Micellar water.
I've written about it before, but I'm about to write about it again.
Why? Because it's a magical tonic?
Yes.
Everybody, by this point in life, probably has a face wash to which they are loyal. I have been married to a few face washes in my lifetime: Aveeno Exfoliating Scrub, Clean and Clear Exfoliating Scrub, and Aveeno Foaming Cleanser.
But nothing, nothing, nothing compares to my micellar water. Because micellar water is my face wash AND my moisturizer.
(Especially since I found out that microbeads are about to be outlawed because of the way they slip through shower drains, don't dissolve, and kill the fish!)
Micellar water is the simplest cleanser out there, and, in my opinion, the healthiest for your face. The science behind it is really easy to understand. Micelles, which are just molecules of oil, attract impurities like dirt and makeup.
When you sweep a cotton round soaked with micellar water across your face, it's basically the skincare equivalent of a Swiffer: all those things you don't want? Sucked like a magnet onto the round.
In addition to cleansing your skin of all the stuff you don't want on it, it's also depositing healthy oil onto your skin, which is great for keeping your face young-looking. Normal cleansers strip your skin of makeup, but they also strip your skin of healthy oils, creating dryness and tightness.
The thing that sold me on micellar water was exactly what I'm about to show you, because it really is such an easy-to-grasp example of exactly how micellar water is more effective than other cleansers.
When I put on a full face of "everyday" makeup, I use:
- Moisturizer mixed with foundation
- Under-eye concealer
- Bone-colored eyeshadow on my brow bone
- Sand-colored eyeshadow in the crease of my eyelids
- Liquid eyeliner on my top lids
- Mascara on my top lashes
- Darker brown eyeshadow to fill in my brows
- Brow gel
- Blush
- Some kind of lip color
- Loose powder
...that sounds like a lot when I type it all out. Yikes.
Anyway, so for this experiment, I put on all of that makeup. I washed my face with Aveeno Foaming cleanser, then thoroughly removed my eye makeup with Neutrogena Oil Free Eye Makeup Remover.
Just so you can see that I've taken all my makeup off, I took a (really unfortunate) makeup-free bathroom selfie. You're welcome.
Hi.
Right.
Then, I soaked a cotton round in Caudalie Micellar Cleansing Water. (The bold text there is a link if you'd like to purchase some yourself!)
This is what was removed AFTER I washed my face and took my eye makeup off (I included a clean round for comparison):
I thought, "I wonder if there's anything else left..."
So I repeated the experiment and the second picture includes the SECOND round that collected makeup and dirt.
It's mind-boggling, honestly. Despite my face appearing to me squeaky-clean after washing, I still had enough junk on my skin to fill up one and a half cotton rounds. Ew.
The best part about this process? You just watched the entirety of it. Sweeping your face with cotton rounds = done. That's the whole thing.
You never wash your face with water. You just sweet micellar water over your skin twice a day (morning and night). Your face never gets dry - it just keeps getting better.
I use a homemade mask (coffee grounds, greek yogurt, lemon juice, and honey) once a week to exfoliate. Otherwise, it's all micellar water, all the time.
If you need more convincing (because I would - I like second opinions), read about it here and here. If you don't need more convincing, go buy you some daggum micellar water and prepare to be amazed.