What is Micellar Water?
What is Micellar Water? What is a cleansing water? Curious about cleansing and micellar waters? A lot of folks are. A while ago I wrote an article entitled “Cleansing Waters: Are They Necessary to Your Makeup Removal?” and much of what I said in it still stands true. I’m not really a huge fan of micellar waters aside from the fact of how quick, easy, and super fast it is to remove makeup when I’m being lazy!
In 2012, NARS Makeup Removing Water launched and soon after MAC released their own variation. At the time it looked like we were headed into a trend and might just see more micellar waters releasing from a variety of brands…! But the trend kinda died out slightly but with the recent introduction of Simple Micellar Water you might see more and more cleansing waters hitting the market.
So what’s is a micellar water anyway?
My first introduction to micellar water started with Japanese brand, Mandom. I tried and loved their Cleansing Express Moist Cleansing Lotion which really was an easy and quick way to remove ALL my makeup when I was just too tired to bother with the rest of the products I use nightly to get off all my makeup.
Micellar Water is sometimes mistaken for toner. It’s not a toner. It is however, a makeup remover. It’s basically a water formulated with micelles or tiny cleansing molecules that float within water. You can saturate a cotton ball or a Swissper with the water and swipe across your face to remove dirt, oil, and makeup quickly. It’ll remove your makeup as it cleanses and you won’t need to rinse it off. Pretty nifty right?
Personally it’s a great pick if you’re a blogger as you can quickly remove swatches from your arm using a micellar water (I actually use wipes though) or quickly remove makeup to do a new look super fast!
I think the nicest thing about micellar waters is the fact they are so gentle. My skin never feels tight or dry after using them which makes them an ideal pick for those with sensitive skin or even dry skin that tends to get drier after cleansing.
They also happen to be super convenient as they are a one step cleansing process and you don’t need anything else aside from a cotton ball or a Swissper to use with them! No running water, other cleanser, just the water…swipe and go to bed.
I never feel fully clean when I use them to be honest and I end up using them in a double cleanse process in most cases. Although there are days I come home exhausted and I just wanna fall into bed and that’s the days cleansing waters are totally my bag as they are quick, easy, and simple.
One of the first true budget micellar waters recently launched from Simple Skincare. The new Simple Micellar Water is $6.99 for 6.7 oz and an ideal pick for for sensitive skin as it has no harsh chemicals, no perfumes, and no dyes. It contains B3 and C in a purified water base! A few months ago Canada and the UK as well as Asia also were privy to the new UK L’Oréal Paris Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution (around $8) which I suspect we’ll see here in the US as soon as Summer 2015 or earlier. Garnier also has a cleansing water that released in Japan but that might be a while before we see it here in the US and knowing Garnier I fear it might be heavily fragranced! Dr Jart also has a new Dermaclear Micro Water available at Sephora. There are quite a few options available in the micellar slash cleansing water world at the moment from high end to mid range and now budget friendly ones too!
I have a feeling we’ll see a huge wave of waters hit the market in the Summer!
Do you use micellar waters?
Do share your experience with them!