As I am getting older (I know I’m still very young), I am trying to be more responsible and attentive towards my skin, especially to prevent things from happening to it in the future. I am not shy of putting on a full face of makeup every day for work, so properly removing my makeup at the end of the night is very important. I am very much a creature of habit when it comes to skincare products because my skin can be very sensitive. When I find something that works and doesn’t irritate my skin, I tend to stick with it.

My old nighttime face routine would just consist of me wiping off my makeup with a makeup wipe. At the time, I thought the wipes were taking off all of my makeup. Oh, was I wrong! This is bad because I was basically still going to bed with makeup residue on my face, clogging my pores and/or causing me to breakout. Then I discovered micellar water. Since I wear a good layer of makeup on my face, I still wipe my makeup off with my wipes first, but now I follow up with micellar water on a cotton pad. It is amazing how much MORE makeup the water takes off. It really makes you feel clean and refreshed. Since I wear makeup almost on a daily basis, micellar water is great because it allows my skin to breath while staying hydrated without having to layer on moisturizer. If you are someone that wears minimal makeup, all you really need is micellar water to remove all of your makeup.

What is micellar water? Micellar water is made up of micelles, which are tiny balls of cleansing oil molecules, suspended in soft water. Micelles are attracted to dirt and oil, so they are able to draw out impurities without drying out the skin. Ideally, it is used as a facial wash, makeup remover and moisturizer all in one. Micellar water is great because it is different from a typical foamy face wash that can strip your skin and leave behind harsh chemicals, which will dry out your skin and make it feel stiff. Also, unlike many toners, micellar water does not contain alcohol and never stings.

I’ve tried two brands of micellar water so far – Garnier Skin Active Micellar Cleansing Water and Simple Micellar Cleansing Water. Although they both work very well, I feel that the Garnier one works slightly better. I did a test on my face by wiping one side with the Garnier one and the other side with the Simple one. I found myself needing to use more of the Simple water to achieve the same results as the Garnier side. It also struggled a bit when removing my waterproof mascara (sidenote: trick is to hold the cotton pad over your mascara to loosen it up before wiping away). The Garnier side felt smoother than the Simple side, although the Simple side didn’t feel sticky at all. Depending on the store, the Garnier micellar water retails for around $7 and the Simple micellar water retails for around $6. You’re honestly getting more bang for your buck with Garnier since you’re getting 13.5 fl oz, whereas with Simple, you’re only getting 6.7 fl oz.