Neutrogena Wave Duo review: could this be the cheaper alternative to the Clarisonic Mia?

Like a lot of you I'm sure, I have been longing for a Clarisonic Mia but can't quite justify the price to myself just yet (I don't think it'd go down very well with Danny if I spent £100 or so on a Clarisonic and then not be able to afford to buy anything for our house!)  I was in Boots at the weekend and was browsing the skincare section looking for a face mask to pamper myself with that evening when I came across the Neutrogena Wave Duo.  We've all seen the adverts on TV - Vanessa Hudgens and Hayden Panettiere cheesily smiling into the camera stating that their skin has never felt so clean.  But does it really live up to their hype?  I've seen a lot of mixed reviews on this, so I thought I'd try it out and add my two cents.....

Product

The Neutrogena Wave Duo comes in a box containing the power cleanser, 14 cleansing pads and a AA battery.  All you have to do is to pop the battery in (which I'll be honest, I found a little difficult - the battery cover is pretty difficult to get off!), stick one of the cleansing pads on to the power cleanser head and you're ready to go.  I was a little concerned that the pad wouldn't stick to the head but the head is slightly bumpy - a little bit like velcro - so it stays in place despite moving it around your face.

The Wave Duo has two speed settings - one for 'gentle massaging' and the second for 'deep pore cleansing'.  I started off with the first setting and it definitely removed my make up successfully but I didn't feel like my pores were getting a good clean like I wanted.  On the second speed, I noticed the difference.  The sensation is a little strange initially - mainly because your face is vibrating quite strongly - but afterwards my skin definitely felt cleaner and softer.

Price

I bought the Wave Duo on impulse, so I didn't shop around at all and I paid only £10 for mine.  Considering I was planning on paying a couple of pounds for a one use only face mask, I'm pretty impressed that I picked up a battery operated cleanser for only a couple of times more.  And when you consider the Clarisonic Mia has a price tag of £120, it definitely seems a bargain!

Effects

From the first use, my skin has definitely felt smoother and softer.  It also looks brighter and feels cleaner.  I know that a lot of people report a 'purging' period when they first start to use the Clarisonic Mia, and I think I am experiencing that at the moment with the Wave Duo.  I'm quite lucky with my skin in that I very rarely get spots, but a couple have appeared across my nose since using the Wave Duo.  I assume that, as with the Clarisonic, this is due to the product bringing all the dirt from the pores out to the surface and this should clear up in a couple of days.

Am I impressed?

If I'm brutally honest with you, I'm particularly bad at looking after my skin.  I quite often fall asleep with my make up on and I only moisturise my face when I've noticed it's dry (and admitting that on a beauty product review post makes me realise how bad that actually is!)  I guess it's laziness because I know that my skin isn't prone to breakout and therefore I don't worry about the effect that not looking after it has.  I go through phases of being really good with it, but then give up and go back to my bad habits.

I hope (and I feel that since the Wave Duo is so easy to use, I have a chance!) that I stick to a good routine now and I intend to use the Wave Duo every day - my skin is definitely noticing the difference already and brighter, softer skin is always a good thing, right?