Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water Review

When the hype started about Micellar cleansing water I just had to jump onto train and find out for myself what on earth could make a product this popular! I picked it up from Countdown at $16 and what an amazing way to spend $16.

I've heard quite alot of girl complaining about the Micellar water breaking them out and causing lobster faces which made me quiver I must admit and onward we went to make the purchase... Never looking back.

I've used this Micellar water as a makeup remover and used it as a toner after cleansing because why not. Its a cleansing water? So would extra cleansing, after cleansing hurt? Dont even imagine it! My skin is looking the best its looked in years and years.

Makeup remover - At night when I remove my makeup, I saturate a medium sized cottonboll and swipe the crazy out of face. I love how this removes waterproof mascara without drama and just a few swipes takes off all the makeup. And just to make sure its all gone I'll use a second cottonball just to swipe off any extra and let me tell you the extra is microscopic cause theres almost nothing left behind. I dont do any additional cleansing and my skin is baby soft, smooth but most of all feels nourished.

As a toner/cleanser - On my no makeup days I'll use the Micellar as cleanser toner to wash off the day. When do use a cleanser I'll still grab for the Micellar water to refreshen up and wake up my face. Again, my skin is plump, soft and full of life.

This product blows me away because I have super sensitive and after seeing many girls complain about skin problems with the Micellar I was sure I was going to be another statistic. Oh no! My skin for once wants me to enjoy a product and absolutely fall in love with. This has replaced my makeup removers and toners because its so versatile so not only is it healthy for skin but I'm saving money products. Could it get any better?

Micellar Cleansing Water will forever and always be in skincare collection. This is pure liquid gold.

I can’t even express how excited I was to trial this. There has been so much hype in the land of internet recently about micellar waters, and this Garnier one particularly. It definitely lives up to the majority of the hype, but there’s just one thing that lets it down for me (ooh the suspense!!)…

This comes in such a generous sized, sturdy bottle, which is going to last forever given how little I have to use every time. I love that it’s clear, as that makes it easy to see how much is left. The dispenser is just a drip-through-the-hole type of one, but it works well, and I haven’t had any problems with it going everywhere.

I’ve used this with cotton-wool balls and round cotton pads, and the latter definitely work better. I squirt enough of the micellar water on to the pad so that it’s nice and soaked (the info card thingy said about half a teaspoon, which sounds about right), and then wipe it all over my face. It doesn’t sting, it doesn’t have any scent, it doesn’t foam up or turn a different colour… in short, it feels exactly like water. Soothing but refreshing. And damp. (Just thought I should clarify that :P)

In terms of removing my face makeup and eyeshadow, this stuff is magical. It seriously just melts it off – I don’t know how it can do it so easily! (well, I’ve read up on micellar water, but I still maintain it’s magic). I use one or two cotton pads for my entire face, depending on how much makeup I’m wearing, and when I follow up with toner not a speck of makeup comes off on that cotton pad. It literally takes me less than 30 seconds to get all my face makeup off, and that is pretty darn amazing.

I don’t find it leaves any residue, so although I have been following up with toner, I haven’t felt the need to rinse it off. I haven’t experienced any irritation or breakouts since starting to use this, and most importantly I haven’t had dry patches – something which is caused by a lot of cleansers for me.

All in all, this is amazing. Except. This makes me so sad. I wear a waterproof mascara, which I love. Unfortunately this just doesn’t do anything to remove it – I’ve tried using it so many ways, and even resorted to the dreaded scrubbing, and it just doesn’t do anything to budge it. Now, this probably speaks more for the mascara than the micellar water, but I’d read so many places that this would remove waterproof eye makeup super easily, so it was disappointing. What I’ve ended up doing is using a tiny bit of my oil cleanser just to get my mascara off, and then wiping that residue away with the micellar water. It works, it just adds an extra step to what otherwise is an amazingly quick and easy method of makeup removal.

Will I repurchase? Yes! Would I recommend to others? Definitely! Just be aware that if you have a stubborn waterproof mascara, this may not quite hit the mark.

Was looking forward to this hitting NZ shops! It is well worth the hype. I wear long wear foundation (double wear) and this removed it all and eye makeup without irritating my sensitive eyes. A little goes a long way and a bottle will last forever. I dont use this as my sole make up remover as I still cleanse afterwards. Will repurchase

I love this product! It removes 100% of my make up ( including waterproof mascara). My skin feels nourished and moisturized afterwards not tight and dry like other make-up removers I have used in the past. Another bonus is the massive bottle in comes in. I will definitely repurchase.

This was the fist time I had heard of Micellar water and so I had no idea what to expect. But I must say that I am very impressed. It was very easy to use, no washing off. It removed my make up very well, just took a little bit to remove my eye make up but it definitely did.

I've been using it twice daily, once before bed and when I wake up, and my skin is feeling refreshed and clean.

You don't have to use a lot at a time, and thus this one bottle will last awhile. And it's great value for money, very affordable

Found this lovely and refreshing on the skin. No strong fragrance and left the skin feeling great. Only down side i found was i needed to use quite a few wipes to get off all my makeup and struggled with my eye liner removal.

I was in love the first time I used this product. The size of the bottle is good - enough for many uses. The product doesn't have any smell, which I love. It glides on my skin and the results on the makeup pad showed it had taken off the day's makeup. No tight feeling after use, makeup removed in a couple of takes and it doesn't pull against your skin as you are wiping it across your face. The take off is effortless and no scrubbing required. This is an extremely affordable product which delivers on all levels. I will definitely buy again. My skin felt smooth and refreshed afterwards - no dry patches. The lid has a bit of a longer lip which is fabulous as there is no need to use finger nails or have them ripped off trying to open.

I was very much on the 'are you sure?' side of the fence when I first heard about Garnier's Micellar Cleansing Water. I think it's because it's called 'water' - and while water is fabulous, it's not really all that wonderful at getting off hardcore makeup, or even lightcore makeup. So of course, the first thing I did when I received my trial bottle was to look at the ingredients, there's a lot more than just water in the bottle. I've no idea what most of it is, (and I'm too busy/lazy to Google it), but I did recognise a few ingredients, which I've seen in other cleansing products, which explains why it's so darn good at removing makeup.

So, what side of the fence am I having now trialled it for a week or so? I'm on the fence. I'm having a love/hate relationship with this product.

What do I love? I love the bottle - it's a generous 400mls, and it's really pretty. I love the pink cap. I love that it's not super smelly, there is a hint of chemical aroma, but nothing off-putting. I love that it does an amazing job of removing makeup. I was seriously impressed. Although to remove a full face I had to use both sides of three cotton pads, which used a lot of product (which is why I'm guessing the bottle is such a good size). I love that my skin didn't feel tight afterwards.

So what do I hate? Well, it's great at removing makeup, but it's not great for my skin. Initially I only used the Micellar Water to cleanse in the evenings, but I noticed over the days my pores became larger and I started getting little whiteheads on my forehead/nose/chin, which I'm not usually prone too. Also my skin started to feel rough, and not nearly as hydrated as normal. The last few days I've used it as a pre-cleanse to remove makeup, then used my usual cleanser, which has seen some improvement to pimple production, but not to the state of my skin.

So will I use it? Yes, on full makeup days, absolutely - it's a fantastic makeup remover. But on a daily basis? No, I already battle wrinkes/blackheads/owwy red pimples, I don't want to add whiteheads into the mix.

My current favourite makeup remover is the Elizabeth Arden All Gone and I find the Micellar water to be very similar. It removes makeup easily, it does not dry out my skin and my face feels clean. It is however not that great with eye makeup so that's where I go with an alternative. Other than that it is a great remover, even more so given that it is not that expensive and the bottle is generous in size.

This is one of those products that I actually like for a differing purpose it is designed for!

It did not work so great for makeup removal for me - it still required a bit of scrubbing to get my mascara off. It was lovely and gentle and didn't react to my skin which is a definite plus. But it didn't do anything amazing to my skin; nothing bad, but nothing good either.

What I actually really like this product for is washing my makeup brushes! It is a gentle cleaner for removing makeup off my brushes - better than water alone and not as harsh as soap or shampoo. It is for this reason that I would buy this product again (a cheaper alternative to makeup brush cleaner).