new garnier miceller waters review + comparison
While I don't think I could pick a singular ultimate all-time favorite skincare product, Bioderma's sensibio micellar water would be a strong contender. Last time around this year I did a comparison post between Bioderma's, Sephora's and Simple's micellar waters, which you can read here.
Then at the end of last year, they finally released the Garnier micellar water here in the US. After hearing about it time and time again from international blogs, of course I had to track it down. Since I have had them both for about a month now, I thought I would share a review.
Bioderma Sensibio Micellar Water
- $19.99 for 500 ml at Beautylish
- $.04/ mL
-Ingrendients: Water (Aqua), PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, Propylene Glycol, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Mannitol, Xylitol, Rhamnose, Fructooligosaccharides, Disodium EDTA, Cetrimonium Bromide
Garnier SkinActive Micellar Water
- 400 mL-- Price varies on where you buy it. CVS and Walgreens stores near me were selling it for 9.97. Online it's 8.99 at CVS, Walgreens, and Ulta and 6.97 at Target and Wal-Mart.
- Depending on where you buy it, $.017- $.025/ mL
- Original Ingredients: Aqua/Water, Hexylene Glycol, Glycerin, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Disodium EDTA, Poloxamer 184, Polyaminopropyl Biguanide Fil B162919/3
- Waterproof Ingredients: Aqua/Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Isohexadecane, Potassium Phosphate, Sodium Chloride, Hexylene Glycol, Dipotassium Phosphate, Disodium Edta, Decyl Glucoside, Polyaminopropyl Biguanide. F.I.L.# D178190/1
First up is an eyeliner swatch test. I used the three products to remove some swatches of Urban Decay's 24/7 glide-on eye pencil in LSD.
I did 10 swipes on each one. Both the bioderma and waterproof garnier waters left a teensy bit of glitter on my arm, and then the garnier original formula left a bit of color.
Next I decided to test out each one's ability to remove face makeup.
The first column of cotton pads I used are with the corresponding micellar waters. The second column of cotton pads I used are with my Kiehl's toner because none of the micellar waters remove 100% of my makeup. I would say with this test bioderma came in 1st place (as it has the cleanest second cotton pad), garnier waterproof in a close 2nd, and garnier original in 3rd.
While technically speaking the waterproof version is a micellar water (aka it uses tiny oil particles suspended in water to sweep away debris from your skin) it isn't what I think of as a micellar water in the colloquial sense. You have to shake it up before you use it and in all honesty, I consider it a makeup remover instead of a micellar water. I think they were just taking advantage of the whole micellar water trend and decided "what the hell, we're releasing one micellar water, let's just call this one a micellar water too to cash in on this beauty trend."
Formula wise, the first three ingredients of the waterproof version are identical to their 2-in-1 waterproof makeup remover which again, makes me think calling it a micellar water was a marketing move.
While it did splendidly well in removing my waterproof makeup, I prefer not to use it on my face because it does leave a bit of a residue (which isn't surprising because most waterproof eye makeup removers do.)
Final thoughts? I ended up returning the waterproof version because as I stated above, I think it's more of a waterproof eye makeup remover and I don't need that. Even though the original version didn't 100% match up to Bioderma, it's still a keeper. It's gentle, fragrance free, didn't break me out, didn't leave any sort of residue, and did a pretty good job at removing my face makeup. I would also like to add that I like this 10x more than the Simple micellar water (see why in my review.)
Thanks to its $7 price tag, I am totally happy to give the original version a place on my vanity next to my beloved Bioderma.
Then at the end of last year, they finally released the Garnier micellar water here in the US. After hearing about it time and time again from international blogs, of course I had to track it down. Since I have had them both for about a month now, I thought I would share a review.
Bioderma Sensibio Micellar Water
- $19.99 for 500 ml at Beautylish
- $.04/ mL
-Ingrendients: Water (Aqua), PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, Propylene Glycol, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Mannitol, Xylitol, Rhamnose, Fructooligosaccharides, Disodium EDTA, Cetrimonium Bromide
Garnier SkinActive Micellar Water
- 400 mL-- Price varies on where you buy it. CVS and Walgreens stores near me were selling it for 9.97. Online it's 8.99 at CVS, Walgreens, and Ulta and 6.97 at Target and Wal-Mart.
- Depending on where you buy it, $.017- $.025/ mL
- Original Ingredients: Aqua/Water, Hexylene Glycol, Glycerin, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Disodium EDTA, Poloxamer 184, Polyaminopropyl Biguanide Fil B162919/3
- Waterproof Ingredients: Aqua/Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Isohexadecane, Potassium Phosphate, Sodium Chloride, Hexylene Glycol, Dipotassium Phosphate, Disodium Edta, Decyl Glucoside, Polyaminopropyl Biguanide. F.I.L.# D178190/1
First up is an eyeliner swatch test. I used the three products to remove some swatches of Urban Decay's 24/7 glide-on eye pencil in LSD.
Next I decided to test out each one's ability to remove face makeup.
The first column of cotton pads I used are with the corresponding micellar waters. The second column of cotton pads I used are with my Kiehl's toner because none of the micellar waters remove 100% of my makeup. I would say with this test bioderma came in 1st place (as it has the cleanest second cotton pad), garnier waterproof in a close 2nd, and garnier original in 3rd.
While technically speaking the waterproof version is a micellar water (aka it uses tiny oil particles suspended in water to sweep away debris from your skin) it isn't what I think of as a micellar water in the colloquial sense. You have to shake it up before you use it and in all honesty, I consider it a makeup remover instead of a micellar water. I think they were just taking advantage of the whole micellar water trend and decided "what the hell, we're releasing one micellar water, let's just call this one a micellar water too to cash in on this beauty trend."
Formula wise, the first three ingredients of the waterproof version are identical to their 2-in-1 waterproof makeup remover which again, makes me think calling it a micellar water was a marketing move.
While it did splendidly well in removing my waterproof makeup, I prefer not to use it on my face because it does leave a bit of a residue (which isn't surprising because most waterproof eye makeup removers do.)
Final thoughts? I ended up returning the waterproof version because as I stated above, I think it's more of a waterproof eye makeup remover and I don't need that. Even though the original version didn't 100% match up to Bioderma, it's still a keeper. It's gentle, fragrance free, didn't break me out, didn't leave any sort of residue, and did a pretty good job at removing my face makeup. I would also like to add that I like this 10x more than the Simple micellar water (see why in my review.)
Thanks to its $7 price tag, I am totally happy to give the original version a place on my vanity next to my beloved Bioderma.