Foreo Luna Fofo
When my last FabFitFun box arrived, I was pretty stoked. (FFF is totally worth it. Get yours HERE) Every time I get one of these boxes, it's a mini-Christmas morning kind of feeling. There's so much good stuff jammed into these packages- and this time I was REALLY excited to get my box because it was rumored to have the Foreo Luna Fofo in it. (Retail value $89) I'd been eyeing the Foreo lineup for a little while, and I really couldn't justify spending the money at that moment on a cleansing product. The reviews on the various Foreo products are mixed. You love them, can't live without them, or you hate them. With mixed reviews like that, I wanted to be really sure I wanted to take the risk before I dropped a hundo or more on a face-vibrator. So the Foreo line is made of this super silky and soft silicone. It REALLY could double as a marital aid if the vibration lasted or was more powerful- but the material is very much that second-skin type of silicone a lot of the high end "toys" are coming to market with. The Luna FoFo has a bunch of little nubs all over one side. The opposite side has two little metal sensors and a button to turn it on. It's also interactive with a phone app- and in some ways is useless without it. You take this thing out of the box, and the directions tell you to download the app- which isn't fully functional for THIS device. You set your "profile", which is a photo and your first and last name. There are no places to input any skin concerns, issues, your age, sun exposure... nothing. Then you link it to your device- which... you'll need to do frequently. It doesn't just connect every time you use your device, and you're going to need to make sure you've got your phone nearby or there's no point to the app. The app will take you through taking a reading of your skin. My first time taking a reading, it told me my skin was 26 years old and well moisturized. Well, thank you bunches, FoFo. For science, I cleaned my face, skipped my moisturizer, ran errands bare faced, came home and took another reading. This time, it said I was dehydrated and my skin was 42. Fuckyouverymuch, you bipoloar piece of shit. But seriously, that, right there told me there isn't a lot of science to this device and it can be manipulated easily. So, I played more. I moisturized with IT Cosmetics Confidence in a Cream, and took another reading. It told me I drink more than enough water, and again, my skin was 26. I waited again. Took my reading an hour later when my skin had time to absorb the moisturizer. I was still "hydrated", though I hadn't actually consumed any water in that time. (and it will tell you to drink more water if you're 'dry') This time, my skin was 32. The general consensus of this machine is that my skin is hydrated and youthful for my age- which I would concur with BUT I don't think it's a real tool for measuring anything but surface moisture. I drink a LOT of water and I know better than anyone that factors outside of fluid consumption can make your face dry. I moved on to the cleansing feature of this device. First, the tool is NOT waterproof. It would have been nice for that to have been made a focus- considering this is a tool for getting wet. Next, you're to turn on the machine and follow the prompts on your phone. Add cleanser and rub gently in a circular motion until the thing stops briefly- which is your cue to move on to the next area. Repeat until it's done vibrating. For me, this was less than a minute or two every single time- and no matter what the condition of my skin (per the sensors on the device) the cleaning pattern or time didn't change. I found that my face did not feel any cleaner and in fact, a simple baby wipe with micellar water removed SO much more grime afterward. I get that over scrubbing is bad. But so is leaving layers of shit on your face. So what's the answer? This product doesn't really give me one. I often turned it on several times and ignored the pauses and just cleaned until my face *felt* clean.
I believe there is a science to the vibration aspect. Vibration increases blood flow, blood flow fills and brings oxygen and nutrients to the area, causing your skin to glow a bit... but I saw, after 3 months of use- no noticeable change- and I was often left having to rewash afterward. If this is a cleanser, it falls WAY short. If it's intended to be a facial stimulator, it should be marketed as such only. I really felt like this product- though an "entry level" product into the Foreo line really missed the mark with me. Had it surpassed any expectation- or even MET it, I might have justified getting one of the bigger boys in their product offerings. I haven't experienced any malfunctions due to my getting it wet, but many reviews on Sephora.com of this product indicate that it gets only a 3.7 of 5 stars, and many of the low reviews come from FFF box recipients that were happy they didn't pay for this product. Complaint #1? Battery leaking due to wetness. For $89, why not have a little gasket in there to prevent moisture from entering? Seems reasonable. So now, I've got this thing in my shower that I just don't use. It just wasn't worth it to me. My son likes to turn it on in the tub and play with it when I'm washing his hair. When the battery craps out, it will head out to the trash. I have a similar in material facial cleanser that's manually operated. You hold it, put the cleanser on the nubs, and swirl on your face. No batteries to leak or replace. And this cost me $2.99. Or my $4 konjac sponge... Both of these clean and stimulate the skin fantastically. All in all, I don't know if the rest of the Foreo line is any better, but I'm much less inclined to find out now. I'm totally grateful that the $49.99 I spent on my FFF box included so many other products that way overcompensated for the inclusion of this product but I will not be excited to see another Foreo product again.