Saturday 24 May 2014

Water Fight! War of the Cleansing Waters...


Micellar Waters have been around and hyped about for a couple of years now, so I thought it was about time I jumped on the bandwagon. A quick, gentle cleanser, suitable for all skin types, which can remove makeup with a swipe of a cotton pad whilst never drying or irritating the skin – what’s not to love?!



Mainly I was keen to try a micellar water for ease of use: as a first cleanse before my main cleanse at night (I am a firm believer in the double cleanse at night!), and as a quick 1 step cleanse in the mornings, just sweeping these waters over the face on a cotton pad is child’s play. You also shouldn't need to rinse your face afterwards, which is a major timesaver when you are running late like I always seem to be!

French brand Bioderma is the favourite of many, performing well for a relatively cheap price of around £10 for 500ml. However, this is tough to find in the UK, and costs to import it, so I wanted to find an easier, cheaper alternative. I have oily, sensitive, blemish prone skin, which can be a nightmare sometimes. Keeping it in check is top of my wish list, so I wanted something gentle above all. 


These are the four that I bought to road test:






L’Oreal Skin Perfection 3-in-1 Purifying Micellar Solution (£4.99 for 200ml from Boots) 
B.Pure (Superdrug) Micellar Water (£4.99 for 150ml from Superdrug) 
Nivea Sensitive 3 in 1 Cleansing Water (£3.69 for 200ml from Boots) 
Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water (£4.99 for 400ml from Boots)

The L’Oreal did a good job of removing my makeup, but I didn't really think my skin felt 100% clean after use - I always felt like I would have to do another cleanse. However, despite this, the packaging was a NIGHTMARE. It ALWAYS spilled loads of product out, the amount was uncontrollable, and I ended up wasting a lot of it. This irritated me so much that I stopped using it – I went through almost a whole bottle anyway. At least my bathroom floor felt the benefits.


B. Pure Micellar Water actually left my skin feeling slightly greasy. I always felt like I couldn’t wait to wash my face after using, which was ok in the evening but takes away the whole point of using it in the morning. I did find the slightly oilier texture seemed to make the removal of heavy eye makeup easier, but overall I didn’t like the “film” it seemed to leave behind. Perhaps this would be better for people with drier skins. Surprisingly for an "own brand" product, it is also actually the most expensive of the products per ml.


The Nivea and Garnier are far and away my favourites, and I’m not sure I can call between the two! I think perhaps the Nivea absorbs faster into my skin, meaning I can apply my moisturiser almost straightaway, so this is a nice time saver in the mornings. No fragrances or perfumes in either of these so they are ideal for sensitive skin like mine. Both caused me NO irritation or redness, removed all my makeup well (even my waterproof mascara), didn’t break me out and left no oily feeling; I just felt like I had clean, refreshed skin. 


So if I absolutely have to pick a winner... the Garnier. You get twice the amount of product for the same price as the Nivea, and this one left my skin feeling ultra soft. It also has less ingredients, and, although I'm no skincare expert, I kind of feel that the less stuff I'm putting on my face the better, you know? (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!) Also I really like the packaging – it looks more expensive than it is, and it doesn't spill out in a raging torrent like the L'Oreal. A plus point for all of them is that they are widely available and you can usually get them on offer – I got the Garnier and Nivea cleansers for £2.66 each from Tesco, and Boots and Superdrug always have deals.


Let me know in the comments below what you think of these Micellar Cleansers, and if you have a favourite you think I need to try!




**Disclaimer: all products featured here were purchased by me, and all opinions are my own. This is not an affiliate post. Photographs also owned by me. Please see my Disclaimer page for full deets on all the boring stuff**

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