FOREO UFO 2 review: The Skin-Care Device That Helps Me Fake an Expensive Facial – Allure Magazine
Maybe I’ll have to turn in my beauty editor card for saying this, but whether I’m up at dawn’s crack primping for the office or winding down for bed, whipping out a facial device just doesn’t seem worth the time and effort. I’m always afraid they’re going to short-circuit while I clean them, the charging stations can be clunky, and there’s usually a whole routine or regimen attached that I often just don’t have time for. I’m a busy lady! That said, facial devices can deliver the results you would expect from a swanky facial: think bouncy, radiant skin that makes you feel like royalty. And if you can find a device that works without all of the hassle mentioned above, you can actually achieve a full-on, spa-worthy glow without the recurring credit card swipe. So when I finally got a hold of FOREO’s at-home facial device, I just knew that I had to share my FOREO UFO 2 review with you – I held the petite device in my palm — pretty, pink, and pleasantly compact — and thought, Huh, this might change the game.
By “the game” I mean my (typically rushed) morning and evening skin-care routines, so the UFO 2’s promise of giving me a supercharged at-home facial in just two minutes was enticing. Honestly, it took longer to choose which treatment I wanted to indulge in than it took to do the treatment itself.
FOREO designed a dozen different masks to treat various skin-care issues: The H2Overdose mask drenches skin in moisture with a healthy helping of hyaluronic acid; Glow Addict contains pearl extract to instantly illuminate and brighten your complexion, and the olive-oil-and-ginseng-infused Call It a Night (my personal pick) nourishes and softens tired skin before a sweet session of beauty sleep. And the results are pretty damn noticeable after just one use, whether you’re aiming to look firmer, more hydrated, or intensely glowy.
To supercharge the formulas, the device itself is decked out with routine-enhancing tech. It emits T-Sonic pulses — which feel mellow and pleasantly stimulating, especially on sleepy mornings — to stimulate blood microcirculation. This helps infuse ingredients deeper into the skin to improve absorption, and not for just the UFO masks, but the rest of your serums, eye creams, and hydrators, too. For even more personalization, each mask or your favorite skincare product can be complemented by Thermo-Therapy, which aims to prep skin and further increase absorption, and Cryo-Therapy, which helps firm skin and reduces the appearance of pores and puffiness. And as if it didn’t have enough impressive features, the device contains eight different types of full-spectrum LED lights to provide targeted photofacials. LED light therapy has been proven to address different skin-care needs based on the color of light that’s applied to the skin. “[LED light] alters the biologic activity or the activity of nearby cells,” Daniel Belkin, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist in New York, previously told Allure. “There is encouraging evidence that blue LED light can alter the microbiome of the skin to improve acne, that red LED light can stimulate collagen synthesis, and that yellow LED light can reduce redness and healing time.” The cost of in-office LED treatments can add up, especially if you want to see better results over time, but the UFO 2 brings that tech (affordably) to your bathroom.
Fear not: Just because it’s got a ton of functions doesn’t mean it’s tough to operate. To make the already simple treatment even easier, the device is controlled with the FOREO app through Bluetooth, nixing every bit of guesswork. You can create your own personalized routine or pick a UFO mask packet — which contains a tiny round of sheet-mask material soaked in the slick, potent formula of your choosing — and secure it to the device using the device’s ring. Select the matching mask treatment within the app, and when you begin your treatment (which the app times for you) the device starts automatically.
My Call It a Night treatment was 120 blissful seconds of soft pulsing, soothing red LED light, and comforting warmth, all of which were welcome in my chilly apartment. The device gave a gentle notification a few seconds before my time was up, and its pulses slowed gently to a stop. The app offered me the chance to repeat the treatment, but I was already feeling perfectly tranquil.
The UFO 2’s abundance of options provide the kind of sensory ahhh one can usually only find at an esthetician’s office or a spa — but it requires much less time and effort. It’s a worthwhile investment in potent treatments, too, which means saving a pretty penny if you hit the spa on a regular basis. And if you’re anything like me, it might make you a full-on facial device convert, so I’d grab one from Sephora.com ASAP.
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