Personal Microderm Device (PMD) Review!

A while back I signed up through a website to try a Personal Microderm device (PMD) and just recently had the chance to do so!

From PMD website

Basically, the PMD is a microdermabrasion device that uses aluminum oxide crystals to exfoliate away excess dead skin cells while using a vacuum-type suction to stimulate the blood flow in your skin to reduce age spots, acne, fine lines, and scars.  The PMD works a little deeper by promoting new collagen growth for softer, more elastic skin! 

Initially when I was contacted to try this product I was a little hesitant as I'm still young (so I don't really have fine lines yet), and do not have any obvious issues with my skin.  However, after trying it, I really think it's a great product for everyone regardless of your skin type.

Here's what the box looks like:

The PMD is a handheld electronic device that comes with various aluminum oxide crystal discs that you can use, depending on your skin type.

The box comes with:
1 personal microderm device
6 exfoliating aluminum oxide discs (2 green for moderate/coarse skin and 4 blue for sensitive skin)
2 caps (for the different sized discs for body and face)
1 filter
1 Instructional CD

Here is what the device looks like (sans discs):

Great size for traveling!  You can also see the filters in the background

Here are two of the discs:

The small and large discs in blue (for more sensitive skin)

The PMD comes with 6 different disks in two sizes.  The smaller sizes are for your face and hard to reach areas and the large ones are for your chest, hands, feet, or wherever else you have dry skin needing removal!  They also come in three different colors, blue (sensitive skin), green (medium skin), and red (coarse skin); although this starter kit only comes with blue and green.  They recommend you to start off with the more sensitive blue disc just to see how your body reacts to the device.

Here's what the device looks like when put together:

After watching the instructional video (which is absolutely NECESSARY to watch!) and washing and drying my face, I was ready to go!

I was surprised to find out that this device isn't JUST for your face, you can pretty much use it anywhere!

I tested it out on my arm first to check the suction and tried it on my face initially with the large blue disc.  It warns you not to hold the device in one place for too long or you could get scratched with the disc/vacuum combo.  The amount of suction coming from this small thing surprised me at first and it actually kind of hurt my face.  So I switched to the smaller blue disc and it worked much better for me and was far less painful.  But basically you just stretch you skin out and pretty much "vacuum" your face.

This is obviously not me, but you get the jist of how this works!

When you're all done you simply apply toner of your choice to neutralize your skin's pH levels and then a moisturizer and voila, you're done!  It only took me about 5 minutes once I got the hang of it.

They say to use it only once a week for 10-12 weeks to fully minimize your fine lines, age spots, and acne spots.  I've only had the chance to use it once so far but you immediately notice the effects even after the first treatment.  Since my skin is a little on the sensitive side it was a little pink after I finished the treatment, but my skin was so soft!

It's definitely a night-time or weekend routine since you shouldn't apply make-up right after using the device.

Overall I'm definitely impressed with the product as I could tell immediately afterward that my skin was feeling much softer and overall more "fresh."  Rejuvenated?  I don't know, my face just felt taught and happy. 

The only downside (for me) to this is the price.  It retails for $179 on their website www.personalmicroderm.com, and you have to buy refills of the discs for $14.99 (for 6).  They say you should use a new disc after every 2-3 treatments depending on how long you take for each treatment.   

Now since I don't really have issues with my skin $179 seems absurd to me, but I can see how it would be worth it to people with a lot of wrinkles or acne spots!  It's especially worth it when you consider the fact that a professional microdermabrasion process costs much much more.  I'll definitely keep using the one I've got since I can get at least 18 treatments out of the discs I have and I guess I'll let you guys know in the future if I get more refills :)


Have you guys tried any of these microdermabrasion devices?  What are your secrets to getting rid of dry skin?

Thanks to the ladies at PMD who agreed to send me this device for review!

<3 Whitney

Recent Hauls!

I'm going to show you my recent hauls from my trip home!
From my first trip home, the weekend of Oct 21-23rd, I hit up my favorite beauty supply store in Columbus!

Jackpot!  Essie Super Bossa Nova, some Muppets, ORLY Collection, and a holo top coat!

I nabbed all the Muppets I could find: Excuse Moi, a 2 pack with Animalistic and Gettin' Miss Piggy With It and some glittery toe separators, Rainbow Connection, another 2 pack with Pepe's Purple Passion and Divine Swine, and Fresh Frog of Bel Air!

I also picked up ORLY's Holiday Soiree collection (which you saw yesterday!), and a Silver Holo top coat!  I got a GREAT deal on all the ORLY's...$3.75 each!

When I went back again this past weekend (Halloween weekend), I picked up some Bare Minerals Makeup:

A bunch of eyeshadows!  The four on the left are named after cute cocktails (Kir Royale, Strawberry Daquiri, Long Island Iced Tea, and Mojito) and came with a brush (not shown). The three on the left are all shades of brown.

I also picked up an eyeliner set (Retro liner plus brush) and a 7 Piece Girlfriend Collection that came with a mineral veil, blush, two eyeshadows (k.i.t. and b.f.f.) and an eyeliner and double-ended brush!

And here is MY BEST of the past two weeks:

OPI DS Signature, and OPI Ink (Suede version)  I found both of these at a GIANT EAGLE for $8 each!!!  Wish there had been more of the DS collection, I would've bought more.  BEAUTIFUL!

And finally I came home to nail mail!  From a giveaway I won from Carly at Lacquered Lover!

Yay Halloween polishes!!

Woooooo!  What a great past two weeks.  I've really not been buying polish for a while, so this was awesome for me!  I've got a lot of swatching to do :)

Have any of you picked up any of the ORLY Holiday Soiree Collection?? 

<3 Whitney

ORLY Holiday Soiree Collection Swatches! **Picture Heavy**

Sorry for the lack of updates again!  I've been busy the past two weekends, I had to go home to Ohio, but I'm sick today so I have time to update, hah ;)

I'm taking a mini-break from my 31-day challenge and I'm going to show you the entire ORLY Holiday Soiree collection!  I've picked up a lot of polish and make-up the past two weekends, I'll show you all the hauls tomorrow, but for now, onto the ORLY's!

First up: Ingenue. 

Ingenue is a pink polish with some severe gold shimmer!  I needed three coats for this polish to be as opaque as I wanted.  It looks GREAT in the sun, but I feel like its a complete dupe of Zoya Faye.  So I'd say if you have Faye, pass on Ingenue.  I'll plan for a side-by-side comparison in the future :)

Next up: Le Chateau.

Le Chateau is a dark, dark blue-ish green jelly.  It goes on pretty dense, so only two coats were needed to be opaque.  I feel like it's TOO dark and very much looks black, even in the sunlight.  I liked the formula a lot, though!

Next up: Au Champagne.

 
Au Champagne is a shimmery white polish that looks frosty without the streakiness of a typical frost.  I think this color is fantastic.  White nails were all the rage this summer, so I think the tint of creamy shimmer added to this polish is perfect for the changing seasons!  I used three coats in these pictures.

Next: Oui.

Oui looks very similar to Ingenue in the bottle, however on the nail it's much different!  It's very obviously a dark purple, especially in the sun, but it's also packed with a gold shimmer!  I got away with only two coats of this polish, and I LOVE it!  I wore it recently for a wedding I was in and got a lot of comments on it.

Next up: Ma Cherie

Ma Cherie is a typical bright red jelly polish.  I loved how easy it went on, but it took three coats to be opaque and even then you could see my nail lines sometimes in the sun.  It's not super original, but I don't have a red as bright as this one in my collection, so I was happy to pick it up with the rest of the collection.  What's a holiday collection without a red, right?  My only issue with Ma Cherie was that it stained really bad when I took it off.  I even tried the glitter tin-foil/cotton-ball remover technique with no avail.

Last and certainly not least: Androgynie.

Androgynie is by far my favorite polish in the entire collection.  It's a beautiful black jelly with silver mini glitter and large, blue, green, and yellow hex glitter.  I love love love it.  It's a perfect winter polish with just enough glitter to make you excited to wear it!  I only needed 2 coats to get it opaque, but the pictures are like 3.5 coats because I was having trouble getting the hex glitter onto my nail...despite the mini hassle I had, it's still my favorite. 

Well there you have it, folks!  The entire 2011 Holiday Soiree Collection from ORLY!  My favorites were Androgynie, Au Champagne, and Oui.  I have Zoya Faye so I don't think it's necessary for me to have Ingenue (although I'd love it if I didn't have a dupe already).  I probably won't wear Le Chateau often because it's too dark and boring for me...and I'm glad I picked up Ma Cherie, but it's not my fav.

Have you guys gotten any of these yet??

<3 Whitney