I’ve had it for a few weeks now, so I thought it was about time I reviewed the Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Brush* which joins the range of excellent skincare products in the Beautiful Skin line. I was really excited to hear that Boots were releasing a cleansing brush, not just because I’m a big fan of the products in the Beautiful Skin line, but also because I thought it was about blimin’ time that a company released a motorised cleansing brush that didn’t cost a small fortune.
The Beautiful Skin Cleansing Brush is compact, easy to handle and comes with two speed settings. It’s battery operated which makes it quite different to most other motorised cleansing brushes which usually rely on a charger instead. I personally think a battery-operated device is not such a bad thing (I’ve said so much with that last sentence…) as it will travel well and when the device runs out of juice, you just pop the new batteries in and off you go. I’m always letting my brushes run out of charge which then means I have to wait a few hours for it to recharge, which isn’t ideal if you’re in the habit of brush cleansing daily.
The two speed settings are operated with one button; so you press the button once to turn it on, again to move it up a speed and again to turn it off. The brush itself contains impressively soft bristles that feel gentle and non-abrasive on the skin and are the right length to move around the skin surface easily without flailing. The brush fully oscillates, meaning that it goes all the way around as opposed to a lot of other brushes which tend to part oscillate (move slightly right and left) or vibrate, and this is sadly where I believe the design of the brush comes undone.
Regular readers will know that I have pretty tough facial skin that tolerates most things really well. The fact that this brush is firstly fairly powerful, and secondly fully oscillates, means that it’s really difficult to control when moving around the face. The result is that you can’t really cleanse effectively without really pressing it into the skin, which then means you’re not so much brushing and more scrapping the skin which is something that I can’t see any skin type benefiting from. The fast speed of the brush also results in the skin being buffed rather than cleansed, which again isn’t ideal for the delicate facial area. After using this on the lowest setting, my skin was very red and a little sore because I couldn’t control the movement of the brush effectively, so it either went all over the place, or was forced too firmly into the skin.
All is not lost as I have found it a very effective brush for my body skin as there’s more surface for it to move around on so the above issues are less problematic, but for facial skin I can honestly see this doing more harm than good in the long run. It’s annoying, as it’s pretty much bang on with the design, feel, weight and cost and I feel with just a few tweaks (maybe it could only part oscillate or the speed could be greatly reduced) it could be a really solid and effective cleansing brush, but in my mind it isn’t quite there yet.
I believe this will be launching later this month (will double check) for £25.
Aww, what a shame! I was hoping this would be the new (much cheaper) Clarisonic, but I’d rather give it a miss now. Thank you for the review!
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No problem lovely; it is a shame as I think without a couple of minor tweaks it could be pretty amazing 🙁 xx
This looks interesting and its affordable, I think if you dont have sensitive skin and you are gentle when using this you might be okay. I have from Olay that I love.
On the other hand using one these on your body is a good tip too, I have never used my Olay one on my body before!
I think this is a good alternative to the pricey Clarisonic
Great post! xx
Thanks hun, although it’s worth noting that I don’t have sensitive skin at all! I believe it’s mainly the fact that it moves around too much – both speed-wise and the way it oscillates – as if these two elements were a little more gentle then I believe it could be really great xx
I used to have a Philips (I think) facial brush I really liked, it disappeared for about 10 years I think.
I miss it now 🙁
I am facial brush obsessed at the mo; I just love the deep clean feeling and it does make a big difference to skin care, especially if you wear a lot of make-up xx
QVC sell a TRESONIC version for £38
Thanks for the heads up! I’ll check it out xx
I used this brush for the first time tonight and may I say the initial reviewer is being too picky. It’s easy to control! All you need to do is move the brush in circles. I used a non-foaming cleanser and although it worked, I think a foaming one would be much better. The brush is obviously effective because the dirt that was on it was surprising! It’s currently £15 but if you use it with the £5 No7 skincare voucher valid until Sunday 27th January, it’s £10!
I’d definitely recommend this brush to those whose skin isn’t too sensitive.
The initial reviewer is me…the post that you commented on is on my blog.
I write the reviews from my personal experience and the above review is my thoughts on how the brush performs. I don’t have sensitive skin at all (quite the opposite) and I didn’t find it to be particularly easy to handle. Glad to hear you had a more positive experience with it though 🙂
I just want to ask if how many times in a week you have to use this No 7 Cleansing Brush?
Hi Ella, I believe it’s suitable for daily (and possibly even twice daily) use, just like the Clarisonic xx
I brought the brush recently and i actually like it, my skin looks and feels amazing. All though it isn’t quite the same as a clarisonic i’m quite happy using the No7 brush til i can.
A lot of people really like it so it’s good to know it’s working for some. I just found it too harsh! xx
Hi Sascha,
Thanks for your great review – I was tempted by the pricetag to consider buying this product as an alternative to the Clarisonic, but your review has made me reconsider.
Sadly I simply cannot afford the Clarisonic, but have been convinced by the science and reviews that I should try a facial cleansing brush in order to make the skincare products I use go further.
I wondered if you were planning on reviewing the treSonic brush from QVC that another person commented on earlier? I was considering saving up to purchase that product instead? Thanks again for your reviews.
Roo xx
Hi Roo,
Thanks for your comment! I wasn’t planning to review the TreSonic but to be honest, having looked at it online through various mediums, it looks identical to the SiriusSonic (have a look and you’ll see what I mean!) which I have reviewed and didn’t think was that great as a facial brush, but it was good as a massager. In fairness, whilst I didn’t get on too well with the Boots one, most people have reported really positive results, so maybe I’m just too fussy!
Hope this helps and give me a shout if you have any more questions xx
I love the brush and use it every day my skin looks and feels great, just remember to tie up your hair when using it
Hi I would have I strongly disagree with you with this review.
I use this brush every single day and it is fantastic. My skin feels softer and looks brighter. The only
requirement is that you use a wash off cleanser. Personally I use the no7 melting gel cleanser and your not supposed to press down hard on the skin just lightly an the brush will do the rest.
I have also used the no7 exfoliater with the brush and again it’s brilliant. I think you should reconsider.
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