Simple Cleansing Micellar Water Review

I was so excited to walk into Target last week and spot a Micellar Water by Simple Skincare! Born in France and widely available in Europe and Canada, Micellar Waters are no-rinse, soap-free cleansing waters that are gentle to the skin.  They're still relatively new in the US, although Vichy and La Roche Posay have versions that are available here.  The problem is, those are between $17 and $22, but this new one by Simple was only $6.99.  Let's take a look!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Micellar Waters, they're essentially water that contains Micelles (or fatty acid esters) that trap and whisk away makeup, dirt and pollutants from the skin (sort of like a Swiffer for your skin!). You apply the water with a cotton pad and there's no need to rinse afterward. The most popular brand worldwide seems to be Bioderma, based on all of the reviews and YouTube videos about it. I haven't tried it because it's not available in the US (unless I want to pay crazy international shipping costs).  Recently, Garnier released a version in the UK so we may see that here this Spring and I have a feeling that this is probably going to be a new trend in the US for 2015.

Ok, so back to Simple's version!  It claims to remove makeup and cleanse the skin, leaving it feeling clean and hydrated.  The instructions say to apply a generous amount to a cotton pad and wipe it all around your face without rubbing.

It comes with a flip-top cap for easy dispensing.  It looks and feels exactly like water and has no scent at all. It feels cool and soothing when you glide the cotton pad over your skin.  After a few minutes, your skin dries completely and feels moisturized and soft with no feeling of residue at all.

So how is it at removing makeup?  Well, I was able to remove my face makeup and eye makeup easily with the exception of my mascara and waterproof eyeliner. I used one cotton pad for my face and one for each eye, but I still had to go over my eyes with an eye makeup remover afterwards to remove the little bit of mascara and liner that remained. So for me, this isn't a one-step cleansing solution. 

But after several uses, I've found a couple of ways that I prefer to use this product: 

1. In place of a toner.  After my regular cleanse with water, there is often still a bit of makeup that remains.  So I use this afterwards to get rid of any residue. It refreshes my face and helps ease my dry skin of the tightness that results after washing my face with water and a cleanser.

2. In place of makeup removing wipes.  There are some nights when I'm just too tired to do a full wash at the sink and I normally reach for makeup removing wipes.  The problem with those is, they tend to leave my face with a bit of a sticky feeling.  So instead, I remove my eye makeup with my eye makeup remover (which can leave an oily residue) and then I go over my eyes again and the rest of my face with the Micellar water. It gets rid of the oily residue from the eye makeup remover and then removes my face makeup without the sticky feeling I get from wipes.

Overall, I've definitely found a place in my skincare routine for Simple Cleansing Micellar Water. Whether I'm doing a full cleanse, or just a quick makeup removal without water, I love how soft and smooth it makes my face feel while removing the majority of my makeup easily.  

Have you seen this at Target or any other drugstores yet?  Have you used Bioderma or any other Micellar water?  I'd love to hear how you use them and what you think of them!