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9th November 2018
11:09am GMT
Taking off your face should be refreshing, easy and satisfying, not stressful, uncomfortable and a lot of effort.
I have a confession: Up until last week, I was a daemon for makeup wipes.
I think it was a mixture between laziness and the fact that I feel like "I'm too busy to be wiping my face with 100 cotton pads for twenty minutes."
I'm getting older however and my fresh-faced, young skin is starting to crease. I need to start taking better care of myself and my skin and doing it through Tried And Tested seems like the best way - so you won't have to make the same mistakes that I did.
I did my research and I shopped around and it seemed that all of my family and friends were using micellar water so I said I'd hop on that bandwagon.
Micellar water is meant to draw out all the oil and dirt that can be found on the surface of your skin and rinse your pores as well as removing make up with ease.
I was going to do one very cheap, one reasonably priced and one expensive but I decided that it would probably be more of interest if I stuck to the ones that are readily available and that you're most likely going to buy.
I chose a bottle from the Cien beauty section in Lidl, the new MicellAIR Professional Micellar Water from Nivea and the OG, Micellar water from Garnier.
Each night I removed my makeup with a different product and I compared them based on ease, texture, how my face felt directly after and how clear my skin felt.
Use: Out of the three bottle shapes, I think this was my favourite.
It has a pump on top so you can just press your cotton pad against it quickly and easily. Because the top was wide and circular it filled the pad with formula, the perfect amount as well, without any hassle.
The water itself was good but it definitely wasn't as good as the other two, it is a good bit cheaper so I guess you get what you pay for. It was good though, it removed everything on my face without having to scrub around small crevices and corners.
It took me three cotton pads to remove my makeup with this formula.
Face: My face did feel a little big raw after using the water, I grabbed for my moisturiser almost instantly after use. I liked however, that it wasn't oily and there didn't seem to be any of it left on my face.
Use: The first thing I noticed about this water was that it felt much dryer and lightweight than the Cien brand.
It had no smell at all, which I thought I wouldn't like but I really did because I felt clean and shiny. It was much easier to take my makeup off and it didn't smudge across my face, it came directly off and onto the cotton pad, which is key.
This was probably my least favourite bottle model of the three. It had a screw on top which is just a bit of an effort to remove and put back on plus I'm a clutz so I'm guaranteed to lose it and if it's lost, I'll never be able to bring it out of my house.
Two cotton pads and my entire face was off.
Face: My face felt much fresher than the previous day and I wasn't screaming for my moisturiser directly after.
Their was no irritation or residue leftover.
Use: Being the OG, the first micellar water I ever came across, my standards for Garnier were pretty high.
This water was similar to the Cien brand, it was more watery than the Nivea brand. It did take off my makeup with ease but I felt in some areas like around my nostrils it bubbled up a little.
It took three cotton pads to remove my makeup fully.
Face: My skin felt nice and fresh after use, maybe a little dehydrated and dry but nothing too extreme.
After my three-day experiment, I've definitely been converted to micellar water.
Makeup wipes are a thing of the past.
So which is best?
Well, I think all three had there own benefits.
In terms of value, you can't beat Lidl. The bottle model from Lidl was also my favourite because it made the makeup removing process very easy.
Nivea was probably my favourite solution, it was the easiest formula to use and my skin felt best after it.
Garnier is a reliable one, you know exactly what you're gunna get.
Of course, there are probably much better lotions and potions out there that cost a bomb and are made from snail slime or something but I'm just glad to be binning a bad routine and starting to look after my skin.
READ MORE: TRIED & TESTED: I GAVE THE MAKEUP FAIRY'S GLAMFAM PRODUCTS A GO