Ulta Dual Action Cleansing System

Hey lovelies! I am sure that you have all seen ads and reviews for the famous Clarisonic face brushes. The idea behind gadgets such as these is the same as an electric toothbrush, the premise being that basically, you can only do so much with the power of your own muscles; we simply do not have the speed and motion needed to get the deep clean that our skin and teeth really need. The downside to these wonderful inventions? They are more often that not, expensive (BOOO!). The price of a Clarisonic is anywhere from $119-$225 depending on which kit you choose, and the brush head replacements are another $25 every few months. As much as we all love our skin, what if you simply cannot afford the Clarisonic price tag? Thankfully there are quite a few alternatives and you simply have to choose the best option for yourself, I chose the Ulta version.

The packaging for this product is simple and "assembly" was easy in the sense that only the batteries needed to be inserted (batteries are included). One thing I dislike about this tool is that the battery compartment is very hard to open, it took a good five minutes of pulling, numerous swears and all but attacking it with a hammer before it finally opened. I assume the extreme hold is so that water will not seep in but, I should not have to wrestle something in order for it to open.

The system comes with three pieces: the main tool, a brush (deep clean) and a sponge (everyday clean/buffer). There are a few aspects that differ greatly from the Clarisonic and these are, speed and motion. While the Clarisonic is known for its patented vibrating motion and three speeds, the Ulta brush simply rotates and only has one speed which I would place as medium, it is neither slow nor fast. There is a downside to the rotating motion and that is, if you press too hard not only will it be uncomfortable but you will notice a slight, skin pulling action. Just use a light hand, let the rotating motion do the work for you and this should not be an issue.

How do I use this? I have found that both the brush and sponge attachments soak up a lot of cleanser and I am left wondering if any of that sudsy goodness even reached my face. To counteract this, I use my hands to wash my face and before rinsing, I use either attachment to scrub my face for a minute or so. I do this twice daily with the less harsh sponge piece; as for the brush head, I use this every few days or sooner if I feel that my skin needs it. Another reason for washing my face beforehand is so that I do not stain the attachments, I learned the hard way that this can happen! My sponge now has a purple tint because of some purple eyeshadow awhile back. Both of these pieces leave my skin feeling clean, refreshed and unfortunately, DRY! Because of this, moisturizer is an absolute must. The upside to deep cleaning/exfoliating your face however, all of your skincare products will be properly absorbed and much more effective. I have been using this system for a couple of weeks now and I have noticed that the texture of my skin has definitely improved, my skin is a lot smoother and quite glowy! I have suffered from both large pores and painful cystic acne for years and these too have almost disappeared, I still get a bump or two here and there but, that is by far an improvement from the usual zombie horde of pimples on the sides of my face. This coupled with my DDF Brightening Cleanser is a skincare duo crafted by angels.

Quick Tip: Please be advised that no matter what brush system you end up choosing, your skin will most likely go through a period of what is known as, purging. What is purging? It is your body's natural way of detoxing itself. Since you are now deep cleaning your skin, all of that trapped sebum and gunk (yuck!) in your pores is now rising to the surface; until now it has been trapped under layers and layers of dead skin. Believe me when I say your skin will most likely look a lot worse before it gets better. Now with that being said, please do not confuse purging with a product simply not working for your skin (ex: a reaction) whereas purging will go away in its own time, a reaction will not until you discontinue use of that product. Just keep an eye on your skin and make sure that things are getting better and not worse.

Overall, I really love this system and I feel as though my skin has never looked better. My skin feels cleaner and looks clearer as a lot of my acne troubles have disappeared. Unfortunately, nothing can be perfect and Ulta's brush system does falter a bit. The battery compartment can absolutely be improved upon, it is entirely too difficult to open. Next, this tool is not waterproof so I would advise against sticking the tool under water and just wet the brush or sponge itself before using. I cannot compare this or any of the other systems to the Clarisonic as I have not used them. Would I re-purchase? Well I am hoping this will not break anytime soon but, once it does, yes I will re-purchase.

This product retails for $25.00 and can be purchased here
Replacement brush heads retail for $8.00 and can be purchased here

Check out other versions here (prices may vary):

Clarisonic $119-$225

Olay Pro-X $10.99

Olay Fresh Effects $14.99

DDF Revolve Micro Polishing System $50.00

Neutrogena Wave (Original) $10.99

Neutrogena Wave (Sonic) $15.99

Neutrogena Microderm System $13.99

Pretika SonicDermabrasion Face Brush $50.00

Acne Free Advanced Cleansing Brush $14.99

CVS Facial Cleansing Power Brush $19.99

Much love xo

The "Wet" Brush

Is it possible to love a hair tool quite this much? Tangled hair is something that a lot of us deal with on a day to day basis and if your tresses are like mine, I am sure that you have let out more than a few curse words while trying to battle your unruly tangles (I know I have). I have known about the wet brush for awhile but, I never really paid attention to it (I wish I would have sooner), that all changed when my local salon got an order of them in and I immediately purchased one, it couldn't hurt right? I am sure that I am not the only person to scoff at the idea of a simple brush being able to effortlessly work through my extreme kinks. It sounds too good to be true right? I was all too prepared to be returning this brush a few days after purchasing. Amazingly, this is the best hair care tool that I have purchased since my Instyler. Return it? I think not.

Brushing my mane has been on more than one occasion, an absolute nightmare. My hair is thick, dry, frizzy and tangles all too easily especially when washed. Not even a wide tooth comb could successfully battle my locks; only after applying mountains of product and almost ripping through my hair would it become manageable. As you can imagine, I was at my wits end with having clumps constantly matted into my old brush.

This is what I mean by residual hair

To the naked eye, the wet brush looks like any other ordinary hairbrush, the bristles do not appear to be any different but, somehow it works. I am honestly fascinated as this is the first time that I have EVER used a brush with only a few strands coming out, a far cry from the usual ball of hair. I use this brush daily when my hair is both wet and dry, I have been seeing the same results with absolutely no problems. Even though I love this brush, I do see where it can be improved upon. Number one, because the bristles are so closely spaced, cleaning and removing any left over hair is a complete pain. Secondly, the handle is a bit shorter than I am used to and it ends up feeling a bit odd when held. Nevertheless, this is the only brush that I can see myself using from now on and I cannot rave about it enough! Seriously, stop reading and go find it! Would I re-purchase this? In the words of Mr. Big from Sex and the City, ABSO- F*****- LUTELY.

This brush retails anywhere from $10 - $15

You can purchase here and here

Much love xo

FLO Perfume Atomizer- A Review

Sweet babycakes, I am so excited! I have been dying for a perfume atomizer for quite awhile now but I never got around to it. I had my eye on the Travalo brand but I could never seem to track one down in stores and I didn't want to pay shipping for one item. Once I found out that Ulta sold this brand, I was ALL over it! This nifty little thing is by the brand Flo and retails for $10. Now, right out of the starting gate there is a huge difference between this and the Travalo brand and that is in how the perfume, goes from bottle to atomizer. While the Travalo allows you to take the cap off of your perfume, stick the Travalo on in the caps place and spray the perfume into the atomizer that way, the Flo brand simply has you to spray or pour whatever perfume or body spray into it so that you aren't limited or restricted in any way. Even though this method takes some getting used to and might be a little messy at first, I think that this method is better because with the Travalo way, you run the risk of breaking the perfume cap while trying to remove it, if you have a pour style bottle this would be incompatible or what if your perfume cap simply isn't removable? Either way, they are both good brands and products and it really all falls down to personal preference.

The Flo is incredibly easy to use, even on my first try I had no spilling or leaking whatsoever. Just be sure to have everything properly aligned and it works like a dream and takes less than five minutes. I sprayed about forty sprays and my atomizer still wasn't quite full so about fifty or maybe even sixty sprays should completely fill it up. This atomizer is also airline safe and approved.

My only dislike is that the top cap is very hard to get off but I guess that's also a good thing because at least I know that it's secure and won't come off in my purse. It is also a little difficult to look and tell how much perfume is inside but, after awhile I kind of got the hang of being able to tell.

All in all, I really like this product and I will definitely be purchasing at least one more in the future.

You can check out the brand here
Or purchase from Ulta here

Much Love and Happy Holidays! xo

Ulta's BeautyBlender? - A Review

I've had my eye on the famous BeautyBlender for months but shelling out $20+ for the sponge and the special cleanser was just not on my list. I considered cashing in my Birchbox points for it but I used those for my awesome little Baggu backpack (review coming soon). Needless to say, a blending sponge did not seem to be in my immediate future. You can probably imagine my giddy little excitement when as I was browsing Ulta's website and found their BB knockoff, called the "Super Blender Sponge" for $4.99 no less! I immediately purchased the next day and with my 20% coupon I really got an amazing deal. This little bugger was a bit difficult to find in store, I expected it to be somewhere on the Ulta product table but in fact it was at the back of the store where Ulta's sponge section is, raise your hand if you didn't even know that Ulta HAD a sponge section...am I alone here?

For those that do not know what a blender sponge is, they are not your typical makeup sponges. They are kind of a unique hybrid of a brush and sponge, featuring a rounded flat end and a pointy tip, both used for makeup application and blending. The difference with these is they can be used damp or dry for a flawless and natural airbrushed finish to your makeup and unlike other makeup sponges, they don't soak up all of the product.

As someone who does not wear foundation (ever..) In all honesty I didn't even know what I was going to use the little guy for at first but since then I've been using it for my tinted primer and I love it. Since I've never owned one, I have no idea if it measures up to the real BB, but since they seem to be the same material and relatively the same shape, I can't imagine that the two would be that different from each other. The only differences that I have noticed is that when ran under water, this sponge does not seem to have the expanding characteristic that the BB is known for and the super blender's different shape allows you to grip it better, it's very dense and stiff which gives me exceptional control because it doesn't squish and almost cave in on itself when using it. As far as maintenance goes, I just wash my sponge in warm water with a little bit of mind soap and it's good to go.


When factoring in all of the pro's and con's, I would still pick the super blender for now, maybe one day when I've saved up enough Birchbox points, I'll purchase the BB and compare the two but as of right now, I have no desire to purchase one. I know that quite a few companies have released their versions of BB's so if you are coveting this sponge like I was, I suggest trying those out before purchasing the mothership.

Overall, I'm really liking this product and I will without a doubt be repurchasing when this one gets worn out and grimy.

Pro's:

Very wallet friendly price ($4.99 vs. $20+)
More readily available (BeautyBlender's can only be purchased online or in select stores)
Finger notches allow for a better grip

Con's:

Not as well known
Might have different performance
Does not expand much in water
Stiffer and more dense than the BeautyBlender (I like this quality, some may not)

Much love xo

Update: After using this for awhile, I've come to find that this blender just doesn't perform how I originally thought. After continued use, it seems to get "clogged" no matter how much I wash it, because of this, my makeup is not blended whatsoever and looks dry and patchy. This will be thrown away and I will not be re-purchasing.