Bioderma Micelle Solution
I have heard about micellar water for quite some time, but was always hesitant to try it. I've used a lot of oil based make-up removers in the past, and hated how they felt greasy and didn't actually remove my make-up completely. Bioderma reached out and asked if I'd like to try a bottle, and so I finally gave it a try...and I am converted. I've been using my bottle for more than three months now, and from the first use, I was hooked. I soak a cotton pad to be about half wet, and then just softly wipe at my eye make-up. I use some heavy duty eyeliner and mascara, and this just wipes it away. My favorite part is that it feels just like water - magic water that removes your makeup with zero effort - instead of the oily liquids I've used in the past A bit of research shows that micellar water is basically cleansing oil molecules suspended in water, which explains why it cleanses so well but doesn't leave an oily mess behind. It's great for my sensitive dry skin too, and I've felt that the skin around my eyes has been less dry since I started using it. Of course, I like to see how any remover compares in price with my very cheap coconut oil routine. A 500 mL bottle (the size I have) costs about $17. Like I said, I've been using mine for about three months now, and have only used about 1/3 of the bottle, so I would say that it's actually pretty comparable to the coconut oil when priced out over the year. I did receive my bottle for free from Bioderma, but will definitely be purchasing a new bottle once this one is empty (in like six months!). Beautylish has several sizes in stock as well.
Makeup Eraser
This is another one of those products I had heard a lot about, and had sitting in my Amazon cart for a while, but never pulled the trigger on. I've been working with Popsugar's Must Have box program for several months now, and every month has brought some great new products into my life (if you're interested, you can use the code SHOP5 to receive $5 off your first box). This month's box included the Makeup Eraser mini, so I was very excited to test it out. It's basically just a polyester washcloth that promises that it will erase all make-up by simply wetting the fabric and wiping away your makeup. It even promises to remove waterproof formulas! I've only used this for a few days now, but have been very impressed by it's ability to remove my makeup. I honestly didn't have high hopes as I assumed it was just basically a more expensive wash cloth (which doesn't ever actually remove makeup well) but this little guy works so well! All you do is get it wet, and wipe at your make-up. It only took a few seconds, and all my eye makeup was transferred to the towel. Then I rinsed it with soap, and it looked brand new again! Instructions say it should last 1,000 washes, so all in all, $12 for three years of make-up removal is one heck of a deal. It also comes in a larger size, which I think I would like even more. The one thing that was a problem for me is that it irritated my eyes a bit - I don't know if that's because I'm rubbing water into it or because I have very sensitive eyes, but that did leave my eyes a bit irritated.
In the end, because the Makeup Eraser left my eyes a bit irritated, and because I like the added benefits of the Bioderma micellar water, I'm going to use the Makeup Eraser for travel (it's the perfect size!) and the Bioderma for my every day. I would love to hear about your experiences with various make-up removal methods, and which one you prefer - wipes? oils? cleansers? leave it on and reapply the next day? ;)
