Smarter Beauty With HiMirror Plus | My Experience

This is a sponsored post by HiMirror Plus in collaboration with PRIMP network.

If you are a skincare enthusiast like myself, you may have read or heard about HiMirror or more recently, HiMirror Plus. At $149 and $229 respectively, the first few things that come to mind, is it worth it? How will it change my skincare game? Is this something I will use regularly? Scroll down to read my experience and overall thoughts.

In a nutshell, HiMirror or HiMirror Plus was borne out of an innovative idea of having your at-home beauty consultant driven by technology. Yes, it's a mirror built with AI (artificial intelligence) because it does a whole lot of things such as analyze and track your skin health, provide tips based on your skin type, use ambient lighting for your makeup application (more features discussed below), wifi and bluetooth enabled, display the date, post latest newsfeed, even advise you of the weather for all its worth. Smart mirror, you bet it is.

The mirror weighs about 5.5 lbs and measures 18.97 x 11.18 x 2.00 in. This is important for me to note because you are given the options to hang on the wall or attach to a bathroom mirror. It does come with screws and adhesive tapes but I recommend using heavy-duty screws if you decide to drill on the wall just like how my husband did mine (it hangs right directly on top of my dresser). The installation itself is overall a breeze but it needs to be plugged in and you must have a wifi network to have it fully functional. Other techie stuff to know if you want the nitty-gritty: memory max capacity 2TB, CPU ARM-based 8 core, microphone, speaker, hi-res camera, I/O port USB 3.0 support. Watch the installation video which automatically plays as you press the power first time. The company also sells a stand if that's your preference (sold at $12.99) or you can use any easel as I have seen from other bloggers.

Once installed, download the HiMirror Plus app in your smart phone and register your account. Follow the steps in the app to start operating your fancy beauty gadget. The mirror as you can see has a built-in camera which takes photos of you as you track your skin health progress. It needs to be turned on, making sure that the camera can recognize your face at a safe distance. You can activate either with face or voice recognition. Once it identified you, you can access the varied features. The biggest hurdle for me initially was the gesture part. Did I mention that it's a complete hands-free, fingerprints-free operation? Yes, everything is dictated by gesture. Gesture push to start and confirm (as demonstrated), wave right/left to turn pages, up/down to turn pages. It does have a learning curve because the demonstration on the mirror itself is a little bit confusing but I find that waving from bottom to right (or left) side few inches away from the sensor is the best way for me to turn pages. I understand that this was also the same problem with the first HiMirror edition so I am glad to report to you that the customer-centric company has now added remote control so you can enjoy your mirror without any technical glitch.

If you own the original HiMirror, how does HiMirror Plus differ from what you already have? first, the latter has 5 LED ambient lighting scenarios: sunset, restaurant, shopping mall, brightly lit office, and outdoor/sunny days. It also stores 7x more (roughly translates to 14,000 photos vs. 2,000), and more enhanced wireless connection (300 mbps vs. 150 mbps). It's akin to upgrading your smart phone, it just keeps getting better with new features and whatnot. 

The information stored on HiMirror Plus syncs with your smart phone. You can also purchase HiSkin at $49.99, it's a portable skin analyzer that reads your melanin index and hydration level and notifies you if there are things you need to do as far as skincare products are concerned. I tried  to scan an anti-acne topical medication (Differin) on my phone using the app but it didn't recognize the bar code (even it it's over the counter) so I had to take a photo.  However, anti-acne treatment isn't listed in the categories. It worked with Derma E toner which went straight to My Beauty Box where I can create a review, note, and even select expiry date to remind me when it's time to toss.

As mentioned, you can track your skin's health from time to time and based on the readings, HiMirror Plus pulls out information to address your current condition. The hi-res camera is supposed to identify dark spots, red spots, wrinkles which then evaluates clarity, texture, brightness, firmness and healthiness of your skin. Based from my recent analysis report, my skin clarity went down by 0.39% as determined by the distribution of red spots as well as increase in my dark circles. Given this information, what could be the possible scenarios bound to happen (1) freak out (2) self-blame for letting myself go (3) up my skincare game. Chill, if your results are mostly in the 90s range, you are pretty much on the right track. My dark spots rated 98.61 so I am not going to lose sleep over it, haha!

Final thoughts with HiMirror Plus. As an Aesthetic Registered Nurse specializing in laser and radiofrequency procedures, I deal with patients whose main concerns include wrinkle reduction, removal of sunspots, acne scars reduction, among others. Skincare is a big part of my patient education protocol so on the preventative side, I can say that this gadget keeps you in check, especially if you are not dealing with serious and/or chronic skin issues or if you're the type who uses facts and reference to support your skincare choices. It can also help you evaluate whether the lightening/brightening product you are currently using is actually giving you the results as it claims. The improvisations the company introduce from time to time to satisfy client's satisfaction is something worth mentioning. However, take note that a virtual beauty consultant should not replace a formal medical diagnosis and advice. Admittedly, this mirror has its limitations; for example, while it can detect dark spots, it is my responsibility as a medical professional to tell you that a "dark spot" or mole that looks suspicious or has changed in size, symmetry or color can be a telltale sign of skin cancer that only a dermatologist or doctor can personally assess and evaluate. Here are some helpful videos and reviews to make HiMirror Plus convenient and easy to use:

Installation

Gesture controls
Jessoshii review
Honeygirl's World review
I Like To Talk A Lot
Justina's Gems
Bellezakisses

You can buy HiMirror Plus online, there is a current promo on all accessories with code BCLA17.