The Reviews: Micellar Waters

Micellar waters are molecules of oil and water that can be used as makeup removers, they are alcohol and soap free making them gentle cleansers. Personally I use them to remove the first layer of makeup before cleansing my face with a balm cleanser - especially as I wear quite a bit of eye makeup.

They are brilliant in taking a full face of makeup off in a matter of seconds, they remove eye makeup, mascara and foundation with minimal effort and tugging at your face. Since discovering micellar waters my makeup removal routine has completely changed - it's now so much easier and fuss free. To use them I simply saturate a cotton pad in the water and swipe across my face.

Bioderma Crealine H20 Micellar Solution €7.90

First up are Bioderma, the cult micellar waters raved about by makeup artists worldwide. One of the best I've used, especially at removing eye makeup. The only downside is they are extremely difficult to get hold of if you live anywhere but France. There's a version for oily skin which I didn't find as effective as the original and didn't have a noticeable difference when using it.

La Roche-Posey Micellar Solution £11.50 Boots

Avene Micellar Lotion £12.50 Boots

Brands like La Roche Posey and Avene which are more easily accessible also have micellar waters, and although good, just didn't have the same removing power as Bioderma. Avene in particular being extremely gentle and made for sensitive skin, wasn't as effective - especially with eye makeup and mascara. I did find myself going through an extra few cotton pads when using Avene as it's so gentle and doesn't have the same effect.

Caudalie Micellar Cleansing Solution £13.50 (currently on sale for £12.15!) Feel Unique 

The Caudalie Micellar Water, smells heavily of grape and feels very refreshing on the skin, it's one of the more effective waters especially for removing foundation and feels almost toning. It leaves my skin feeling fresh and clean without any makeup residue.

Lierac Micellar Water €12.50

Lierac was very much loved this summer! It feels really gentle on the skin yet very effective at the same time. The pump applicator is such a small but useful feature as it's easy to keep track of how much you're using - usually two pumps for the face and a couple more for the eyes. Really enjoyed the pleasant floral fragrance but it did leave a slight sticky residue.

This Works Clean Skin 5 in 1 Water £21.00 (currently on sale for £16.80!) Feel Unique

This Works is my favourite out of the bunch, very refreshing and effective. I've raved about this multiple times before for it's ability to remove eye makeup so easily - an all round amazing makeup remover! (full post here)

Overall the real winners for me are This Works, Biodema and Caudlie, in that order. I highly recommend micellar waters for a quick and easy makeup removal!

What are your thoughts on Micellar Waters? Any others I need to try?

Currently Loving: Setting Sprays

I'm definitely a matt finish girl when it comes to the foundation routine, I absolutely hate looking shiny and as matt skin suits me best I always tend to lean towards matt foundations as well as set my foundation with powder. Saying that however, sometimes the matt look can appear a bit unnatural, especially in day time. Instead of totally skipping out powder I like to finish off with spraying my face with some sort of spray to get rid of that matt effect that can look a bit cakey. There are a couple of setting sprays which I've been using, some which are just classified as mists which I use to get rid of that powdery look and some that are designed to ensure makeup lasts longer.

Firstly a couple from Urban Decay, The All Nighter Setting Spray and the De-Slick Oil Control Setting Spray, both which are made by the queen of setting sprays, Skindinavia, which Makeup Artists claim to be the best of the best. Neither of them smell of anything in particular and just a couple of spritzes over the face to set makeup in place and get a balance between matt and dew. I also spritz the All Nighter Spray on my Beauty Blender Sponge (link) when I use it to set makeup with powder as opposed to using water for extra long-lasting benefits!

One I use as a toner as well as a spray is The Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist which also contains rosewater (which I love) as well as smelling lovely and refreshing.

The two I turn to when I've over powdered, are Mac Fix+ and Avene Thermal Water are basically just fancy waters. Mac Fix+ claims to make makeup adhere to skin longer which I personally didn't notice any difference with but use it for those days where I've over powdered and want to take it back a notch. I wouldn't rush to repurchase it as it's basically an expensive glorified water. However the Avene Thermal Water I would as it comes in handy - especially when I'm tanning an get a bit hot      

I get out a very special one in summer, the Institut Esthederm UV In Cellium which is a water spray that helps skin adapt to the sun. If you're familiar with Esthederm products you'll know all their sun care work this way of adapting the skin to the conditions which is why they are my go-to sun care brand every summer! I've also picked up a mini one for my handbag! The smell reminds me of summer too mmm

Clearly I'm a bit obsessed with setting sprays at the moment! Do you use setting sprays? Which ones are you favourite?