I got my Clarisonic two years ago on the advice of a friend who has gorgeous skin. Basically, you wet it, add your face cleanser to the brush, turn it on, and it runs for two minutes. It does a terrific job of cleansing your skin, but I have found it also exfoliates very nicely if you use it for four minutes instead of two. You don’t need (or want) to use a lot of pressure. For the first two minutes, I circle it around my face evenly, for the last two minutes I use it on my neck, and give a little more attention to the area around my mouth (smile lines) and the crow’s feet. It is awesome!
I know they run specials occasionally, and I’ve also seen discounts on them at department store makeup counters. If you have a rewards card for Ulta (the rewards cards are free), they send substantial coupons pretty frequently that you can use.
By the way, I have not purchased the Clarisonic face products, I just got the machine. I use my regular foaming face wash with it (right now, I am loving L’Oreal Youth Code Foaming Gel Cleanser), and it works just fine.