Sponsored post in collaboration with Bloggers Club and Garnier

Paris brings us love, iconic landmarks and luxurious fashion, but that's not all the City of Lights is renowned for. French women swear by their cult skincare brands, some of which invented micellar water. It's become a staple in many a girl's routine, not only for being a saviour after a long night out, but also because it dissolves away your makeup like nothing else.

Micellar waters have a fancy name, but they're really quite a simple product. They're cleansers that contain micelles (microscopic oil spheres) which work to dissolve away product. They usually are designed for sensitive skin and as a result contain no harsh chemicals or ingredients which aggravate the skin. As their name would suggest, they are extremely lightweight and often feel quite refreshing on the skin. Combined with cotton pads or cotton buds, you have a match made in heaven.

Until quite recently, micellar waters have been more difficult to get your hands on here in New Zealand, but those days are now over that the Garnier Micellar Water is available here. It's suitable for all skin types and is not scented so it is gentle enough for the most sensitive of skin. You can apply it on a cotton pad and sweep it over your face to remove all your foundation, concealer and eye makeup too. Flip the pad over if you're doing your eye makeup because if you're like me and love eyeshadow, then a lot of makeup is bound to need removing. You can also use the Garnier Micellar water to fix up any makeup mistakes you might make. Simply pour some on to a cotton bud if your liquid liner gets a bit messy or if you get mascara everywhere. It's a godsend.

If you're yet to try Micellar Water then you should give this one from Garnier a try. At $12.99, it's not going to put too much of a dent in your wallet and you barely need any per application, so it'll last you ages. If you don't have time for a thorough cleanse but don't want to sleep in your makeup then this will be perfect for you. I've been using micellar waters for nearly two years now and would be simply lost without them. Believe the hype because these are a fantastic product. 

*Have you tried Micellar Waters before? What did you think of them?

Makeup removers are a blessing in disguise at the end of a long day when all you want to do is wipe it straight off. Maybe that's just me. Micellar waters, bi-phase removers and just your standard makeup removers leave us simply spoilt for choice. There's plenty available to suit a range of budgets but which really come out on top? I've tested some drugstore and more luxe offerings against one another and here is what I found...

Drugstore

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water-This micellar water is very popular given its status as a 'dupe' for Bioderma. As a result it seems to be out of stock quite often online and as it is unavailable in NZ, this is where you have to head to pick it up. Now I've been using Bioderma for a while and as you'll see by the cotton pads, there really is not that much difference between the two. It even feels the same on the skin and is super gentle. This is great considering 500ml of Bioderma comes in around $30. If you want something that's a bit friendlier on the wallet I'd consider ordering this online or picking it up in store.

Maybelline Makeup Remover*-Maybelline's recent offering is designed to remove eye and lip makeup. For this post I've only used it on my eyes and as you can see it managed to get a fair amount of my mascara off and also the eyeshadow. I felt like this is not as gentle as The Body Shop remover I'll talk about shortly but it still does a decent enough job at removing eye makeup. You just have to work a bit more at getting it off.

Luxe

Side note: I don't really want to call this high-end because while these removers are more expensive, they're not really products that are outrageously pricy. Moving on..

Bioderma Sensibio Micellar Solution-Ahh the cult classic, the top dog of micellar waters if you will. Bioderma is notoriously difficult to get hold of generally but it is available on Escentual and I have spotted it in some Asian boutique stores in Auckland. As you can see it took a smidgen more of my makeup off than the Garnier one did. I should also point out I had more concealer on this side of my face than the other. Again, it is ridiculously gentle and I often use this on my lips too to remove lipstick and it doesn't irritate them whatsoever.

The Body Shop Waterproof Camomile Eye and Lip Makeup Remover-Longest name ever!? I suppose we can let this one slide because this eye makeup remover does not disappoint. The fact that it is part oil, part cleansing water means it breaks down makeup with ease and again feels incredibly gentle on the eyes. This gets rid of mascara like nobody's business.

Overall Winners:

Face-This one's hard..because I feel like if I blind-tested these two I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. With that in mind I'd say the Garnier Micellar Water is just as good as Bioderma. It's a lot easier to get hold of and with 400ml of product for $10 you're saving yourself a fair bit of money with this one. If you are interested in Bioderma though, I would recommend getting it when it's on offer from Escentual. They often discount their French pharmacy brands throughout the year.

Eyes-The Body Shop remover is still a winner for me mainly because it feels gentler on the eyes and not like you're being as rough when removing makeup. It's not as affordable as Maybelline's but it's still a lot cheaper than some of the higher-end offerings like Clarins'. 

-Have you tried any of these makeup removers before? What did you think of them?

*PR Sample

Some of my beauty essentials.

Face

-Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream, $54 for 30mL. This cream is super moisturising & combats dry skin. I use it twice daily but if your skin isn't prone to dryness you could get away with one application per day. This product was in my August Favourites post so if you want to read more about it you can there.