First let me apologize that this freaking review has taken me forever. Life just exploded and has kept me incredibly busy - combine that with a reticence to post pictures of my skin online and you've got a big dose of procrastination.

I'm going to attempt to make this short and sweet while keeping it informative. Let's hope I can make it!

My Skin & Concerns:

I have sensitive, oil, acne prone skin that in the winter likes to also be dry. Fun huh? Not only do I spend my days combating an oily forehead and chin area, during the winter I have to try and make sure I remember to moisturize while I try desperately to get rid of my acne. Acne which usually leaves me with at least some scarring because whether I pick at it or not I usually end up with dark spots.

I'd heard so much about the Clarisonic, about how it was the holy grail product for so many of the women whose blogs I follow, but for me there were three mains things I wanted it to do:

1) Clear up my acne
2) Remove the small bumps underneath the skin on my forehead and around both sides of my chin
3) Reduce the appearance of the dark hyperpigmentation spots on my face.

My Purchase: The Clarisonic Mia2 ($149, Sephora)






Review:

What do I think about the Clarisonic Mia2? Ultimately I'd have to say that while it's a nice tool to use to make sure my skin is really clean I don't think it's my holy grail. At no point did I think it significantly reduced the amount of breakouts I had - except maybe on my left cheek area and that's mostly a matter of opinion.  I can't say that it removed the bumps on my forehead either which is more than a little annoying, but I guess not totally a surprise. What did it do that I liked you asked? Well the skin around my acne, ie the rest of my face, did feel really smooth. And I think it did a good job of helping what breakouts I did have heal faster, which while isn't perfection isn't half bad either.

I ended up keeping my Clarisonic Mia because I am hoping that maybe with time things will continue to get better. I think my skin at the moment, which is a few months from when the shots below were taken, is definitely better but I can't just attribute that to the Clarisonic. I've started taking regular vitamins and birth control to try and mitigate some of the worst of it.


Results:

I initially used my Clarisonic with the Refreshing Gel Cleanser (sample size) it came with and I like it. It didn't have an obvious smell, just something fresh and clean, and I felt like my face didn't feel stripped or 'squeaky clean' afterward.  The first image was taken in my bathroom after using it for the first time. The next four are weekly updates, each one showing the separate sections of my face, which while completely mortifying does a better job showing the areas where I most needed improvement.

When I first started using my Clarisonic I thought I was going to escape the purging phase but NOT that totally kicked in the 2nd week. As I mentioned before I thought the Clarisonic helped these new eruptions heal faster - I continued to use my regular Keihls products - but it was absolutely no fun to leave through those days. To protect what little dignity I have left, pics are after the jump.

 Anyone who knows me knows I love Buffy. I love Buffy so much that even while I own none of the DVD's I've somehow managed to hold on to five or so of the books that used to come out, including the three volumes of the Angel Chronicles. And yet now when I look at lists like Rookie's The Rodarte Guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer I have to wonder: just how much of a strong kick ass role model was Buffy?

(yes this means I've officially read too much commentary on the series and possibly too many articles on Jezebel, but there's no going back now)


Don't get me wrong - Buffy had her moments. She was the blond cheerleader who instead of running alone in the woods to get murdered, ran into the woods to lead her prey to their own painful demise. Time and again the world was saved by her single-handed determination to humanity; there were no acceptable losses because each life was precious and deserved a chance. But...but...

What's with all the man related melt downs?

Time and again throughout the series Buffy's biggest moments of doubt were caused by the absence of or problems with her current love interest. What's so bad ass about that? The most prominent example that comes to mind is that f*ck up from the ____ season Riley. He spent most of his time on the show being a dick, feeling like 'less of a man' because Buffy could do his job better than him. When his huge heaping pile of insecurities starts to crumble and he starts going to vampire prostitutes, what does he do? He blames it on Buffy. And then even worse she seems to BUY HIS BULLSH*T. Instead of telling him to take his ultimatum and shove it up his ass she walks away only to run after him in a dramatic moment culminating in her looking up at him and crying as the military helicopter carries him far FAR away from Sunnydale.


I'm not saying I don't love Joss Whedon. I'm not saying Buffy and Angel aren't two of my favorite series to date and probably will be until I die. All I'm asking is did Xena seem to have these problems?

I didn't think so.

This technically doesn't pass the 'can I wear it to work' test because F21 considers these jeans. You know what though? I don't care. I love this outfit for the casually put together vibe it has and how comfortable I feel when I wear it.

Done.

I usually like something a little brighter to be going on in an outfit but I ended up still being happy with this combination of pieces. My new obsession are flowy a-line skirts because of  their ability to make me feel happy and less self-conscious about my abdomen area.

the Middle Eastern inspired looks like this work on me.

As this was gift I think I get to say that these eyeshadows are slightly more 'blah' than I was expecting. The darks are nice and pigmented, plus the glitter they contain is really very pretty, but the light pink is almost chalky and prone to fallout. And it looks abysmal (at least the way I've tried it so far) on my skin tone.

The good though? The nail polish rocks and I'm so happy to have it!