Customer Reviews

Pearlessence Spa Mist

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

I just got my Thera Mist Air Therapy Fountain Mister today and love it! I was looking for something to diffuse essential oils without the need to heat them up or use a fan to disperse them. I looked at other fountain misters, but leaned towards this one because my main use would be for diffusing oils rather then for aesthetics. Another advantage of this unit is you can mist without having to run the lights at the same time. I have read many a review about similar fountain misters that stop working in a short time so only time will tell. If it does stop working abnormally soon I will post a follow-up. After looking at nebulizers that all seemed to be in the $100.00+ range and look like something Cheech and Chong would smoke out of I went with the $20.00 Thera Mist.

Ever since seeing one of the fountain misters at a fair, I wanted one. However, this company also makes a variety of effective mist producing fountains in sizes that are more acceptable in a small office environment.

The SpaMist professional quality diffuser works well in the office or at home. It is small enough to fit on your desk and makes less noise than the hum of your computer. The calming LED lights automatically change the color display. You can opt out of the color if you wish and only experience the mist. I find the colors to be very soothing, like color therapy.

To add essential oils, I just poured in about six drops of my current favorite. Sweet Orange worked very well and instantly diffused into the room. When you pour in the water, the mist (not hot like steam, so very safe) starts automatically. There is a bubbling (like a mini fountain) so the lid keeps the water from splashing on your desk. If you put your face or hand near the unit, all you feel is a cool feathery mist.

Over time you may notice your skin isn't feeling as dry and you feel calmer because your environment is more friendly and nurturing. The use of essential oils can create a wide variety of moods from energizing to relaxing. Since this unit turns off automatically when the water level drops below the water level sensor, this is perfect to use at night when falling asleep.

Some ideas for essential oils:

Mood enhancing/anger relief: Rose
Relaxation/Sleep: Lavender
Energizing: Orange/Peppermint
Colds: Eucalyptus/Fir/Myrtle/Rosemary
Romantic: Ylang Ylang/Egyptian Musk/Rose/Patchouli/Sandalwood/Jasmine/Neroli
Dreams: Sandalwood/Juniper/Bergamot/Spruce
Spiritual: White Lotus
Holiday: Cinnamon/Clove/Pine
Winter: Cedar/Pine/Spruce

Normally during the winter I boil water on the stove with rosemary or other herbs to scent the house or to cleanse and humidify the air. This unit makes it much safer because I sometimes forget the water it boiling and with this unit, if you forget to add more water, it shuts itself off. This gives me much more peace of mind and I'm accomplishing the same results with essential oils.

~The Rebecca Review

I bought this item on the strength of the good reviews below, and because I wanted a little humidification in my bedroom, since I live in the Northeast. At first it did produce mist quite nicely, and I added some essential oils too, which it distributed well, but buyers should be aware that it only holds one cup of water (I measured), so it is really not big enough to act as a real humidifier, which typically hold at least a gallon. The dimensions of the mister are about 7.5" x 4" x 4", which I mention because it's hard to tell how big it is from the photos.

The mister does make some noise--not horrendous, but clearly audible, and this might bother some people if you intend to sleep with it on. As one reviewer noted, it sounds a bit like a computer running the CD drive.

Anyway, I used mine at bedtime, and the colors were pretty, and the aromatherapy aspect was quite nice. It ran out of water after a while, and I refilled it sometime during the night. In the morning it was no longer producing mist at all, even though the motor was running and it still had plenty of water in it. I'm going to return it, since it isn't working, and isn't large enough to do any serious humidifying anyway. This doesn't strike me as a very well-built item--the body, base, and cap are all very cheap plastic with silver paint on the metallic-looking portions, not actual metal. And oddly, absolutely no instructions of any kind are included with the item, although it's not too difficult to figure out how to use it.

UPDATE:

This is an amendment to my earlier review above. I tried the mister again the next day, and it worked again--perhaps I had overfilled it? The water level needs to be about two inches below the lip, or it doesn't mist. It came with a red max-fill line, but the aroma oils removed it almost immediately, so now I use my index finger to measure the water level.

Anyway, I put it in my office, which is a smallish room, maybe 7'x12', and so far it has kept running. It does a very nice job of diffusing aromatherapy oils and making the air smell fresh and pleasantly damp. I still don't think it does any major humidifying, since it only holds one cup, but as an air freshener it is really quite nice, and it pumps the mist out very steadily for maybe three or four hours. After initially being a bit buzzy-sounding, it seems to have broken itself in and makes its CD-drive noise without being too annoying--in fact it helps to cover noise from other offices to some degree. It makes a bit of a bubbling and dripping sound too, which is not upleasant.

I still think it's a bit cheaply built, and I don't know how it will hold up in the long run, but for now the mister is doing its job and I'm enjoying it as a fragrance diffuser and ionizer. It only takes about two drops of oil to scent the air lightly and pleasantly for hours. Recommended for smaller spaces, and not for serious humidifying, but it can be a nice aromatherapy and color accent. Also it is simple and easy to clean and refill--you can unplug the mister from the cord for that purpose. Since it isn't terribly expensive, it is probably worth a try. I would now give this item maybe four stars, in the context described above.

Btw, I use filtered water from a Brita pitcher to fill the mister. This seems to work very well and it produces a good volume of mist.

Not really a toy per say, but I am really happy that I got this product. I love it so much that I got an extra one for myself and also one for my boyfriend. He always wanted something like this to help his nose which bleeds from dry air after he broke it a few years ago. This mister is ultrasonic, which creates a cool mist by means of ultrasonic sound vibrations and suspends droplets of water in the air. The mist is cool and when I put my hand to the opening all I feel is a soft, cool cloud floating up and away. I love to turn this on and relax before bed, it can also be left on as it shuts of automatically once the water levels inside are too low, so I love adding some sleep inducing oils that make me dream of green pastures and happy days. Finding fun essential oils to buy and experiment with is part of the fun, sometimes I switch it on the mist with lights and color option, and the mister glows in 6 colors ranging form green, orange, red, purple, blue and sometimes aqua or orange, it looks especially pretty when the lights are low and I want to relax.

This little mister is really easy to use and it doesn't leave my room watery and soggy, I use it pretty much very day and I wish I could have found out about it sooner, because I totally adore this. This was something I purchased after reading Rebecca Johnson's review of it and she is spot on about the wonderful qualities this products has. This is my favorite way to experience aromatherapy for it makes my whole room fresh and well scented with natural oils that have healing and soothing properties that I can change at any time I wish.

I don't suggest using tap water for this mister, for this really does dispense the minerals into the air, I prefer filtered or distilled water and only a small amount is needed at all times. Tap water can be heavy in organisms and minerals that will collect sediment on the inner parts of the mister and I don't want to ruin it or make myself sick, so I stick to bottled water instead. It's very easy to get one bottle and keep it near, really no hassle at all and obviously cheap.

Misters and humidifiers are used to relieve the physical discomforts of dry nose, throat, lips, and parched skin. I find that the moisture add to dry air also helps with the dry winter air and heating and also combat static electricity, peeling wallpaper, and cracks in paint and furniture. Caution however that excess moisture can speed up the growth of various biological organisms in the home such as dust mites and mold. This little mister is not a threat to my health, but I wanted to point out that too much water moisture is not good, but to achieve that one would have to use a very powerful machine constantly.

- Kasia S.

I've had this thing running pretty much constantly since I purchased it about 2 months ago. While I can't attest to the humidifying capabilities (didn't buy it for that), it DOES work nicely to fragrance the air while it's running. If it's close enough to you, you can feel a cool mist. I've used only distilled water. I buy a jug of it and pour a bunch of my favorite essential oil blend in and let it sit for a few days. Then I double-filter it (coffee filters) into another bottle so the mechanism doesn't get clogged with oils (pour the filtered oil back into your jug of non-filtered scented water to continually intensify the fragrance). I've found that you shouldn't fill quite up to the fill line as it causes the mist to "spurt" out. If you fill it up to just below, it works great and will mist for around 2 hours (not sure why another reviewer said only 1/2 hour). For the little over $20 that I paid, I feel that I've definitely gotten my money's worth. More expensive oil diffusers/nebulisers always clog and you have to end up replacing or refurbishing parts - I've tried them all.

UPDATE - 1 YEAR LATER

Shortly after I wrote the review, I got too busy to deal with double-filtering, etc., so the unit sat where it was - for over a year. The other day I happened to look at it and decided to see if it would still work. It had a little water and some dead gnats in it. Rinsed it all out and used some compressed air in the fan area and on the little elements inside. The indicator lights would come on, but it wouldn't work. I wasn't deterred. I turned it on and left the room. When I came back later, it was humming along nicely. It's been several days now and it's working as perfectly as when I first received it.

A lot of people here are complaining about the fill line being smudged off from the essential oils. Mine's still fully-intact because I don't put essential oils directly into the unit. I think this is what is causing a lot of problems for the people who give it negative reviews. I'm sure the oil will gunk up the elements inside, so just don't do it. It's also important to not fill all the way up to the fill line. Although tap water was apparently recommended, I didn't want mineral deposits to clog anything, which is why I use distilled. I believe the functionality of the unit has everything to do with how you use it and take care of it. Using it properly is a little time-consuming and perhaps some people just don't have that extra time.

That being said, it is cheaply-made. If you're looking for a humidifier and/or something that will work longer (like when you're sleeping), look for something else. This is more of a "when I'm awake" aromatherapy unit. And it will nicely scent a small room. However, I would shop around. A better, more fair price for the quality and functionality of this particular unit would be around $10-15.

Unit didn't work when I got it in. I almost sent it back. I decided to call Customer support and worked with a wonderful lady named Joanne. She asked me to rinse the unit out with hot water. Something I'd already tryed. Then she said to fill it just below the marker with tap water. I plugged it in and it's worked perfectly ever since. Joanne stayed on the phone step by step. I really love this thing now and am very happy I didn't return it. Please remember that distilled water sometimes doesn't work. If it doesn't try tap water. It worked for me.

This is a great product if you know what you're getting. The biggest problems people seem to have with this unit relvove around their expectations about what this mister will do. Keep in mind: It is small (as another reviewer mentioned, its the size of a jar of pickles). It only holds a cup of water (enough for only a couple of hours). It cannot humidify large spaces well. Adding too much water will prevent the unit from functioning properly. The fill level indicator will wear away if certain essential oils are used, so make note of the level before it does! Other than these important issues, regular cleaning will ensure the auto-off feature does not malfunction (which would render the unit useless).

My mom got this for me a while back. I used to use it on my nightstand, but I now have a larger one for the bedroom and took this one to my desk at work.

PROS:
-small size
-can be used with lights on or off
-provides a decent amount of mist
-pretty quiet
-looks a lot better than other mini humidifiers

CONS:
-the little cap with the slit at the top is not connected in any way (to allow for directing the mist), and I lost it when we moved. My temporary solution os to use an open lotion top with one of those slits. Works prety well. You have to have some sort of cap or the mist is too much and everything gets wet.
-only one setting, so you can't adjust amount
-it has an auto-off when it runs out of water, but it doesn't just shut off, it gurgles and turns on and off quickly for about 10 mins before it really turns off. this usualy wakes me up and i just unplug it.
-no 'off' button - you have to unplug.

I love the smell of an essential oil in the air. I've tried tealight burners, a smear on a low-burning lamp, and a miniature crockpot designed for aromatherapy. The PearlEssence Spa Mist is absolutely the best ever for diffusing an odor and continuing to diffuse it for an extended period of time. Because I live in a humid climate, I was concerned that misting would only add to mold problems and perhaps mar wooden furniture. The cool mist instantly absorbs even into our air. The light show of the base can be turned off, but I like it most of the time. Product was offered for $10 less than at a well-known local natural market chain, and shipping was free with my order over $25 with other products.

I really like this mister. So much so, I kept the 2nd one I ordered for my Mother-in-law. The best thing is that, with using oils (can be purchased on Amazon also), that the pleasant scents permeate the home. And because it is mist, it lingers long after the mister has stopped, which, by the way, surprised me. It takes only a small amount of water, and I use 3 drops of oil, and the mister goes for hours. I enjoy it, though the price was a touch high. I would say its value is more in the [..].