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?

My Makeup: Getting Into SPF

Being more aware of the negative effects of tanning, I've declared that this summer I will no longer be baking myself with factor 6 oil for eight hours a day as I have done previously (guilty). Let's see how long that will last but for now I've really been getting into wearing an SPF, especially on my face on a daily basis, to avoid sun damage. 

To try and avoid that white cast over the skin that SPF can give I picked up quite a few. As well as needing them to act as a primer for makeup. I narrowed it down to four favourites that each have their pluses and minuses...

Chantecaille Ultra Sun Protection SPF 50 PA+++  (£75) is a really fantastic luxury purchase that doesn't even feel like a sunscreen. It's oil free, so particularly great for combination or oily skin. The consistency is very runny and a little goes a long way. It doesn't give off that white layer on the skin and leaves a  semi-matt non drying finish so is a perfect base for makeup. Definitely my favourite!

Supergoop! SPF 30 PA+++ City Sunscreen Serum (£35) is a little thicker in consistency but has a wide range of skincare benefits such as anti-ageing as well as a repair complex. It does dry with a slight oily overlay on my skin. I say slight because I'm talking minuscule but given five minutes to dry it settles down. Apart from that it's really fantastic and works as an excellent moisturising base for makeup.

Shu Uemura UV Under Base Mousse SPF 30 Pa+++ (£29) probably the best for oily skin days as it really sets and dries very matt, it does leave a white finish on top of my skin that's easily covered when continued with foundation.

La Roche-Posay High Protection Fluid SPF 30 (£16.50) is a really watery consistency so not much is needed. It does need working into the skin to avoid that white overlay but is fantastic for no makeup days.

Now that rant about SPF is over here's what I've discovered & been wearing this week...

Skin

- Chantecaille Ultra Sun Protection SPF 50 PA+++ which I just talked about above

- The new YSL foundation, YSL Le Teint Touche Éclat, which I'm still giving a test drive, but stay tuned for a review to come!

- Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel in 917 Sable Rose which you're probably bored of me raving about by now but I just love it too much! A bronzer highlighter and blusher all in one - great for enhancing my complexion.  Full post here

Eyes

- A recent purchase, Avon SuperShock Eyeshadow Pencil in Chocolate Melt & Cream Dream, which is fantastic as it has one cream end for an all over the lid shade as well as a brown end for some definition. Also used my beloved Avon SuperShock Gel Eyeliner in Blackberry along the lash line and blended with my fingers
- For Mascara I've almost finished L'Oreal False Lash Telescopic with layers of Dior Lash Serum & Primer underneath (post here)

Lips

- Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in 437 Empreinte from summer collection, Summertime de Chanel which I wrote about here

Any new products your loving? What SPF do you use?