Foreo Ufo review

I almost got the mini Ufo instead of the flagship model. It seemed a lot pricier for the big model, just to have a device that can cool and hook up to your phone. But in the end I got the big model anyways. If I was going to splurge, this seemed like a silly detail to hold back on.

First I was really annoyed when it seemed this thing was dependent on the app to work, but then it turned out you only need the app to change settings. You scan the barcode to switch between settings/programs, other than that you just press the button to go.
I feel that the developers missed a good opportunity to let you put your own routine together though!
When I left this as a comment for my app review in the app store, my review was deleted. Hmpf. Not cool.

What I like about it
It seems like a good little moisture and absorption booster. It combines LED light, massage and heat for the mask type I got, but also has a cool routine for another mask type.

What I dislike about it
The little masks you're supposed to clip in there are honestly bad. They slip out of the locking ring and crumple up.
I'm not impressed by the app itself. It keeps needing to reconnect with my device, which should not be necessary.
Also the "Make my day"-program makes the Ufo heat up a lot. Like, a lot. Enough to get really uncomfortable so you have to move it around to keep it comfortable. I know I'm not a skincare expert, but this seems like a bad idea? I mean, I wouldn't want to subject my hair to something that is so hot that it's uncomfortable to touch, so... Ehh.

And maybe it's just me, but I felt that the program was definitely too short to cover my entire face with it? I used the little routine three times on my face: Once for the forehead and once for each cheek. That feels better and less rushed. Maybe if this thing came as a full face covering mask, I could see the point of this?

So I wasn't a fan of the sheet masks that were intended to go with it. But it worked well for helping drive oil into my skin, and it worked very well on top of a sheet mask and a silicone mask. As long as there is a bit of "slip" so it can glide around over the skin. I will probably use it like this in the future.

But overall I'm not really that impressed. I see this thing collecting dust on some shelf. Soon.

Dr Dennis Gross DRx SpectraLite FaceWare Pro

 

This thing is a major step up from my Neutrogena facemask. Also in price. Maybe especially in price.
Some quick math tells me I could have re-purchased the Neutrogena mask and 18 of the "charges" (Had I not hacked it) which really hammers home the point of what an investment this thing is. Ouch.

It looks something like the robot Maria from the Metropolis movie, I think?
I had hubby try it on and he immediately started wandering around stiff-legged and going "beep boop" so I guess it's not just me thinking that it looks like some sort of robot.

As pretty and shiny and futuristic this mask looks, the straps for it just look sad and cheap. It is literally just ordinary elastic bands.

I'm not sure if the nose and mouth holes look cool or mildly creepy? Is it so you can sip your cocktails while you use it?

I mean, I guess it's pretty convenient, but it's not like I can't wait the three minutes for the mask to finish.

The SpectraLite FaceWare has 100 red-mode LEDs and 62 blue ones, which is great! One of my critiques on the Neutrogena mask was how few LED lights it has. They could easily have fitted more in.

One thing I dislike about it, is that it doesn't have a good gravity point. I would like it to rest in any other position basically. Maybe it should have come with a holder or something. I don't want an expensive device like this flopping around when I put it down.

Does it look cool or creepy?
I'm not even sure.

Before I tried it on, I would have said the nose and mouth holes were a little pointless, but after trying it on, I'm happy they're there. Since it follows the shape of the face, there isn't much room for air flow.

The red LED lights stimulate the production of collagen and elastin, which can help with the appearance of wrinkles, sun spots, redness, and sun damage.

The blue LEDs fight the Propionibacterium acnes bacteria that causes breakouts and supposedly regulate oil glands, which prevents future breakouts.

Compare the density of the LED-lights between the Dr Dennis Gros mask and the Neutrogena mask.

Although Neutrogena mentions the wavelengths of 415 and 633 nanometer in the instructions manual, it doesn't actually say that their mask emit those exact wavelengths. This makes me a little suspicious, because wouldn't you want to emphasize this? "Hey, science says this is the best so this is what our product does!"

Some difference in looks! The Neutrogna mask look like a cheap welding mask (And again I feel the need to humblebrag about that I'm a pretty good welder). The Dr Dennis Gross mask look like a pretty, shiny and futuristic mask.

The Dennis Gross mask follows the face contours, which makes it a lot better to see with. The Neutrogena mask sort of shines more "into" your eyes because it's just one big curve. Even though 3 minutes is so short a time, it's still nice that you can actually read or look at a a screen while it works.

I was curious about the difference in weight since the Neutrogena is basically cheap plastic.
Neutrogena's mask weighs in at just 77 gram. That is of course without the charge, but that one is always either on a table or in my pocket.

The Neutrogena mask has an external battery pack of 4 AA-batteries. The Dennis Gross mask has an internal battery and is powered by a USB cord.

The Dr Dennis Gross DRx SpectraLite FaceWare Pro weighs in at 264 gram.
About 3 ½ times as much.

Okay, here was a strange little detail:
In all the reviews I read about this, they only describe the device using blue light at 415 nm and red light at 633 nm. But the mask actually use more wavelengths: 415, 605, 630, 660 and 880 nm.
It's not written too clearly though, but it seems it uses blue (415 nm) and amber (605 nm) for the anti blemish light and red (630 nm), deep red (660 nm) and infrared (880 nm) for the anti-aging light.

Insert sarcastic comment about the state of journalism here.
Seriously. Some reviewers haven't even bothered to read the instructions.

I like that this is a quick, simple and product free booster for my skincare. Just put it on, press the button and wait three minutes. Or try to read/watch something for the three minutes. It's doable.

What I dislike? Hm. Not really anything I guess? I don't expect miracles from this though. Just a nice little boost for my skin.

Today's trampy toenails

It's really sandal-season around here, so I felt for something completely girly for my toenails.
So lots of hearts and bows on white background or pink, metallic bases.

Thoughts on the spa thing

I went to the spa like I talked about a while back and I have a few thoughts I wanted to share. I didn't hate it, but i didn't love it either. It had some good things and bad things.

The positive
It was a pretty relaxing experience. From the second I stepped inside, it had a calming atmosphere. Nice and clean without feeling sterile, and with a bubbly water thing making little noises.
The treatment itself made me feel like "Okay, so you paid for this and now you're stuck in this warm and pleasantly scented room with calming meditation music in the background while the nice lady works on your skin... You can't get to your phone or tablet and do anything useful anyways, so you might as well just relax and wait for it to be done with", so I just let my mind drift off. That was nice.
Like forced meditation, although that sounds negative. Only you get a spa treatment while you're at it.

The negative
I didn't like the spa package itself. I actually figured I wouldn't, but the treatment combinations seemed like a good choice to check out the place and the skin therapist.
I had also expected more usage of tools: Steam appliances, extractor tools, some sort of brush or pad or something. Anything. Instead she used her hands and a single spatula for the facial masks. Somehow that felt odd, but maybe it's because I have so many tools myself?
(Let's see: Extractor tools, LED light mask, steam appliance, three different electric brushes, manual brushes and more spatulas and brushes than I probably know of)

However, in general I liked it enough to book another time. First free day where I don't have anything else planned: The end of next month (Now I made myself feel sad) Going to try something else next time though...

Foreo Luna 2 vs. BeGlow Pura vs. investing in a new Clarisonic model

Foreo Luna 2

The good stuff

Bacteria-unfriendly silicone

Backside of device can be used for massaging and working serums into skin

Surprisingly good grip despite being a smooth egg shape

The bad stuff

It felt like it was really bad at getting into "corners" like around the nose, probably because of the smooth shape and the short bristles

Strong vibrations that felt more like a massage than the gentle, buzzing cleanse I was used to from the Clarisonic

BeGlow Pura 

The good stuff

Bacteria-unfriendly silicone

The "brush" head can be detached and replaced

Really good grip on this thing because of the strange shape

Strong vibrations that might be good for massaging and encouraging blood flow. Might be really good for working a mud mask into skin?

The bad stuff

It looks like it has a little "stand", but it tips over instead. It has to be placed "brush" side up, which gathers water in the edges to the "brush" head

Seriously strong vibrations that made my teeth rattle (!)

Investing in a new Clarisonic model?

The good stuff

Gentle buzzing cleanse 

Good at getting into "corners"

Well, I honestly just prefer the Clarisonic still....

The bad stuff

Plastic (?) brush heads that needs replacing

Unappealing business practices of discontinuing models often
Not sure how to find the brush head that fits my (Discontinued) model

Verdict
Foreo Luna 2: I will probably bring this for travelling, since this seems like a decent cleansing device and it doesn't have bristles that bends or get dirty
BeGlow Pura: I have the idea that I will use this to massage mud masks into my skin. Maybe massaging oil into my skin too?
New Clarisonic model: I will hold this off for a while and instead look into finding replacement brush heads for the one I have

Another haul

I have a few thoughts I want to share on this haul, as opposed to the last which was just "Pretty things I wanted".

Some time ago I was shopping with Nurses Assistant-friend and at a beauty counter, some sales representative tried to convince me to buy some horrible facial mask. It was obviously full of colour, and so full of perfume it smelled awesome even with the lid on, so there was no way I would ever allow it to touch my sensitive skin. After the shopping we had coffee and I bitched about how amazingly ignorant people can be about skin: It really seems the knee-jerk reaction to sensitive skin is to want to exfoliate and dehydrate it into submission.

Nurses Assistant-friend is considering getting into a nurses program for the explicit reason she wants to work as a cosmetic nurse in one of the many dermatological treatment-stores popping up. So she's a huge skin nerd, just like me.
We have very different skincare concerns though: She has olive skin with a tendency to get dark spots, so it's always interesting to compare the latest and greatest.

Anyways. Nurses Assistant-friend made a comment that I don't think she realized how clever it was: She asked if I was really sure I actually didn't have acne prone skin, since I pick at any imperfection and will have destroyed any comedones before they reach the surface.

It felt like one of those "Is everything I think a lie?"-moments and I had no good answer for it.
The thought have been stuck in my head ever since though.

For like half my life I have firmly believed I have very sensitive, slightly dry skin and that my dermotillomania complicates it. But do I really have very sensitive, but acne prone skin? And do I intend to change my skincare focus and routine to see how my skin reacts?

And this is the real problem: My skin really doesn't like any of the typical ingredients used for acne. Ingredients like benzoyl peroxide, azelaic acid, salicylic acid and especially alpha hydroxy acids makes my skin very unhappy. So... What is left to try?
Well, pretty much retinoids and so, so, so many different supplements.

On a whim, I ended up ordering some bottles of AcnEase mild treatment with a previous "generally pretty things I wanted"-order. I started taking 2x2 pills a day, which is like half the dose recommended. I figured there was no reason to piss my skin off, and I really wasn't feeling up to commit for more pills than that.

After a week, my skin started feeling strangely itchy and red spots began to surface.
Now, this is usually where I would tell anyone else but myself to abort mission!
I really don't believe in the idea that skin can "purge": As an organ, skin has a lot of functions, but none of them is to excrete anything other than water, salts and some sebum. Not "toxins" or "waste". And usually those who use the argument, use it to sell you crappy products. So in my book, they discredit themselves by having an agenda.

But... This itchiness felt weird. Like, deep inside the skin. Like something was coming out.
I decided to stick it out and see what happened, with the already opened bottle.

It started in a crescent shape on only the right side of my face, around my mouth. It spread and faded out in all directions over the days. Then suddenly, I found zits appearing. Like, actual zits.
Normally I get a real, actual zit maybe every other week. But Nurses Assistant-friend was in my head with her comment on how I probably destroy any comedones before they reach the surface of my skin.
So I stayed on the mission with the supplement, kept up with my normal skincare routine and removed the emerging zits with an extractor before covering them up with COSRX's master pimple patches.
And slowly, the irritated areas got smaller. The redness faded and the zits went away. Just in time for me to decide if I should start the next bottle or not.

So... Did this help?
I actually think it did. Well, at least enough to have repurchased four more bottles.

But I still don't believe in the "skin can purge"-theory.

I got my first Clarisonic in July 2014. I love those things. Seriously!
Where my skin loathes acne fighting ingredients, it has always loved the Clarisonic. Which is strange, because most guides to sensitive skin will tell you to go for the exfoliating ingredients instead of the mechanical exfoliation/stimulation.

I found I had only one replacement brush left from previous time I ordered, and was going to order some new ones.
But... The Clarisonic Aria that I bought back in April 2016 has now been discontinued. And Clarisonics website had no intention of informing me which, if any, brush heads are compatible with that model. That really pisses me off. It feels like Apple-methods to force customers into buying a new model instead of being able to continue using what should have been a perfectly functional product.

I hate that kind of intentional, forced consumerism.

So as an experiment, I have bought a Foreo Luna 2 and a BeGlow Pura to see if I could learn to like one (Or both) of those instead.
Both are silicone, which is better than the Clarisonic brushes for preventing bacteria growth. The Foreo feels sturdy and has a beautiful finish. The Beglow feels a lot cheaper and more "plastic", but you can replace the silicone "brush" head.

I will give it a month or so before deciding if I should cave and get a new Clarisonic model and a bunch of replacement brushes...

Haul of various things

Since I had another murder victim broken comb on my hands, I placed an order of various things I "needed" at Lyko. Got two identical Hercules Sägemann hard rubber combs, a Kent comb and a Jaguar (Like my pretty S&D scissor!)

Really happy to see K-breauty becoming so mainstream!

(Less happy about the ridiculous up-pricing of the sheet masks that seems to be the trend. They're not supposed to be a "treatment" as western masks are, just a cheap and convenient way to get moisture trapped in your skin)

Ironically, I've decided to try the Western brand of The Ordinary for a few things. I like their idea of the products being something targeting specific ingredients that you can easily slide into your existing routine instead of trying to be some magical amazing cure-all serum. I also really like that they use squalane as their "carrier" for most actives. It was a trendy ingredient in K-beauty some years back and my skin really liked it. And I generally like their short and simple ingredient lists. 

Scary, me?

I just started off the new year by scaring hubby half to death.
No idea why...

Maybe it's the sheet mask that was supposed to be a cute panda, but really looks more like some sort of weird clown?
Maybe that I had to adjust the mouth a lot to fit my face which obscured the intended panda print even more?
Or maybe it was the silicone mask on top of it that blurred the features even more?

Such a mystery.

(And now I want to buy more printed sheet masks just to terrorize hubby. I'm a jerk)

*cough* Another Christmas calendar, whoops

I figured I had enough Christmas calendars already. I got Lookfantastics and Rituals again because those were my favorites last year. Hubby got me an Anthon Berg as well (Danish luxury chocolate and amazingly good marzipan) and I even got a mini-Rittersport calendar from work too!

One I was actually interested in was Skinstores, but since they pissed me off so badly last year I wasn't going to get it. But then they had it for just 66 USD on black Friday and I caved. Like last year, I'm going to open it after Christmas like it was intended for.

Oh well. It's here now and I'm looking forward to it.

Funny detail: I liked the box so much last year I kept it and used it to store my supplements and other small items in. It looks like the box is completely identical this year, so now I will have two that matches!

*groan*

Some days I'd happily trade some of my hairs thickness or length for skin that would behave.
This is one of those days. Sigh.

Sensitive skin sucks

Me: My skin is so sensitive...

You all: How sensitive is it?

Me: It is so sensitive, I get breakouts from my Neutrogena light therapy mask. 

Yea, it´s not really that funny. Sorry.

No joke though: I get really annoyed when people "abuse" the classification of having sensitive skin.

Too often have I heard people say they have sensitive skin when they flat out abuse it. 

If your skin is dry and cranky and your only "care" is to let your shampoo wash over your face when you rinse and maybe, maybe slap some crappy low SPF sunscreen on if you have to be outside in burning sun for too long, you don´t have sensitive skin. If your skin is oily and breaks out and you "care" for it by using whatever trendy, perfumy, brightly coloured, unicorn-themed product some editor was paid to advertise for in a glossy magazine, you don´t have sensitive skin. If your response to "Do you know if you have any allergies?" is "Uhhhh.....", you don´t have sensitive skin. 

So. Back to how sensitive sensitive skin can be.

For over a month, I have had this annoying breakout happening at two spots near my hairline. Above my ears, symmetrical placement.

Usually a breakout at my hairline points to a sensitivity to one or more of my skincare products. Because of the "massaging" motion, you end up pushing excess products into the hairline with your fingertips. Especially the hairline around the forehead is a typical area to get breakouts if the culprit is a product. It never really spreads very far into my scalp-area though: My scalps moisture barrier is strong and resilient and rarely causes me any problems. CO washes are my holy grail to protect my scalp from dehydration and irritation. I wish I could do the same for the skin on the rest of my body.

But the breakouts only happened right there. Slightly below where my glasses rests. Just in these two spots.

But I finally figured out what the problem is: It´s my hacked Neutrogena light therapy mask.
The mask fits a lot tighter around my face than a pair of glasses, and the earpieces touches my skin right there. The plastic ear pieces. Of course.
*Sigh*
I already knew that you should be aware what you let touch your face when you have sensitive skin. And I knew that you should always look for silicone tools since they are less reactive to any chemical (And therefore any product it might come into contact with) and more resistant to bacteria colonizing it.
But still.
This was a surprise.
And now I need to figure out what to do about it. Removing the earpieces would ruin the point of the mask. Maybe wrap something around right at the contact point? Like a bandaid that I can replace often?

Awkward selfie trying to show where the problem is.

1 month with the Neutrogena visibly clear light therapy mask

So, I've had and used the Neutrogena visibly clear light therapy acne mask for a month now. I've already posted some thoughts on it, but here is what I think after a month of use...

First, I think I have to point out that the hack made such a big difference in how much I like this mask. I think I would have absolutely hated this thing and would have been super pissed off at it (And Neutrogena!) if I had been forced to buy a new activator for every 30 x 10 minutes of use.
Knowing myself and my attitude for that kind of shit, I would not have repurchased an activator.

I can't say my skin has improved remarkably from using it. I'm honestly not sure it has made a difference. (But then again, to be fair, you rarely can tell apart a single factors influence on skin from everything else that affects it!)
But, I still think it can't hurt to incorporate it in my routine. So (With the hack) I think this is a mask that is worth spending the money I did. The activator is around one third the price of the mask, so if you couldn't hack it, it would make the total price way higher.

It also feels like this is a "gateway mask". It was easily accessible for me, and it made me curious to try a more expensive and fancier light therapy mask if I should encounter one some time in the future.

After a month of use, I have two major criticisms:

1) The mask could have had way more LED-lights. Especially in the forehead area, where it feels like they cheapened out by only having a single row of lights when there were obviously room for two. The lights are packed way denser around the mouth, but could also have used a row higher up to better "cover" the upper cheeks and nose area.

2) The blue light, which combats bacteria, seems to run out of power/lose intensity (?) when in use. Luckily I'm mostly interested in the inflammation-dampening red light, but still!
The picture below shows how it has "faded" more than the red after having left it on for a while.

In conclusion: I think I recommend this mask. It's cheap (If you hack the activator), easily accessible (I got mine at lookfantastic, but I have seen it other places too), probably has some effect (Definetely haven't hurt my skin, but it might give a different result for someone with actual acne issues) and will easily give you an idea if a light therapy mask would be something for you or not.

Neutrogena visibly clear

My skin is being super unhappy right now. It's the combination of workload (Stress and not enough quality sleep) and the hot, humid weather. 

So I have treated myself to the Neutrogena visibly clear light therapy mask. It wasn't even that pricey.

Why haven't I done that before? I love gadgets and devices!

It gives out blue and red light. The blue lights in the mask kills the acne-causing bacteria and the red light reduces inflammation.

I rarely get acne, but I do get a lot of redness and irritation from having sensitive skin. I guess it can't hurt to kill some bacteria without using a product though? But it's a shame you can't reduce or increase one light over the other.
There are more advanced masks out there (Even some where you can adjust what wavelengths/colours you want the mask to do), but this one was available on a website where I have successfully ordered skin and hair stuff from before. 

I hacked this incredibly wasteful product to get a lot more uses out of it:

The hack is really simple. You just solder a piece of wire between two points and done.

I found some other guides where you do some more advanced work on the device and hook it up to a USB for power instead of batteries. However, then you have to have a USB power source nearby when you use the mask.

Here's a guide for those who don't have a soldering iron:

I haven't tried this one though, so I can't say if it will actually work.

Hacking the device will however turn off the 10 minute timer and the display.

And here is my skin in it's current "Mad at you!!"-mode....

The mask is sort of warm(ish) and relaxing on the face, and it makes me want to use its warmth to make a sheet mask penetrate better. But I guess that would reduce the effect on the light quite a lot.

Pros

• It's a product free tool. Which means no risk of allergic reactions or intolerance or cross-reactions (Big plus for me!). It can just be tossed on top of your already established routine with no risks of screwing the routine up.
• Although it's not actually comfortable as such, it's still not something that is so irritating or disrupting to your life that you would shy away from using it. I use it in bed before going to sleep. It's a nice and relaxing little ritual actually.
• Easy to hack.

Cons

• Not actually that easy to do other things with the mask on. The light aiming right into your face makes it hard to read and I found there was a big difference in how easy I could follow something on a screen. My tablet was the worst and Mr. Igor's gaming monitor was the best.
• You can pretty much only see straight ahead and slightly upwards (Might depend on the shape of your nose as the "glasses" underneath the shield holds the mask in place) I walked right into the garbage bag that Mr. Igor had put out in the hallway and was a minute away from taking outside. Yuck. I can't recommend wandering around too much wearing it. 
• Cannot be combined with wearing glasses.
• Extremely wasteful product if you don't hack the activator. You're supposed to toss the activator with batteries and all when it reaches 0 and is programmed to turn off forever. Come on, Neutrogena... At least put in some smaller batteries or something? Four AA batteries to power this for 30 uses? Not cool. 

I expected Mr. Igor to joke about my desire to "put weird things on my face" or something like that, but he actually thought it looked pretty cool. I sort of agree. It's like a weird sci-fi welders mask (Yes, I can actually weld and I'm a bit proud of it). It's just missing the joint so you can tip down the shield over the attached glasses.