First Impressions - Foreo Luna Mini for $25??!

Hey guys! Wow, it's been over half a year! But I'm excited to be back again with my first impressions / brief review of the "Foreo Luna Mini"... well a dupe anyway...

As you know already, I am a major sucker for hype. I read a lot of hype surrounding sonic facial cleansing devices, first around the Clarisonic and now around the Foreo devices. 

But as your typical poor uni student, there was no way I could afford  $249 - $285 dollars* for the Full Size Foreo Luna, or $179 - $215 for the mini versions oror $60 for the disposable Foreo Luna Play orthe Luxe version for that matter which comes with an eye watering price tag of $8000! Tati, please test this and let us know how you get on with it LOL However, if it was a fraction of the price, say around $25, I'd be more than happy to shell out for such a hyped item. Let's see how that went, shall we? 

Is this the Foreo Luna bad review we've been looking for?

In short, it's very... average?  But that would be a very short post if I stopped there, and short posts are not what we're about on The Crowned Willow ;) Since I love to waffle, I've separated the post with sub headings so feel free to scroll down to the part you're interested in

Background - Why I was interested in the Foreo / Foreo over Clarisonic 

Just 1 minute’s use twice a day will visibly improve your complexion in 3 days. Blemish-causing impurities are gently cleansed away, which will not only improve the absorption of your other skincare products, but leave your skin looking clearer, healthier and glowing.

The secret’s in the LUNA mini’s T-Sonic pulsations combined with a unique silicone brush consisting of soft and smooth touch-points. This combination gently removes dead skin cells and makeup residue, and unclogs pores of 99.5% of dirt and oil, enhancing the absorption of your other skincare products. - Foreo website

Sounds promising, doesn't it? But why choose this over say... the more established Clarisonic? Going by Foreo's own claims, it seems like worthy competitor for the Clarisonic Foreo Luna vs Clarisonic
Mia

1. Smaller size therefore more travel friendly
2. Rechargeable battery where one full charge can provide up to 300 uses
3. Silcon bristles which don't need to be replaced (because they are apparently 35X more hygienic than your old sonic cleanser with nylon bristles)

My actual device / how close of a copy is it?

My device came with a USB charger and some instructions, it did not come with an authenticity card

The original Foreo Luna Mini which has been out since 2013 so I guess that's a lot of time to perfect a dupe. There is a now a new version, the Foreo Luna Mini 2, but this review is based on the original. The full size Foreo Luna was an extra $10 but I wasn't sure what type would be best for me so I just went with the Mini. Interestingly, the real Foreo devices are manufactured in China and I  bought this from an online vendor based in China. How does this compare to the Anself dupe? I'm not sure, but I know that the Foreo was not released in this garish hot pink colour, so that's an indication that something isn't quite right. The vendor had described it as 'rose', so I thought it would've been the blush pink colour *crying emoji*

----My Skin Type----

So essentially my skin is a mess. In general terms I have combination/dry skin. I don't really get acne that often anymore, a part from the hormonal break out and occasional whitehead. I have a few acne scars and I have lots of pin size bumps/enlarged pores in the malar(?) region and get some black heads on/around the nose. I also have what I suspect, minor seborrheic dermatitis in the creases in my nose.

My First Impression / Usage

Before I get into it, I should say that skin care is a very individual thing and what works/doesn't work for me may/may not work for you.

So before I used it, I charged it, as that is what the instructions say to do. Just plugged it into my laptop and it got full charge pretty quickly, around 1ish hours, just like the real Foreo. Now onto usage on my face. The first thing I noticed was, it felt pretty awkward to rub/hold on my face/nose especially since the bristles are concentrated on one side of the device. After smooshing the device around my face (on the "low setting") for a few minutes I noticed that my face looked brighter and felt very soft. My pores were still huge af tho and it didn't really "exfoliate" my face so there were a few dry patches/flaky skin (gross I know, sorry!). A few days later I tested it out in the shower and I did not get electrocuted (#winning) so I assume this device is actually water proof, but I keep the little cap thing on the charging hole, just in case ;P I just used my normal cleanser and not the Foreo designed ones. I'm actually dissatisfied with my current cleanser, so maybe that's what's holding the Foreo dupe from truly performing? I shall update! 

tl:dr

On first impressions, this sonic cleanser is a decent device but not the skin panacea I was looking for/it's sometimes touted as. I'll still use it though! But anyway, if you're looking into getting the actual Foreo, definitely try sussing out a dupe first for a tenth of the price! You can see how much you reach for it and if it's worth the investment. For me, I don't think it will be, as I'm satisfied with this knock off and I'm not sure how the $200 version can be 10x much better than this.  Anyway, I'll keep you guys updated after further usage.

Once again, thank you for reading  :)