I was quite late getting on the Bioderma bandwagon, I
purchased my first bottle only a few months ago. I’d seen all the reviews
claiming the Sensibio H20 Micellar Solution was like cleansing your skin with
water whilst removing all traces of makeup, even stubborn eye makeup. So
naturally I needed to give it a go.
After using my Bioderma for a few weeks I decided a micellar
cleansing water was something I needed to incorporate into my skincare routine,
I personally like to use it to remove the majority of my makeup at night before
using my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, and I also use it as part of my morning
routine. I purchased my Bioderma online as it isn’t easily available in stores
where I live, although I have spotted it in some independent London stores- you
lucky Londoners!
As I was getting through Bioderma pretty quickly I decided
to go on the hunt for a drugstore alternative, something more readily
available, and preferably cheaper than the £10ish price tag. There were two
products that I decided to try that I’ve been using for a about six weeks, so
after giving them a fair trial I decided to review them, and see if anything
can rival the holy grail Bioderma.
Bioderma: I hadn’t used a product like this
before and was a little dubious about its claims to ‘Cleanse, remove makeup and
sooth’ sensitive skin. I had visions of the water-like product smearing my
makeup all over my face rather than removing it, but oh how wrong was I!
With the sweep of a cotton pad your
makeup is effortlessly removed, and your skin is left feeling clean, refreshed
and not sore- which I sometimes find with using other liquid cleansing
products. It really is like washing your face with water, except this really
does the job!
Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water- I spotted this in Savers,
somewhere I often forget about when looking for beauty products, but it’s worth
a look as they have most drugstore brands but at even lower prices. I picked
this up for £2.99 and it’s a 400ml bottle, so a total bargain! As Savers don’t
have a website I'll link you to Boots where you can also get your hands on it. This product makes the same claims as Bioderma- ‘Removes makeup +
cleanses + soothes’ and can be used with sensitive skin on the face, eyes and
lips. Overall I’m really happy with this product, it removes my makeup well and
feels very natural on the skin- no fragranced scent or oily residue. I also
don’t need to use a lot of product to get the job done, a couple of cotton wool
pads clears my face.
L’OREAL Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution- This is another skincare bargain I picked up in Savers for £2.99, I’d
seen it in Boots for £4.99 and was happy to buy it at that price, but not one to
turn down an offer I obviously brought the cheapest I found! Once again it has
the same claims as the previous products so I thought it was worth a try. This
product does the job, but there’s something about it that doesn’t quite work
for me, I find it slightly soapy on my skin. It doesn’t feel as pure and
natural as the other waters, my face almost feels as if it needs washing after
using this. I also noticed that if the bottle gets shaken up, soap-like bubbles
appear at the top (does that make any sense?!), something that doesn’t happen
with the Bioderma or Garnier, which makes me think the solution has some kind
of nasty extra added in.
Overall if I had to rate these cleaning waters I would put
Bioderma in 1st place, Garnier in 2nd, and L’OREAL 3rd.
I’m still happy to use the L’OREAL product but wouldn’t repurchase it, but for
me the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water is a great alternative to the Bioderma,
and I would happily repurchase as a budget dupe for the famous French brand. Have you tried any of these products, or found any other dupes?
