I’m sure many of you are familiar with the micellar water solutions. They took beauty industry by storm a few years ago, and today almost every beauty brand on the market offers their own version of it.
For those of you less familiar with these products – they are lightweight, oil-free water-like liquids that remove waterproof makeup and surface impurities. They are very gentle and suitable for all skin types (including sensitive).
I first came in contact with micellar water thanks to a friend who gave me a generous sample of Vichy Purete Thermale 3 in 1 Micellar Solution. When I first tried it I soaked a cotton pad in it so much that, after I pressed the pads against my eye lids, a lot of the product ended up in my eyes. As a contact lens wearer with sensitive eyes I was expecting some kind of reaction, but nothing happened. No irritation, no stinging. Plus, my makeup dissolved and was removed from my eyes in less than a minute. Since that day I always have a bottle of Vichy Purete Thermale Micellar Solution in my bathroom. It works perfectly for me – it doesn’t dry my skin, it’s not sticky and I find it very effective in removing heavy and waterproof makeup.
Vichy Purete Thermale 3 in 1 Micellar Solution ingredients: Water, Hexylene Glycol, Glycerin , Poloxamer 184, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Disodium Edta, Panthenol, Polyaminopropyl Biguanide, Fragrance.
Even though I love this product, the curiosity got better of me and I ended up trying Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution, that everyone raved about, and La Roche-Posay Physiological Micellar Solution. I found none of them worked as well as Vichy – they were less effective in taking the makeup off and a bit drying. That put me off from trying different brands so I stayed with Vichy for a long time.
Recently, however, I was recommended another one that, except for the fragrance and panthenol, has exactly the same ingredients list – L’Oréal Paris Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution (someone honestly needs to reconsider naming of the beauty products, they’ve became ridiculously long!).
The performance of L’Oréal micellar solution is as good as Vichy. It does sting my eyes slightly, but it doesn’t dry my skin and is equally as effective in removing the makeup. I can’t really say which one I prefer – I use both of them. I like that Vichy contains panthenol but I’m not a fan of fragrance so that one goes in favour of L’Oréal. Plus, L’Oréal is quite a bit cheaper at £4.99 (Vichy is £11.50/200ml).
L’Oréal Paris Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution ingredients: Water, Hexylene Glycol, Glycerin, Poloxamer 184, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Disodium Edta, Polyaminopropyl Biguanide.
Finally, even though companies claim micellar solution can also be used as a toner and doesn’t have to be rinsed off, I have to say that I am strongly against it. For me they are makeup removers, not cleansers. I don’t like the idea of leaving a product I use for taking my makeup off on my skin. Also, they don’t cleanse skin thoroughly, so I prefer using them as a first step in my cleansing routine, followed by a cleansing milk or a balm for a deeper cleanse. I found this video very useful when it comes to demonstrating how effective micellar solution are, and this one which shows you how to use it to remove your makeup. I hope you’ll enjoy them!
x
I haven’t tried the L’Oreal one yet, but Bioderma has been a staple for me in the last years… Let’s see if it can replace it!
Good detailed post ;-)
gyudynotesofbeauty.blogspot.com
Considering the difference in the price tag, L’Oreal is definitely worth a try! xx
Kod mene nema Loreal, a Vichy sam davno probala i bila mi je ok. Najbolja mi je od Lancome, zaista je fantasticna. Ako budes htela da menjas Loreal toplo preporucujem Lancome . Skoro sam je potrosila nazalost :(
Verujem ti da je dobra, ali £23 za micelarnu… Mnogo mi je to obzirom da ih bas brzo trosim. :) Probacu da iskopam neki samplic x
Jeste jako je skupa slazem se. I meni se micelarna trosi najbrze od svih. Zato mi npr ono creme to oil, Creme douceur trajalo bar 4 meseca ako ne i duze. Tako da mislim da cu se vratiti tome jer je dosta jeftinije. A trenutno koristim Gelate confort i ono mi je otkrovenje pravo
Galatee confort sam kupovala pre par godina stalno, odlicno je. Onda krenula da eksperimentisem pa ga nisam ponovila od tad, a mogla bi jer mleko nemam ni jedno.
I’m going to look up the L’Oreal one! Thanks for sharing.
I hope it works for you! x
Zanimljivo mi je da ti je LRP isušivala lice. Meni su ona i Vichy potpuno jednake i daleko ispred svih drugih micelarnih koje sam probala. Nisam probala L’Oreal još uvek.
Mislim da im je i sastav slican. Meni je nekako bila “tvrdja” nije mi tako osvezavajuca i nezna kao Vichy.
Ja sam pored Lorealove koristila samo Mixu koju su isto dosta hvalili ali sto se mene tice Lorealova je neuporedivo bolja. Ja imam osetljive oci i Mixa mi je bas smetala. Takodje manje je efikasna kada je u pitanju skidanje sminke.
L’Oreal je stvarno otkrice. Negde sam procitala da i Garnier ima slican sastav i da su prakticno iste, pa mozda probam i nju u nekom trenutku. Mixa ovde nema koliko mi je poznato.
I tried the loreal one and found the same problem as you, stinging my eyes, I do like it for a quick fix but I use coconut oil to remove my make up. :) xx
Hi Nina! Stinging is not pleasant, but I decided to overlook that as I like everything else about it. I’ve tried a few oil makeup removers, but for some reason I don’t find them as effective as balms and micellar waters. Maybe I’m doing something wrong! :) xx
I meni su obe ove micelarne postale sastavni dio njege. Loreal nosim na putovanja, jer Vichy uvijek kupujem u vecem pakovanju. Koliko sam shvatila, razlikuju se samo u jednom sastojku – parfemu. Loreal i Garnier, koji je od ove tri opcije cjenovno najpovoljniji, se takodje razliku u jednom sastojku, ali ne znam kom.
Probala sam Avene, a probala bih hvaljene Rilastil i Biodermu.
Pusli! :) I ja sam mislila da se razlikuju samo u parfemu i uporedjivala etiketu nekoliko puta i tek iz treceg primetila da Vichy zapravo sadrzi i pantenol dok L’oreal nema pantenol i parfem. Meni L’oreal malo stipa oci, to joj je minus. Vichu je ipak nekako neznija malo. Ali kako je razlika na licu i ucinak skoro pa identican ne mogu da se odlucim kojoj bi dala prednost. Mislim da cu nastaviti obe da koristim kao i do sad.
Probaj Garnier :) Posto ima identican sastav kao Loreal, a proizvodjac je isti, trebalo bi da bude to to.
Nisam do sad videla Garnier nigde, jako se brzo prodaju te dve mielarne. Jedva sam i ovu uspela da nadjem. :)