Review: Escentual Micellar Water Trial Results

How coincidental that I should speak of the blind micellar trial set by Escentual and the results have just come in tonight! You'll perhaps recall I was sent 7 unbranded bottles of micellar water to try in 14 days. I gave myself two days per bottle, using morning (basic cleansing) and at night (usually removing makeup including eye makeup). As someone who hasn't tried any of these micellar water brands, it was a very interesting trial for me. I favour a wash-off cleanser for makeup removal usually, so the process of using cotton pads and the cleansing water was new for me.  I didn't try to guess which was which (although the rose one was a giveaway) and I jotted down notes of how each performed and slight comparisons with each other.
 
You can see the overall results here collated from the 100 beauty bloggers who took part, but here are my opinions.

Sample A (Dior Instant Cleansing Water): If I remember correctly I picked this as my overall favourite. It wasn't until the trial continued that I realised how much I'd liked the first one. I wasn't particularly keen on the scent, it smelt clinical/medicinal (reminded me of Rescue Remedy that my friend and I were hooked on during school exams a million years ago), although when applying it wasn't overly strong (note to self don't stick your nose in the bottle for a sniff). This one felt lightweight yet very hydrating and I was amazed at how it immediately calmed redness. I think it would be excellent for dry or dehydrated skin as it left skin feeling so supple.  When removing makeup, it took 4 pads for my face and two for the eyes and I still felt some makeup was left behind.
Overall: I couldn't be bothered with the hassle of using this to remove makeup, but for calming redness and leaving skin supple and hydrated for a basic cleanse, I'd definitely use again. 

Sample B (Nuxe Micellar Cleansing Water with Rose Petals): Obviously this one smelt of roses and quite strongly (so avoid if that's not your thing), personally it didn't bother me. I felt this wasn't as hydrating as A, but again it dramatically reduced redness (possibly even more than A). I felt it took off makeup easier than A, there seemed to be less effort. I used two eye pads and 2 1/2 pads for the face. It didn't leave skin feeling as moisturised as A, but was in no way drying either. I felt I noticed a reduction in wrinkles, perhaps my skin therefore looked plumper.
Overall: A good effort for makeup removal, although basic cleansing could be better. Great for those with skin concerns such as ageing and redness.

Sample C (Caudalie Makeup Remover Cleansing Water):  Prior to knowing the results, I'd taken a look at the general opinion on Twitter and blogs and everyone seemed to rave about sample C. I'd definitely put this as my least favourite, without a doubt. So that threw me that everyone else had such high opinions of it. The main concern with me was that it felt too dry. For basic cleansing it didn't feel at all moisturising and didn't do much to reduce redness. It smelt 'grassy' to me, I've now found out it's grape (!) but again it wasn't too strong when applying. Removing makeup was hopeless, it was just too dry to penetrate and do anything. This was the only sample, that I had to give up on removing makeup and opt for my usual cleanser instead.
Overall: I have nothing positive to say about this one, it felt drying and could not remove makeup. Personally I'd avoid this.

Sample D (Eau Thermale Avene Micellar Lotion, Cleanser & Makeup Remover): This had a really fresh and subtle scent. I didn't notice a reduction in redness, but it felt very gentle on the skin. This removes dirt you don't even know is there. You think your face is basically clean, but this just proves you wrong and I found that intriguing! Also did a good job at removing makeup including heavy eye makeup.
Overall: For me this is a good all rounder. It removes makeup well but is excellent at basic cleansing. For those that like to really see that the dirt has been cleansed away, this is the one for you.

Sample E (La Roche-Posay Physiological Micellar Solution): Again I wasn't enamoured with the scent, it smelt 'earthy', but you could barely smell it on the pad. While this one felt really refreshing, it also felt like it was just sitting on the skin rather than penetrating below the surface. It didn't remove nearly as much dirt as D, but I do think it calmed redness. When applying moisturiser over the top though it felt like it wasn't absorbed (felt 'slippy') and I really needed to work it in. Did a good job removing makeup, even heavy eye.
Overall: I wasn't quite sure this was doing anything below the skin surface and I didn't like the way my moisturiser felt over it. Excellent for removing makeup though.

Sample F (Bioderma Sensibio H20 Micelle Solution): The one reason I was pleased this was a blind trial was due to the hype surrounding Bioderma. I wanted to see if under a blind trial it would still come out on top. Of course the majority of testers (I'm sure) have tried this before so would perhaps be able to pick it out anyway. Indeed it did come overall favourite, so I guess that's not based purely on hype. I couldn't detect any scent in this one and found skin felt a little tacky/sticky to touch after cleansing. I didn't notice a change in redness but it felt refreshing enough. It was the best so far at removing makeup. Eye makeup literally melted away with absolutely no mess and yet it felt very gentle.
Overall: I'd buy this purely for use as makeup remover, it was brilliant, couldn't fault that.

Sample G (Vichy Purete Thermale Calming Cleansing Micellar Water): Again no noticeable scent with this one, although I did detect an 'earthy' after-scent. It removed dirt well in basic cleansing and I also noted a reduction in skin redness. It was excellent at removing makeup, even eyeshadow which I know usually stains.
Overall: Excellent makeup remover and good at basic cleansing if you can put up with the slightly earthy after-application-scent.

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Apparently Not The Big Escentual Haul

So I got all excited by the previous haul post and it took me weeks to work through all those photos and swatches. Then at the weekend, I place a sneaky Escentual haul, which turned out to be even more mega than the last one! I started off checking out their great deals on French pharmacy brands and trying to find a worthy replacement for my beloved Lancome Baume Eclat cleanser. Then this happened....
The parcel arrived yesterday where I promptly realised I'd bought an entire French pharmacy, oh yeah!  I started reading customer reviews on the site and it led to me checking out one thing after another.  Hopeful cleansers waiting to audition for the role of 'best makeup remover ever' are Dior Instant Gentle Cleansing Oil, Dior Gentle Cleansing Milk, Vichy One Step Cleanser and Avene Cleanance Gel.   
In the 'up to 1/3 off' deal were these water sprays.  Now I want to review all of these products at a later stage, I literally just took these photos when I opened the package yesterday, so haven't had time to try anything.  However, I used Vichy Thermal Spa Water Spray as a teenager and was amazed by it.  Now that my skin is misbehaving acne wise and that the gel my doctor gave me has left my face stinging, burning and flaking in places, I'm hoping these miracle waters will fix me right up!  As well as the Vichy one, I ordered Avene Thermale Spring Water and La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water.  Reading reviews led me to also try out the La Roche-Posay Effaclar K and Effaclar Duo moisturisers which apparently work wonders on acne prone skin.   
Another item I tried years ago was Clarins Energizing Emulsion for tired legs.  When I worked after-school on the perfume counter and had been a hectic day, I'd rub this into my legs on my break to refresh and soothe.  One of the great things about it is that it can be used over stockings (which was perfect for work).  It absorbs immediately, there's no waiting a fortnight for it to dry like body lotion.  I've recently had to increase my pain medication as my body has been aching more than usual, so I've already delved into this last night for my aching legs.

Finally, I picked up a few more makeup items.  I'd had the Clarins Joli Rouge (724 Simply Nude) and Dior Addict Extreme (316 Incognito) lipsticks on my wishlist for a while, but upon searching images for something else, I discovered the lovely Stila Long Wear Lip Color in In The Nude.  I also got the wonderful limited edition Stila After Glow Lip Color in Electric Pink for a friend.  These lip crayons actually glow under UV light, how cool is that?  I was going to get one for myself, despite the fact I doubt I would ever be under UV light (!), but I'd bought so many other things that I'll maybe get it next time.  I'm also in love with the Guerlain Maxi Lash mascara I tried a sample of recently, so will be picking one of those up next time too.  I'll have swatches of these items up soon and will get my second part of the other huge beauty haul up this week.