Review: CLARO Acne Clearing Device

When I was first approached to test and review the CLARO IPL Acne Clearing Device from Solta Medical, I jumped at the opportunity. I knew the CLARO is designed to clear up acne, but I hoped the small device meant to remove blemishes from the face might also be able to remove my confounding and steadily multiplying age spots.

Upon receiving the CLARO, provided for free from Best Buy, I immediately scoured the instructions and safety precautions—and got scared by the five pages of warnings. So I decided to have my daughter be the sole tester of the product, not me.

No, I’m not a horrible mother who would place my daughter in harm’s way instead of myself. I chose not to test the device myself, you see, because the manufacturer’s safety precautions warned against using the CLARO on anything but mild to inflammatory acne. I don’t have acne; I have age spots. My 29-year-old daughter, Brianna, though, does have adult acne. Clearly, the CLARO was meant for her situation, not mine.

Brianna agreed without hesitation to be the CLARO tester. My role would be to direct the testing—so I’d feel useful, not because my adult daughter needed assistance—then write the review.

First, we photographed the spot subject to testing. 

Next, per the directions, Brianna tested her skin for light sensitivity. Why check for sensitivity to light? Because that’s what the CLARO uses to banish blemishes—strong pulses of light emitted directly onto the offending pimple.Once we knew her skin could handle the procedure, we proceeded.

We had read the directions in advance but to ensure we were doing it correctly when actually trying out the unit, I read the directions aloud as Brianna followed each step. (Which is what all daughters, regardless of age, are supposed to do, right? Follow directions from their mother?)

They’re pretty simple directions. Basically, the treatment of two 6-second applications goes like this:
1. Turn on the device.
2. Place CLARO over pimple to be treated.
3. Press control button to release 10 flashes of light on pimple
4. Lift CLARO from skin.
5. Place CLARO back over same pimple.
6. Press control button to again release 10 flashes of light on pimple.

Users are to close their eyes or wear protective goggles during the treatment. Because the CLARO comes with only one set of protective goggles, when Brianna zapped the light, I had to look away from her (and couldn’t take any photos, of course). Which set me to giggling. Which set her to giggling. I couldn’t help but liken the process to the pioneers of hair permanents connecting to electrical devices of scary proportions to provide curly coifs.

All giggling aside, though, the CLARO proved less hair-curling and impressively effective. The next day, Brianna administered, as suggested if pimple is not gone, one more round—at her house, with no help from her mother. Within 24 hours the blemishes were gone. 

Sure, those blemishes could have disappeared on their own, so how to prove it was the CLARO that did it? Well, just so happens Brianna had two more unhappy spots on her face that she zapped with two treatments, and they, too, cleared up within 24 hours. That is not the way breakouts typically go for my daughter.

Brianna was thrilled with the effectiveness of the CLARO. I, on the other hand, was jealous. I was delighted for my daughter, of course, but I wanted to be just as delighted at the disappearance of the age spots on my own face. Oh, well, I tell myself. Maybe the CLARO will indeed be proven one day to work in such a way. For now, though, I’ll leave the proving of that up to the professionals.

What we loved about the CLARO: It’s so simple. More importantly, it’s effective. What else could one ask for from a gadget of any sort? The CLARO does exactly what it’s supposed to.

What we didn’t love so much: You might expect this to be the point where I say something negative regarding the price of the CLARO device. It retails for $195. Neither Brianna nor I saw that as a problem, though, when considering that ineffective creams and other more invasive treatments can cost far more for far fewer applications. The CLARO can treat, per the User’s Guide, 200 to 400 blemishes, depending on the severity of the blemish. That’s a mere $1 to $2 per zit. And it works.

No, the one thing we didn’t love so much was that the device can be used by only one person as there’s no way to clean the CLARO Treatment Window that touches the user’s face. With the ability to clear up to 400 blemishes per unit, it would be nice—especially for those in households that have more than one teen—if the device could be cleaned and shared. That would make the cost even more reasonable, we thought.

Bottom line: Brianna loved the CLARO and will surely appreciate its zit-zapping ability several hundred more times as needed for future breakouts.

CLARO comes in Onyx Black, Cobalt Blue, or Hot Pink and is available at Best Buy, www.bestbuy.com. Visit www.myclaro.com to find out more about the CLARO IPL Acne Clearing Device and view instructional videos.

Disclosure: I have received the reviewed product from Best Buy for free.

Review: Yum Yum Dishes

A little over a month ago, I received for review some Yum Yum Dishes. They may sound like whimsical little containers of goodies, but Yum Yum Dishes aren't that at all. In fact, they're empty dishes. But goodies are the focus of the Yum Yum Dishes as their purpose is to help learn portion control when gobbling snacks and sweets and more.

I received for review the 4-ounce Yum Yum Dish bowl with plastic lid and the 9-inch Yum Yum Dish dinner plate. Both are ceramic and safe for the microwave, oven, and dishwasher. And they are indeed whimsical, painted in cheery colors and emblazoned with "Yum Yum time is..." on the rim and "over" at the bottom (for the bowl; the entire phrase is in the center of the dinner plate).

The Yum Yum bowl is perfect for keeping snack portions to a reasonable size. It's the ideal size for ice cream and such, but filling it with M&Ms is probably not what the makers had in mind. Same with peanuts, I think. But in using it for chips—my favorite kind of snack—just a few fit in the bowl, which made me consciously aware of how many chips make up a true serving, how many I should (or should not) be eating. Now, even if not using the Yum Yum Dish, I consider the size of my snacking portions.

The Yum Yum dinner plate is marked with portion sizes as they should be for a meal: half the plate is dedicated to "Veggies" and the other half is evenly divided for "Protein" and "Carbs." The idea that veggies should fill half one's dinner plate is not a new concept to me, but the Yum Yum plate was a good reminder. And a reminder to use only a quarter of the plate for carbs—which I'm really bad about doing because I love, love, LOVE carbs. Especially in the form of mashed potatoes. Or macaroni and cheese.

The Yum Yum bowls are perfect for serving snacks to kids, too, so I'll surely have mine on hand when the grandkids visit.

What I love about Yum Yum Dishes: They're cute and serve their purpose. Even if not used for all snacks or meals, I now keep them—and the proper portion sizes—in mind.

What I don't love so much: The plate seems rather small. But that's just proof that I, like many folks, have lost sight of what a reasonable dinner plate really looks like.

Yum Yum Dishes were created by Tracy Adler, a mom and former restaurant owner. They're sold in prepacked sets of four ($24/set for the bowls; $34/set for the plates) and can be purchased on the Yum Yum Dishes website.

Review party: FyrFlyz

I recently posted my opinions and experience—as well as those of my husband and my youngest daughter—on a nifty new toy called FyrFlyz. We are all adults, though, so the real test would be what kids had to say about the toy.

The perfect opportunity to share FyrFlyz with kids arose during the holidays. At our annual family cookie swap, a few of my nieces and nephews, ages 8 on up through 18, gave the gadgets a spin. Literally. Here are highlights from that review party, with a toy for each of the testers provided by FyrFlyz.

It took the kids a few minutes to get the hang of things, but literally only minutes. Then they were off and running. They (and their mom and grandma) immediately loved the FyrFlyz.

It was quickly discovered that their only two suggestions for improvement—the ability to shorten the strings for those with shorter arms plus ideas for bells, whistles, and noise—were already covered. The strings can indeed be shortened (and were for one of the younger boys), and noise is readily available once you figure out how to get the FyrFlyz whizzing.

Of course, even more noise would be welcome...by the kids, not by the parents, to be sure.

You've seen what my toy testers looked like while playing with FyrFlyz; now here's a sampling of what they had to say:

"This is tight!"

"It's a workout! This is like the new shape-up shakers." (Referring to those weights for adults that you shake while working out.)

"These are really, really cool."

"This is actually pretty awesome."

There were also lots of "Wow!" and "Look at this!" statements flying about the room.

Bottom line: The FyrFlyz passed the test with flying colors, with kids of a variety of ages, with both boys and girls.

FyrFlyz retail for less than $10. Find where to buy FyrFlyz near you by clicking HERE.

Review: Blacksocks.com

Just before Christmas, I received in the mail a pair of black socks for review. That's right: black socks. Only they weren't just any black socks, they were official Italian-made, 100-percent cotton, black knee socks from Blacksocks.com. And they weren't for me to wear—they were men's socks, as that's who Blacksocks, an award-winning subscription sock service, caters to. Which means Jim got to wear them, try them, enjoy them. And I got to write this review.

Because the socks came so mere days before the holiday and because it was noted to wash them before wearing—and because I wanted Jim to wear them a couple times, to provide an accurate review—this review didn't go out in time to plug the Blacksocks subscription service as a holiday gift. But that's okay because there are plenty of times throughout the year to give the guy in your life a subscription for high-end socks delivered directly to him. Think Valentine's Day, Father's Day...any day, actually, because as the PR literature says, "No one likes shopping for socks, so what's better than having a sock drawer that replenishes itself?"

As far as the socks themselves, Jim loved them. They're billed as durable, versatile, and comfortable, and Jim seconds all of that. He was especially happy the socks were so large—we received a size XXXL, which was perfect for Jim's size 14+ feet. Jim said the socks were quite comfortable each time he wore them, even going so far as to lean over in the middle of Christmas Eve service at church to whisper, "These dress socks don't fall down at all, unlike all my others." A thumbs-up indeed.

Blacksocks come in colors beyond black. There's gray, nave, brown, or red dress socks, too, all made from 100% organic and free trade materials. There's also ankle-length "shorty" socks for athletic guys...or those guys who simply don't care for dress socks. The luxury sock line also offers cashmere socks, silk socks, wool socks and more (the "more" being that they also sell boxers, briefs, and undies of other sorts...like T-shirts).

A trial pair of socks, like the ones Jim tried out, costs $12. Sockscriptions vary, with prices depending on the number of socks delivered and the schedule of deliveries. All prices cover taxes, postage and delivery. Details on prices, styles and more can be found at Blacksocks.com.

What we loved about Blacksocks: Jim was most pleased with the comfort of the socks, I was impressed with the quality. He gave the subscription idea a "meh..." and didn't consider it that big of a deal. I, on the other hand, think a sockscription is an awesome idea—for me. I think getting brand-new luxury socks for our tootsies delivered on a regular basis is something I, and likely other women, would appreciate and enjoy far than men. Which begs the question: When will Blacksocks.com offer something similar for women?