Olay Luminous Advanced Tone Perfecting Micellar Water Review

Olay Luminous Advanced Tone Perfecting Micellar Water is now available and perhaps a little late to the ballgame considering the cleansing water trend isn’t quite at its height in popularity. None the less Olay has introduced their own micellar water that will be available as part of their permanent skincare collection.

I think if you use Olay skincare this might be a welcome addition to their line up although, I have to admit I found some major faults with it. I will say it’s a nicer toner and I can see myself using it for this reason alone but as a cleansing water? Well, no! I’ll explain why that is in a minute.

I tend to use micellar water when I’m busy being lazy and I just want to get to bed. I like my skincare cleansing routine and it is rare that I don’t embrace it at the end of a long day but there are times I get home late and I just want to head to bed and cleansing waters can be damn convenient. However, I won’t be adding Olay Luminous Advanced Tone Perfecting Micellar Water to that quick remove and go to bed list.

Here’s why.

Olay Luminous Advanced Tone Perfecting Micellar Water is available in a 8 oz bottle for around $6.99 to $9.99 depending where you purchase it. The price isn’t bad and the top pump is quite handy if not a little messy. If you recall the new Yes to Coconut Ultra Hydrating Micellar Cleansing Water and Yes to Cucumbers Micellar Cleansing Water have a similiar style packaging but I was disappointed that whenever I placed a cotton square on top and pumped down a lot of the water would squirt everywhere and make a mess. The same holds true for Olay’s packaging but I found if you push down with a lighter hand you can avoid the mess that the Yes To packaging makes.

This is a good formula if you want to remove your facial makeup quickly without drying skin out. It contains some ok ingredients such as rice bran, aloe extract, and glycerin. Apparently it’s supposed to leave skin looking brighter as well as tones it (courtesy the niacinamide in the mix). I can’t say my skin looked brighter but it does tone skin and it will remove any excess makeup that my cleanser left behind should I wish to use it as a double-cleanser of sorts. Note I said facial makeup….!

Now the problem…..

This is a pretty standard formula that doesn’t leave behind a film and doesn’t dry my skin out after using it. I really believe that’s one of the areas that micellar water excels. It never strips, it never leaves skin tight or dry, that’s a total plus. This has a cool feel on skin and I thought for a moment it might contain menthol but that isn’t listed on the ingredients so, I’m assuming the witch hazel might be what causes that fresh, cool feel.

The bottle reads that you can use this to remove eye makeup but the back of the bottle says to avoid direct contact with eyes. I went ahead and tested it on my eyes but I wouldn’t recommend using it in this area. I know certain eye drops contain witch hazel but I’ve always avoided using it on my eyes. There’s also niacinamide in this which isn’t something I’d use in my eyes. I guess they consider it eye safe so long as you don’t get it directly in your eyes. But let’s be real here, you’re bound to get some directly in your eyes as you wipe. Last but not least, it does cause a sting and a burn so, I won’t be attempting to do so again and it didn’t do that great a job removing waterproof eye makeup anyway.

I have to admit it annoys me that micellar water has become so complicated. The fact that formula was simple and gentle was one of the reasons makeup users loved it so much. It’s sad it’s become so complicated with each new formula that gets introduced and you have to resort to using it on your face but have to avoid your eyes. What’s the point if you can’t remove all your makeup using it?

Olay Luminous Advanced Tone Perfecting Micellar Water wasn’t particularly exciting. I have to admit it’s a good toner and it works well in a double-cleanse but the fact you can’t use it near your eyes is an issue that will irritate a good deal of users that want something quick and easy to remove all their makeup.

Olay Luminous Advanced Tone Perfecting Micellar Water ulta.com, amazon.com, and target.com.