A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I was about to take part in the Escentual Micellar Blind Trial along with 99 other bloggers/skincare fanatics, and here I am with my thoughts on each of the 7 micellar water samples. I'm sure most of you will have heard about this trial already but for those of you that haven't, Escentual wanted to find out which was the best micellar water through blind testing as each brand name was unknown. The 7 micellar waters in the trial were:
♡ Dior Instant Cleansing Water
♡ Nuxe Micellar Cleansing Water with Rose Petals ♡ Caudalie Make-Up Remover Cleanser Water ♡ Avene Micellar Lotion Cleanser and Make-Up Remover ♡ La Roche-Posay Physiological Micellar Solution ♡ Bioderma Sensibio H20 Micelle Solution ♡ Vichy Purete Thermale Calming Cleansing Micellar Solution As I hadn't tried any of these products before I thought it would be even more of a blind trial as I really had no idea what to expect, but I've really enjoyed giving all of them a go and trying to figure out which one was the famous Bioderma. I've already filled out my online survey of my thoughts on each sample but wanted to write a little summary of each on my blog too. If you've also been taking part in the trial then I'd love to know which one was your favorite so please let me know! Now on to the samples.. Sample A - The first thing that hit me was the smell of this sample and I have to say that I really didn't like it. To me it just smelled so strongly of alcohol which put me off and had me wondering whether it would be gentle enough for my eyes. I liked the formula of this sample as it absorbed quickly into the skin and removed both excess dirt and makeup easily. It was even gentle enough for the eyes which really surprised me, and eye makeup was soon removed too. My skin was left feeling quite tight and blotchy after use but this soon calmed down. Sample B - I definitely preferred the scent of this water as it was a lot lighter and more on the floral side which always gets a thumbs up for me. I found this sample to be a bit foamy when it was added to the cotton pad but still smooth enough when swiped across the face. Excess dirt and a full face of makeup was once again removed quite well and my skin was left feeling smooth afterwards with no blotchy patches or irritation this time. Sample C - I loved the fruity/citrus scent of this micellar water as it really felt as though I was freshening up my skin and it wasn't too strong which was also nice. This sample felt gentle on the skin and smooth on application with my base makeup being removed fairly well. This sample had a tougher time removing my eye makeup and this took quite a while to remove completely. My skin was left feeling a bit dry afterwards which I didn't really like as I already suffer from quite dry skin, but moisturiser soon sorted this. Sample D - There wasn't much of a scent to this sample as I can only describe it as being fresh. Again the formula was smooth enough to apply but I found this water to have more trouble removing both base and eye makeup. Foundation took longer than expected to remove and took a fair amount of product to get this done, and stubborn eye makeup removal definitely wasn't the easiest with this sample as I really had to work hard to remove it all. My skin wasn't irritated or red after use but did feel a little bit tight. Sample E - This was my favorite sample. This water had a very slight scent which was really refreshing and felt lovely on the skin. The formula was again smooth and applied easily to the skin, with makeup being removed very quickly and easily. Foundation was removed with very little product being used on the cotton pad and I was surprised at how easily my eye makeup was removed. My skin felt really nice afterwards with no blotchy patches or tightness. Sample F - Again this sample had a very slight scent which I can only describe as being fresh (I'm sorry for my horrible descriptions). This micellar water removed makeup and excess dirt well, although stubborn mascara was more tricky and took a bit more work. My skin was left feeling fresh and clean with no tightening or redness, although it did appear a bit dry afterwards which was annoying. Sample G - The final sample again had a very faint scent and was gentle enough on the skin. I thought that this sample removed excess dirt fairly well but removal of my makeup wasn't so easy. Base makeup removal was ok but this micellar water really struggled to remove my eye makeup and although I thought it had finally budged (after using a lot of product), I was left with panda eyes the next morning which wasn't a very good sign. My skin felt a little tight after use and blotchy patches were quite a problem, although these soon calmed down.