Micellar waters changed the market back in 2012, when Garnier released a new cleansing water. Since then every brand, be that drugstore or high end has released their own version. And being the true detective that I am I thought I'd go through the hard labour of testing all of them. A hero I know. (kidding)

I've tried each one for about a week, to remove my make up in the morning, as well as for cleansing my face. During this time I did not use any other skin products (other than moisturiser) so I knew it was just the Micellar water working, keep reading for the results and verdict!
Simple Micellar Water Review







A few general comments

I bought all of these products from Asda, where they all had an incredibly similar price point. For that reason I am treating them equally. As these are all drugstores  and there's no real competitiveness when it comes to cost, with products going on special offer all the time and only really ranging from £2-£3 each time.

None of these products gave me good skin just by themselves. I'd strongly recommend always adding in extra steps. Some gave me better results than other's however.


Simple (Avaliable here




Let's start with the good points, out of all the products, it probably removed stubborn mascara the best. Which means it probably gave my face the best cleanse too! Like all simple products it was really gentle on my skin, with no stinging or irritation and when using it my T-zone ( which can be quite oily) remained balance, with no spots.

This didn't really do much for the rest of my skin though. I found my skin was a little dryer using this, perhaps because it gave such a good clean it rinsed out some of my natural oils? ( complete stab in the dark) I also wasn't crazy about the packaging. The frosted plastic effect didn't do much for me (although I think they've changed it now!) and I think that had it been in a clear bottle, I'd prefer it a bit more. It just looks a little cheap- not that it's really a deal breaker, but since I am reviewing each one, I think it's important to include!

Garnier ( available here



The original, and I'm sure some would argue the best! It's amazing at getting off heavy facial make up but struggles to just budge that little bit of stubborn waterproof mascara. I do think that this is the best value out of all of them (even though I said I wouldn't judge this) a little goes a very long way and there is a lot of product in a bottle.

Generally speaking I really like Garnier one. I always feel refreshed when I use it as well as clean. The packaging looks good and I completely understand why this is probably still considered the best. It's great for making your skin feel rehydrate and even more so refreshed. This works particularly well on tired skin ( in my case hungover) and is lovely in the morning to help wake up.

Nivea (available here


By far my least favourite of the bunch, The packaging leaves a lot to be desired and uses the frosted effect that simple does, The shape is just very average, with not much thought and just generally looks very cheap.

It doesn't even touch waterproof mascara ( I've heard Nivea's eye make up remover is amazing however, so don't let this put you off of trying that) and I have to use a lot of product to get it to remove all of my facial make up. It's not a terrible product but compared to the other's out there, Nivea need to up their game.

L'oreal (available here


La creme de la creme. The packaging looks so professional and it was done in a simple move of just making the packaging rectangular. My housemate saw all of my bottles and even commented that the L'oreal one looked a lot more expensive than the rest ( it wasn't).

But the main reason this one gets top marks is because it makes my skin feel so much softer when I used it, I have less dry skin in the area around my nose when I use it and it's great at removing all make up ( again struggles a little bit with waterproof mascara, but two goes gets ride of this).


So there's my verdict! L'oreal first, Garnier second, Simple a close third and Nivea quite far off fourth. Have you tried any of these?