought this, but I have to recognize it is not a must, not at all, it is something for those days when you´re feeling down, you have money and you want to treat yourself.

I hope you like my post, enjoy your rainy afternoon.

Kisses

Javi ♥

Real Techniques brushes: Core collection and Expert face brush

A few weeks ago I bought the Expert face Brush and the Core collection by Real techniques because I was interested to try them out, especially the Expert face, Buffing and contour brushes. 

I bought them from iherb at a very good price, that´s why I bought both and I´m really glad a I did. Since I got them I haven´t used any other foundation brush. Both, the Expert face brush and the Buffing brush are amazing to apply foundation. They are very soft, easy to use, and they don´t shed. I use the Expert face when I´m looking for a medium to high coverage look and the Buffing one when I want a light coverage. But, to be honest, I don´t notice the difference too much so I think if you have to choose, both are equally good. 

However, because the Buffing brush comes in a set, it could be more convenient and if you own the Chanel Tan De Soleil, the Contour brush is amazing to apply it. I realized I tend to use the small pointed concealer brush in the set to conceal any blemish I have, so out of 4 brushes in the set I´m using 3 of them every day.

So, overall, I´m quite happy with these new brushes, I love the Buffing, the Contour and the Expert face brushes but I use all of them. I highly recommend them because they are excellent brushes for a very good price (even if you buy the Core collection at Priceline I´m still feel it is a very good deal).

Here is a pic with a whole look using the brushes, and I really like the outcome.

Just to let you know, I´ve found myself using more these brushes than the Beauty Blender (I really hate to dampen it before and I don´t like how dirty it is after every use so I have to wash it and aghhhh, I prefer to use other brushes instead) so at the end of the day Real Techniques is a win win.

Face and Body Mac foundation (C4)
Girl about town Mac lipstick
Lovejoy Nars Blush

If you´re thinking to get these babies, do it! I´m sure you´re not going to regret it. I hope this post is useful, have a lovely day and see you soon in another post.

Kisses

Javi ♥

How I curl my lashes!

Every day I receive many compliments about my eyelashes. People ask me if they are false eyelashes, what mascara or eyelash curler I use or what is my trick. Well, my answer is always the same, a Tea Spoon. Yes, that is my secret tool and I love it, I have the Shuuemura eyelash curler, and it helps but the real secret weapon to get the perfect curl is my spoon. 

It is so difficult to explain the technique in English that I´ve decided to do a short video to show you how to do it. 

You can see the before and after pics, but don´t laugh at me please! (I know I look horrible).

Once you dominate the technique and you keep practice, you are going to notice the difference in your lashes, and it is going to take you only a minute to get the perfect curl. I have to say that this is not beneficial for your lashes, you need to be gentle because it can harm them, but as I said, once you get the trick it is not difficult and it is not dangerous at all.

Watch the video, find the perfect spoon for your eye and practice!

Practice makes perfect!

BEFORE
my natural lashes (bare face)

AFTER
with no mascara (just foundation)

complete make up

close up

Here is the video, I hope you like it!

Kisses
Javi ♥

Beauty Blender experience

I wanted to try these for ages but the price makes me hesitate, however in this website you can find it very cheap and the shipping is quite reasonable. 

I´ve used many sponge that pretend to be similar to the Beauty Blender, but after try the real one, in my opinion, the Beauty Blender is unique.

The main difference I noticed was that the Beauty Blender is much softer and manageable than other, when it is wet, it is bigger than before (as you can see in the pic above) and to apply the foundation you only need to pad gently with the flat part and in the eye´s area with the pointed end.

I love it! you can reach the flawless finish so easily!

So if you´re thinking to buy it, but you´re not sure, I highly recommend you to buy it. It is amazing!

Here are some pics that I took with different foundations...I particularly like how makes my Missha BB cream look, one that I didn´t like with other tool´s application.

Missha Perfect Cover BB cream (n°27)

You can compare these pics with the pic I took before on this link wearing the same BB cream but appl with other brush. In my view, the outcome is totally different.

I hope you like my post
Have a good day
Kisses
Javi ♥

New product alert, new obsession, new favourite: NARS Satin lip pencil

OMG! I went to Mecca just to have a look...I wasn´t sure if I wanted to buy something because there wasn´t something I had a particular interest on but...the power of retail is bigger than myself and as soon as I swatched the new NARS Satin lip pencil on my hand I wanted them all!

I am not a big fan of the lip penci3 given that you waste a lot of product from sharpening them, however I have to say I love the colors and that caught me now.

The Satin lip pencils are amazing, excellent pigmentation, easy application, beautiful colors and good lasting power. They don´t feel uncomfortable on your lips even if you´re wearing a bright shade.

It was so difficult to choose a color, I could buy all of them! but I finally decided to get Luxembourg which is a bright berry similar to Dragon Girl but not matte of course.

I really like the product, I could buy more shades if I could, so if you like lipsticks, you like NARS, go to check my pics and then go to try on you!

with flash

natural light (it doesn´t show the real color, the true color is like the above pic)

Although the NARS lip pencils (Velvet an Matte) are not my favourite product, this new finish definitely get my heart. I´m very happy with my new purchase (as a birthday present for myself).

I hope you like this post.

Have a beautiful afternoon.
Javi ♥

Every good make up starts with a good skin!

This is a must...if you love make up you need to love your skin and to enjoy that beautiful finish you need to have a good base, and that means: take care of your face!

So now, after almost two years of obsession with beauty I discovered that I needed to invest on my skin.

Since I am working for SK-II I am using their products and although they are extremely expensive I have to say that it is worthwhile. Since I am using the products my skin looks healthy, nice and flawless and I receive compliments all days.

For this post I have chosen the four products I think are the basics in my skin routine at the moment. I think using them, you can use any mousturizer or serum. That can make your routine more affordable.

SK-II products: Facial Treatment Essence, Facial Treatment Clear Lotion and Facial Treatment Gentle Cleanser. I use the Cleanser everyday, the Clear Lotion twice a week (in a cotton pad) and the Essence twice a day (just a couple of drops onto your palm and pad onto your face). The good thing is that the products last a lot, the bad thing that they cost $90aud, 85aud and 185 respectively.

Shu uemura Oil cleanser: I use this to remove my make up and I love it! Removes waterproof mascara and makes my skin feels clean, fresh and smooth.

I think the reason why my skin looks so good ultimately, it is because of all these products. They last a lot, so although I have to spend a lot of money, I take it as an investment.

If you want to try these products I encourage to do it, you´re not going to regret it.

Have a lovely weekend and happy easter!

Cheers
Javi