Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water Review

I'm so disappointed that I am writing this review. I was so excited to get to trial it and had this internal narrative planned out where I was one of the cool kids with the hip new product about town in my cool little hands and I'd rave and be cool by association. In reality I'm the socially awkward kid who hated chatterrings and was never allowed a tamigoochi.

I feel completely evil so I'll start with what I do like. The size. At 400ml it is a very generous serving and the $12.99 price tag is very reasonable. I also love the packaging. The clear water is very appealing inside the tastefully pink and clear bottle.

I'm still kinda impressed by the sorcery behind this product. For all intents and purposes it could be water. It looks, smells and (yes morbid curiosity got the better of me) even tastes like water. Yet clearly it's some sort of spellbound elf water because it does more than mere water could ever hope to.

My main problem is I have no idea where this is supposed to fit into my regime. I've heard makeup remover/pre-cleanse wipe, stand-alone cleanser, and even an after cleanse product (but then do I still tone after that??). I'm beyond confused. It's the very last day of the trial and I've tried this every which way trying to find something that works for me and I just can't.

As a makeup remover, while I do find it works adequately, I get a MUCH better result from the coconut oil I was previously using, especially on stubborn eye makeup.

As a pre-cleanse I can clearly see on the cotton pad that it is drawing dirt and grime to it almost magnetically. I don't feel that it's doing a better job than just washing though and this adds an unnecessary step to my already extensive regime.

As a stand-alone cleaner...No. Just no. I keep seeing everyone saying how good this makes their skin feel and I swear it's like I'm using a different product. My skin feels tacky and, frankly, gross. I really did not enjoy leaving my skin like that or applying moisturiser and/or makeup overtop.

As an after cleanse I got that same icky clammy skin feeling and again, completely unnecessary step in my regime - it was nice to see that my cleanser was working and there was no grime on the pad when I did this though.

On top of all this confusion and unnecessaryness, I really don't think my skin reacted well to this at all. My chin pores got so gunked up and gross feeling. I do have some hormonal issues at play at the moment so I won't blame the breakouts I had entirely on this product but they certainly did nothing to help them and my chin has not been this bad in a loooong time.

I received this product free from Beauty Review and have been using it nightly for nearly a week. Overall I would describe this product as a very light and gentle toner, most suited to those who wear only a little makeup. Most days I just use mascara and a bit of BB cream. This was okay at removing the BB cream but very poor at removing mascara (Lancome, Benefit). On the weekend I wore more makeup - foundation, powder, blush, eye shadow etc and found I needed to use a moist towelette first (Simple) and then this cleansing water. It did okay on my face, but I had to resort to my usual makeup remover for my eyes. I'd recommend it for anyone who wants a very gentle rinse after normal cleansing, instead of toning.

When the hype began to rage over this product I knew I had to try it for myself. I was stoked when I found some in Countdown on sale for $9 - I thought it was great value for money given its size compared with other cleansers I've tried. I gave it a go before bed that night and had a really positive first impression. I couldn't get over the fact that it looked like a regular bottle of water but could be so much more. I soaked a cotton pad with the product and circled it around my face; I love that you can apply it to your eye area as well - and voilà, clean and refreshed skin! I was surprised to see how much extra dirt it had picked up. But fast forward to the following night where I had a heavier face of makeup on and unfortunately my enthusiasm didn't remain so high. I needed multiple soaked cotton pads to cut through my makeup, especially my eye makeup which wasn't even water-proof, and even then I picked up more afterwards when I applied a toner. It was disappointingly clear that I had to use a lot more product and basically waste many cotton pads to get a truly clean face. The next night I loosened my makeup with water, baby oil, and a flannel first, then followed with the micellar water. This proved to be the best combination for me, and while it means that the product isn't quite the miracle worker that some claim, it's still good as a facial cleanser and 'light' makeup remover. It hasn't made my skin over oily or dry and I love that you don't have to rinse it off. Ultimately this product still helps me save time, it feels good for my skin and I will consider repurchasing it again, but it isn't as amazing as I was hoping.

Update: 04/06/2015

I just had to take another couple of lippies off this product. I think it was met with way too much hype and has since become overrated. The bottom line is it struggles to remove any the lightest mineral makeup on my face, let alone heavy foundation or thick mascara. The only time it works well is after my face has already been heavily rinsed or precleansed with oil. Therefore it's ultimately a product that over promises and under delivers. Not super impressed.

The hype around this product was huuuge and as an avid YouTube watcher, I was so excited when it finally reached our shores that I went out and got some on the first day it was released here.

I picked mine up for $10.99 from New World on introductory sale. For 400ml of product I thought that was pretty good! And up to 200 uses?! You could pay that much for 30 odd makeup wipes!

The packaging is minimal but there is something 'clean' and 'fresh' about it, its very suitable to the product and I really like it. The pink pop top snaps shut well which is awesome as I'm not too worried about it spilling in my overnight bag.

The liquid itself is very watery and to me smells faintly of coconut?? It is designed to be poured onto a cotton round or similar and used like a regular makeup wipe. I found this removed my face makeup well but really struggled with my eye makeup and I have to scrub a wee bit to get the majority off. I need to use at least 3-4 rounds to get off a face of makeup and seem to be going through this product very fast, only have about 1/3 product left! With that said, the formula doesn't sting the eyes which is a bonus!

It says that you can leave this as is without rinsing but this to me seems ridiculous! It leaves a slight film on my face and I always use this as a pre-cleanse only so always wash with my cleanser afterward. I have also been breaking out more than usual and have developed eczema on my eyelids after trying this and its the only thing thats changed in my makeup/skincare routine and diet.

The other thing that bothers me about this product is that it gets so bubbly after shaking it/if its in a bag! Not like foamy bubbly, like big giant bubbles that remind me a lot of dishwashing liquid bubbles. Something about this is very unappealing to then put on my face.

Overall this product is good but definitely not amazing and I don't think its the right one for my skin type which is unusual as I have normal/combo skin which is never usually sensitive. The huge hype around it led it to be more of a let down. My viewpoint on it is that as a pre-cleanse I still far prefer makeup wipes - a little more expensive but far less effort and I don't have the sensitivity issues that I seem to be getting with this product. For me, the Garnier Micellar water didn't work as well as I was hoping so I will be sticking to makeup wipes as my pre-cleanse from now on

I bought this after hearing all the hype and at first i loved it until it got into my eyes and stung. i found the actual solution didn't remove my foundation (maybelline super stay) very well and i ended up just using a make up wipe after. i would recommend it to people who don't have such sensitive eyes and don't wear glasses. it made my eyes very foggy once i put my glasses back on.

I've read a few reviews on this and everyone raved about it! Sure It did what it claimed, it removed all of my makeup without a lot of rubbing/effort but I wasn't a huge fan come the next morning!

I've been using the Bioderma Micelle Solution for the past few years and I love it! So when I heard people saying the Garnier version was a good dupe, for half the price I had to try it!

I was totally drawn in by the packaging, it looks great! And like I said it did remove my makeup so first impressions I was impressed!

But the next day, my skin was extra dry! My chin and under my eyes were burning and were all flaky. I do have extremely sensitive skin and I guess this product was just one of the one's that didn't agree with my skin.

I can see why a lot of people like this product it definitely does what it claims. I know everyone's skin is different, but if you have sensitive skin perhaps don't smother your face with this the first time you use it :)

I used this to remove my make up and while it did an alright job, there was still a bit of residue. When I got to my waterproof mascara, it did come off eventually, but it took a while and a bit of rubbing and by the end of it all, my skin, especially my eye area, stung a bit. I will continue to use the rest of the bottle, not as a make up remover, but just as a quick cleanser on days I wear no make up and can't be bothered cleansing properly, but I won't be repurchasing.

Everybody raved about this product but when I tried it I found it was actually really drying on my skin even though I moistured afterwards and I also found my skin started to break out after a week of using it, so I stopped when I did use it though I found it was pretty good at removing make up etc a lot of ladies swear by this product but I personally didn't like it

After using the Garner Micellar cleansing water I only ever broke out in pimples. Maybe this was because it was drawing all the dirt out of my pores or maybe it was because it simply didn't suit my skin. I would only be able to tell after using it for longer.

Micellar water may be a 'miraculous' product, but I want to start out by making it clear that it's not a cleanser. It does a damn good job of removing makeup (although, I find it can't budge waterproof mascara, or a long-staying one like Benefit's They're Real). That being said, because it's essentially a soap suspended in water, it leaves a film all over your face, so you still need to clean your face afterwards. I use this on a cotton pad as a once-over before using a cleanser proper. The one thing I can say is amazing about it is how long a bottle lasts!