Fail Product: Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

Hello Princesses!

Today I'm going to be talking about the infamous Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water! If you're in New Zealand you will know that this product has been flying off the shelves due to the popularity amongst Youtubers and Bloggers. This review has turned into a bit of a rant, so read on if you would like to find out why, if not, this product failed for me just because it breaks me out and doesn't remove waterproof mascara which I wear daily.

"Micellar Cleansing Water removes make-up, cleanses and soothes skin on the face, eyes and lips in one step without needing to rinse off.

For the 1st time by Garnier, Micellar technology is introduced in an all-in-one cleanser. Micelles are an active cleansing ingredient which act as a magnet to capture impurities, make-up and sebum on the skin without vigorous rubbing. The result? Perfectly cleansed and refreshed skin without vigorous rubbing or rinsing. A soothing formula without perfume to suit all skin types, even sensitive. Micellar Cleansing Water’s 400ml format corresponds to 200 applications" (1)

Lets start with the good parts! This cleansing water is excellent at getting off face makeup. I'm wearing a CC Cream in the above photos and it was removed in one single swipe. This product is supposed to be fragrance free, and smells as close to nothing as I've experienced so far in my fragrance free life. It doesn't irritate my sensitive eyes, so should be quite safe for contact lens wearers.

This is where the positive aspects of this cleanser stops for me. I'm an oil cleanser type of girl (occasionally dabbling in cream or gel cleansers) but this cleanser makes my skin feel tight, dry and itchy, making my chin break out (which it hasn't done in months, NOO). It doesn't leave my skin feeling oily, but it feels sticky and tacky which is equally as bad. 

I cannot comprehend how anyone could use this cleansing water without using a proper cleanser afterwards, and this is one of the aspects that annoys me so much about this product. Yes it removes makeup, but it doesn't really clean your skin to the level a proper cleanser/exfoliator would. Some people don't need a crazy cleaning routine and I respect that, but if you ruin your skin by not cleansing it properly, don't come asking me for advice on how to fix it later.

This cleansing water does not remove every single bit of makeup, after I use my Clarisonic there is still a little bit of makeup left on the brush which is why I think it's important to cleanse properly afterwards if you have been wearing makeup. I find it very hard to believe that this cleanser removes makeup, cleanses, tones and moisturizes your skin. Then again, so many people just use makeup wipes and nothing else, so I guess this would be a step up from that anyway.

My third (or fourth?) problem with this product is that it's useless at removing waterproof mascara. Waterproof mascara is one of the products that I will always wear if I'm wearing makeup, so not being able to remove it to the point where after three cotton pads soaked in remover STILL hasn't removed it, the product is just useless to me. It actually started to hurt my skin after the second cotton pad, although it didn't irritate my sensitive eyes. It also pulled out a fair amount of eyelashes. 

I agree that I could use a dedicated eye makeup remover in conjunction with this cleanser, but when my regular oil cleanser removes both face makeup and eye makeup just as easily, I don't see why I should.

  What I Love

- Cleans foundation easily

- Inexpensive at $12.99NZD for 400ml

- Doesn't irritate sensitive eyes

- Fragrance free
- 200 uses in one bottle!

What I Don't Love

- Doesn't remove waterproof mascara

- Breaks my skin out

- Leaves skin tight and sticky

- Is NOT a replacement for cleansing

- Hard to find due to ridiculous hype

- Requires vigorous rubbing for mascara

Final Thoughts

I feel like such a negative nancy, but I really dislike this product. I think the main aspect of my dislike is the fact that it broke my skin out badly and doesn't remove waterproof eye makeup, but the second aspect is that I see so many girls using this as a substitute for cleansing their skin properly. I don't think you should ever use this type of product as a replacement for cleansing your skin properly if you've been wearing makeup.

This being said, if you don't wear waterproof mascara and don't get acne easily, or have a dedicated eye and lip product remover, this product will be great for you! Like I said before, it's fantastic for removing light makeup. It's so quick and easy, no scrubbing at the face and no excessive amounts of product. But PLEASE. Wash your face afterwards because the Micelles don't remove 100% of the makeup on your face.

The bottom line is, this is a great cleanser for your face if you're in a hurry, already have a dedicated eye makeup remover and non acne prone skin, or just want a little bit of refreshment. But if you want to age gracefully I highly recommend spending that extra 5mins cleansing your face properly, not just doing a half-arsed job because a product tells you it will remove makeup, cleanse, tone and moisturize all in one product cotton pad. You probably wouldn't go to sleep without brushing your teeth and you shouldn't go to bed without washing your face.

Disagree? Let me know your thoughts down below! ^.^