Let’s Review: Micellar Waters

Dear Lovely Readers,

I had been curious about whether this was a gimmick or not.  Did I want to spend the money to find out?  YTers swore by it and proclaimed it a great thing to help cleanse your skin from day to day makeup, city dirt and grime.

What is micellar water?

I went to Target and picked up the NYX Stripped Off Micellar Water ($7.00 U.S.) and the Garnier Skin Active (blue capped bottle removes even waterproof mascara). ($8.99 U.S.)

What was interesting was while I was holding these two bottles, and comparing the blue bottle to its green and pink counterparts in the Garnier series, the blue one started to cloud up.

I flipped the lid of the Garnier blue one, and poured a little into my hand.  The immediate sensation was of being wet, but the water was looking…oily.  Then I touched the water in my hand and it felt different.  It felt like it had oil in it but then the expectation of oiliness didn’t occur.  It seemed to suddenly change into a kind of water.  A water but not.

I smelled it, there was a slight scent, a perfume, probably added in.  I wiped a little from one of my hands onto my pants, and it left no watery remnant, which I found odd.  When one’s hands are wet, and are wiped onto something, a watery mark or print is made.  Not in this case.

I used two cotton pads to wipe the day’s makeup off my face.  I didn’t believe I used a lot of makeup today but it did take quite a bit off, including my eyeliner and mascara (the mascara was waterproof).

The Garnier blue bottle version (removes tougher makeup like waterproof mascara, says the bottle) left my skin looking very smooth and matte.  I felt no oil or slickness on my face.

The NYX version was more like water, but had a glue like smell, not perfume-y at all.  I didn’t find that it completely cleaned, and had to go back in with several cotton pads and still not feel my makeup is completely gone and my skin clean.

What I do notice when I use micellar water is that my skin gets super oily around the face several hours later.  I’m not sure why.  I immediately have to clean my face with another cotton pad and micellar water.

UPDATE:  I went out and got the Garnier pink version, which I found to be the “most like” water, very light, not oily yet very cleansing to my skin.  It’s similar in texture to NYX.  Whether with makeup or just plain city air grit on my face, I was able to effectively remove with just a couple of cotton pads and feel refreshed without any greasy or heavy feeling.  And I don’t feel super oily on my face waking up the next morning which is nice.

Garnier Pink has a travel size ($3.99) and full size ($8.99) U.S.

Garnier website photo of the pink version:

At the end of the day, is this stuff absolutely necessary?  No.  Washing your face with a gentle soap and allowing clean warm water to open your pores first should suffice.  If you wear a ton of makeup everyday, you may want to consider a cheaper alternative — witch hazel, to help further cleanse your pores.

Do you use micellar water for beauty or for travel for places where fresh water is not always readily available?  Do you find it a plus or minus to keeping your skin clean and clear?  Or is it just a trendy beauty gimmick?

Stay lovely,