Lately, it seems like everything is all about micellar water. A few months ago, I had never heard of it, and now you see these products everywhere. But is it really beneficial to your skin, or is it just another beauty fad that will soon fade away?
Huffington Post included micellar water in their Beauty Glossary, defining it as”micelles (tiny balls of cleansing oil molecules) suspended in soft water”. The micelles bond to dirt and oil in your skin, and can remove them without drying out skin. So you can basically use them as facial cleansers, makeup removers and moisturizers all in one.
This is appealing to me. My skin prefers to be left alone. It’s happy the way it is, and applying a cleanser or moisturizer can make my skin dry out and flake. However, I’m concerned about aging / fine lines / wrinkles, so I know I need to find some kind of moisturizer that my face can tolerate.
Bioderma is a French company focused on creating beauty products based on biology. They conduct research on effectiveness and skin tolerability, and offer products in several lines: Sensibio (sensitive skin), Hydrabio (dehydrated sensitive skin), Atoderm (dry to atopic sensitive skin), Sebium (Oily blemished skin) and Cicabio (damaged skin). I tried out the micellar waters in Hydrabio (moisturizing), Sebium purifying) and Sensibio (sensitive skin).
As my skin is super sensitive, I had the best luck with the Sensibio micellar water. Using it is easy – just apply to a cotton ball and use on your face. It’s effective at removing makeup, and my face feels super clean afterwards, without the oily residue of a liquid makeup remover. The best part is, I got some in my eyes and it didn’t hurt. If I use liquid makeup remover and get it in my eyes, it’s a pain beyond description!
I also tried out some of the facial products post-makeup removal. The Hydrabio Moisturizing Concentrate serum was my favorite. It’s a serum, not a moisturizer cream, so it felt so much better on my face than moisturizers typically do. I use it before bed on my face and neck. And it’s so light, I sometimes use it in the morning too!
I’m also a fan of the Sensibio Eye Contour Gel. I spend so much time, money and energy applying products around my eyes to try and stop the spread of wrinkles there. This product was light and non-greasy.
The Sebium Shine Control Moisturizer was hit-and-miss for me. Sometimes, the matte texture made my skin look and feel amazing, refreshed and shine-free. Sometimes it dried out my skin and made me flake. This product is probably better geared toward someone with oily skin, not “normal” or “combination” skin.
Have you tried micellar water? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!
Have a favorite Bioderma product? You can purchase it HERE.