L'Oreal Paris Tripla Attiva Soft Acqua Micellare

Micellar water has made a huge appearance in the beauty market after Bioderma gained huge props a few months ago and since then I've seen lots of rave reviews about all of the drugstore alternatives coming out in Europe. Not even having access to Bioderma, or any other micellar water formula that I know of, in the States, I was surprised when I came across the L'Oreal Paris Micellar Water while randomly perusing a profumerie in Rome. I wasn't quite sure what micellar water was though I had heard of it, but from what I understand it's basically a cleanser-meets-toner-meets-makeup remover, which sounds absolutely awesome so I went back to pick up a bottle for myself to test what all this hype's about. I've never really been that into skincare, but with my eczema fluctuating between embarrassingly awful thanks to the cold weather and somewhat bearable on a normal basis I think it's time I start taking better care. I'm not ready to start purchasing high-end toners and whatnot yet, but I figured this would be a good first step: proper makeup removal and the promises of clearer skin in a bottle.

Naturally, being in Italy, what I bought isn't called micellar water, but it is the Tripla Attiva Soft Acqua Micellare Pura Detergente Delicata. Yikes, what a mouthful! I don't think this is the original formula, but rather the "Triple Active Soft" might be more similar to what is called the "Sublime Soft" in UK releases. Translating all of the Italian descriptions, it claims to remove makeup and soothe the skin without scrubbing or rinsing, promising total effectiveness with extreme delicacy because this non-scented and non-alcoholic, hypoallergenic, "skin-perfecting" formula is for dry and sensitive skin. According to the packaging in a single gesture the aqua crystallines will remove makeup and impurities to reveal better quality skin, silky, sublime, and smooth to the touch.

These photos are from the first time I used the product. As you can see I've got some eyeshadow, eyeliner, and waterproof mascara on. I poured some of the water onto the cotton pad and placed it on my eyelid for about 8-10 seconds before wiping across, and lo and behold it actually took off my makeup! I wasn't really expecting much to happen from this magical micellar water stuff, but this is so much easier than greasing up my hands with my Ponds Cold Cream and trying to get the oily grime and skin impurities out with a foaming cleanser afterwards. I swiped back over my lid a few times just for good measure, and it seemed to remove most if not all of the gunk. I also did the other eye and then took it around my face. Upon first touch my face felt a bit sticky, especially around the eyes where I concentrated the most, but it dried pretty quickly and didn't feel like there was any residue. My skin doesn't feel extremely smoothed and "perfected" after using this, but it did make removing makeup a whole lot easier than whatever I've been doing before.

I've used it a couple more times since purchasing and I must say, I like this micellar water stuff. I'm not sure if it's gotten deep into all that darn waterproof mascara (or maybe I just packed it on super heavy) every time I've used it, but for general easy use purposes I really enjoy it. It's a quick fix to my lazy nighttime routine and I feel like it's so much more effective than trying to scrub away with foaming cleansers and creams like I mentioned before. I haven't woken up with panda eyes and my face does feel refreshed after getting all of that makeup off in a couple easy swipes. I'm not completely devoted to it yet, but I do see why so many people like using micellar waters as their everyday cleansers. I hope (and I'm sure) micellar waters will start popping up in American drugstores soon so I can say bye bye to my old routine for good, and don't need to stock my suitcase full of these bottles before I leave the E.U.

Have you tried any micellar waters before? What are some of the holy grail cleansing items you've discovered for bettering your skin?