Micellar water à la Caudalie

Micellar waters were all the rave last year, and I even did a Face Off between products from four different brands that I had tried, but since then the hype has died down a little bit. The concept of micellar waters is excellent and it's a quick and easy way to get rid of make up, although for me they have never actually replaced a more heavy duty cleanser, and I tend to only use micellar solutions in the morning for a quick and gentle cleanse or as a full face cleanser when I'm traveling. Although every self respecting brand now has their version of micellar water, I just don't get as excited about them anymore as I did in the beginning - at least that was until I tried the Caudalie Make-up Remover Cleansing Water (£14.25 for 200 ml). It comes in a practical plastic bottle with a handy dispenser to make sure you only get the amount you need and it has wonderful, clean, fresh and "green" scent that is really refreshing. As with all Caudalie products the cleansing water uses ingredients from grapes and vines which are well known for being rich in anti-ageing properties, but it also contains camomile - another ingredient that you often see used in skin care because of its cleansing, moisturising, soothing and healing properties.

So it's a sweet smelling product with wonderful skin care ingredients, but does it actually do anything? YES!!!! Despite being such a gentle cleanser, it's very effective and removing both eye makeup and face makeup. If you soak a cotton pad with the solution, leave it on your eyelids for a few seconds, it dissolves every trace of makeup and even the smokiest of looks will be wiped away gently without any need for tugging or rubbing of the eyelids. Don't worry if you should get a bit of cleansing water in your eyes, it doesn't sting or irritate in any way and since it's so gentle this product is great even for very sensitive skin. When you've wiped away all the makeup your skin will feel very clean, soothed and refreshed without any dry sensation. It's a lovely cleansing water and it feels so relaxing that sometimes I even leave two cotton pads soaked with it on my eyes while I'm enjoying a nice pampering bath to treat the delicate eye area. If like me you're a bit blasé over micellar solutions, try the Caudalie Make-up Remover Cleansing Water and be prepared to get wowed and excited over micellar waters all over again.