Spring is in the air and that means it's time to sloth off all signs of winter from our bodies and especially our faces. This year I decided to give my wallet a break and get back into at home microdermabrasion kits. In the past I've used one from
L'Oreal as well as one specifically from their
Garnier Nutritioniste line but those have been discontinued long ago and I haven't been able to find a replacement that I was happy with until recently.
I've thought about getting the Clarisonic because I've heard nothing but good things about it but the cost was always a deterrent. It's something I will still eventually work my way to purchasing but for now I wanted something more affordable as an at home treatment. The
Neutrogena Microdermabrasion System was on sale at drugstore.com for $16 a few weeks ago so I decided to give it a try. I had read some reviews about it and it seemed like it was just what I was looking for: a deeply penetrating exfoliant that would leave my skin super smooth and sloth off any dryness, dead skin cells and help my minor scars (from picking at my face-I know, I know...) fade quickly since I like to wear the least amount of makeup possible in the spring/summer.
I have to admit that when I opened the box I was not impressed. The tool itself isn't very large and the fact that it vibrated instead of rotating left me a bit skeptical before and
during my first use. The instructions are fairly easy: remove one of the puffs, press it onto the Velcro type attachment head, wet it and then attach the head to the applicator and begin. The puff seems unimpressive but it has a lot of product in it. I was surprised that I was able to massage each section of my face, plus under my chin, for 2-3 minutes and never ran out of the product. As a matter of fact after I was satisfied that I exfoliated every reachable part of my face I removed the puff from the applicator and was able to exfoliate the sides of my nose. When it was time to rinse the product off I had the strangest feeling in my face. It was as if the water was just sliding off like a really light cream. I resisted the urge to follow it up with my
Ole Henriksen African Red Tea Foaming Cleanser because I wanted to give this an honest try.
Once my face air dried I applied my moisturizing foundation and went on with my day thinking that I had just spend $15 on a product that I was either going to use just for fun or return when halfway through my day I finally had a chance to check myself out and was blown away. My skin looked amazing. Thanks to the lightness of
Laura Mercier's Tinted Moisturizer I never look like I have makeup on but this was something out of this world. I was so surprised and in love with my reflection that I asked my coworkers if they noticed how amazing my skin looked but they don't pay attention to the tiny details so while they could tell me that it did in fact look amazing they couldn't do a proper comparison.
Now that I've been using the product every other day for two weeks I notice a major difference in how my skin feels after my morning and evening wash even when I'm not using it. The only downside that I see from this product is that it doesn't come with a case to store the puffs in for an additional use because I think there's so much product that it can be good for more than one use. This might just mean that after I fully exfoliate my face I should use this on my legs before I apply my bronzers.
