Battle of the Skin Brushes | Magnitone vs. Sensio Spa

Considering that we are both in our mid-twenties, we both have fairly terrible skin. Prone to breakouts, dry patches and fair (so 10 times harder to cover blemishes…) are just some of the words you would use to describe us, and we both work really hard to try and drink, eat and use the right things to help this. Felicity is a stickler for suncream and moisturising, whilst Lauren swears by a strict cleanse, tone, moisturise routine in order to help keep unruly breakouts at bay.

The past couple of months we have both been trialling one of the most talked about beauty gadgets of the year, the face brush. There are lots of options out there, all of which look fairly similar and all of which make unique claims about how they can help your skincare regime.

We tried the Sensio Spa and Magnitone offerings, both the same price at £70, and both at the same time. Fitting them into our normal skincare regime was the rule, and making sure that we used them as per the instructions (where possible) to give the best possible results…

Magnitone Barefaced!- Vibra-SonicTM Face Brush

I’ve been desperate for a face brush for well over a year now. A colleague got one last Christmas and I saw excellent results, her skin was clearer, smoother and she enjoyed using it. Hers was another leading brand, and I’ve since spotted some others on the market which I have loved the look of including one from my favourite brand, Clinique.

When we spied the Magnitone Barefaced! Vibra Sonic brush in its little form and candy colour and were offered the chance to give it a spin, it was certainly worth a try.

First use
The brush is really easy to put together, charge and use. There is only one head on this one, and its not overly abrasive. It feels really powerful as I never use anything more than a flannel on my face- I even avoid exfoliator. Admittedly, after the first use my skin was really sore but it felt super smooth and squeaky clean which I really like. I follow up with my normal moisturiser, and wake up the next day with very soft skin.

2 weeks in 
I’ve been experimenting with different face washes to see what works best for me. The box says to use your normal cleanser, but I’ve found some foams/gels not lubricating enough which leaves me feeling like I’ve used sandpaper on my face. I’ve settled on one from Clinique which is specifically designed for use with sonic brushes, and works really well with this brush. The instructions say to use every day if possible, but I’ve been using every couple of days mostly as I have been breaking out. Breaking out isn’t a shock to me, as whenever I change my routine up, I experience worse than normal breakouts on my already combination skin.

6 week thoughts
The breakouts have definitely calmed down and I will carry on using the brush, and experimenting with how it works best for me. Ultimately, my skin feels smoother, and much much cleaner than before after using the brush. The breakouts are a result of turfing up rubbish from underneath my skin, and so I certainly think that the brush has helped get rid of that. The brush has travelled really well, and the bristles are still perfect (they need changing every 3 months), although I may buy some sensitive heads to see how I get on with those. I would recommend the brush if you were looking to get a really deep clean on your skin, but were prepared to deal with the potential for a couple of months of breaking out. I can imagine that if you don’t have very sensitive and spot prone skin, this brush would work wonders for making a near-perfect complexion even better.

Sensio Spa Sonic Facial Cleanser

Like most readers, I became aware of face brushes after seeing a few adverts and blogger reviews for Clarisonic. As Lauren says above, I have hormonal breakouts (jawline, lower half of the face) and the rest of my face is clear, combination skin. I'm rigorous on moisturising as I know a lot of my problem is dehydration, so I just kept this up alongside my trial.

I went for an amazing Mad Hatters Afternoon Tea at the Sanderson with Sensio to see their new products, and the face brush was immediately my favourite. With three interchangeable heads (dermabrasion, sensitive and normal) and two speed settings, I was dead keen to give it a go...

First use
I decided to use the dermabrasion brush after charging the little beauty up. Oh my lord. It feels like a mega clean, but wow my face is pretty sore afterwards. I frantically whatsapp Lauren to ask if she had a similar experience. My face feels red and sensitive, so I wait an extra half hour before  I follow up with moisturiser, just in case I make it worse. The next morning my face still feels a little sensitive, although clean, so I resolve to try the normal brush next.

2 weeks in
I’ve been trying to stick to my usual products (the Rebalancing range from Kaeso - it's my attempt at a routine, which I usually fail at). As I'm trialling the brush, I've been better at sticking to the routine but I'm really not seeing a massive difference yet - if anything, I'm breaking out more. Lauren is going through the same thing, so I back off a bit as she does and use it every other day instead of daily, to see if it makes a difference. A week later, and still no difference, I test a few face washes I have and find the cleanser I've been using is really no good at shifting my make up in comparison to others, which is probably contributing. I switch up to a gentle exfoliating cleanser from Fashion Fair, and continue.

6 week thoughts
So how do I feel about the brush? I have mixed feelings. My theory is that yes, it cleans the surface skin very well, but that it also stirs up the blocked pores under the skin and encourages them to rise to the surface - hence breakouts. Lauren and I did discuss this theory several times throughout, and decided that long term use would probably make a bigger difference to those with spot prone skin. If you're luckier with your skin, I think this would be a great purchase to achieve a glowing, healthy complexion - it's definitely helped to even out my skin tone, so that's a bonus.

Finally, I love having the interchangeable brushes depending on what I need. Cleaning them takes only a minute, and it's great if you feel that certain brushes aren't exfoliating enough for you, or are too harsh. Lauren's Magnitone is compact and travel friendly, but I reckon the Sensio is great for home.

Do let us know if you have tried a face brush- do you love or hate them and how have you combatted any breakouts? Tweet us @PrettyPoshOMG or drop a comment below!

Felicity and Lauren