Fancy name for a bottle of stuff that looks pretty much like clear water, eh? ;-)

Well, it's got to be a little bit more than just water, or I wouldn’t be going through this stuff like crazy. (I'm on my fifth bottle already.)

Makeup removers I’ve tried so far, be they creams, milks or lotions, have all had one thing in common, no matter how careful I was. Never mind the occasional burning and stinging in my eyes: every time I tried to remove my makeup with them, I was also bound to keep stumbling around the flat in a half-blind state for a few hours, until by some divine miracle I managed to blink the last remains of the offending stuff out of my poor, tortured eyes. A few liters of tears were also shed in the process, and by the end of the whole ordeal I was ready to swear never to put on makeup again.

Not so with Sensibio H2O: I pour some onto a cotton pad, swipe it on/ my eyes a few times, and my makeup is gone, while aforementioned eyes remain intact.
It also performs perfectly when removing foundation: just one swipe and it’s all gone. I like to use this one first and take most of my foundation off my skin, before going over the rest with some cleansing oil (mine is the Almond-Apple Cleansing Oil from L’Occitane), because in all honesty I don’t exactly fancy rubbing all that grime and powder into my face. (It’s just yucky…) So I take off the foundation with Sensibio H2O, and use the cleansing oil mostly to just remove what remains of it and my sunscreen. Afterwards, I use my favorite cleansing gel to get my skin squeaky clean and I’m set. :)

Bioderma has 3 micellar cleansers, one in each of their skincare line: Sensibio H2O (for sensitive skin), Sebium H2O (for oily, problem skin) and Hydrabio H2O (for normal/dry skin).

So far I’ve only tried the first two, and though the condition of my skin would require me to use the Sebium line, I’ll stick to Sensibio for 2 reasons:

1. Everything in the Sebium line is scented,
2. and its micellar cleanser doesn’t remove makeup as thoroughly as that of the Sensibio line.

(Also, I don’t really buy that stuff about needing to pick all items of my skincare regime from the same brand and line, sooo…)

I admit, in the beginning I was skeptical about this whole not-needing-to-wash-my-face-at-all-after-using-a-micellar-cleanser talk, aaaand… I still am. Sorry, I might be old-fashioned, but I’m never going to adopt a “sans-water” cleansing method if there’s a way to avoid it. My skin just doesn’t feel clean enough that way, no matter how much cleanser and how many cotton pads I use, and I do need that almost squeaky-clean feeling only water can provide.

Nevertheless, Bioderma’s Sensibio H2O micellar cleanser is really one of the best things that have ever happened to me: removing makeup is a cinch now and my eyes have also stopped complaining. Its only shortcoming is that it doesn’t last very long, while at the same time it’s a bit pricey, but it gives me exactly what I need from a cleanser, so I won’t take off points for that. ;-)

Where to get it: in pharmacies and online stores

Price&Amount: ~3600 HUF for 250 ml and ~4500 HUF for 500 ml (I haven't come across the 125 ml size bottle in Hungary yet: as far as I know, it's not available here.)


Sensibio H2O: WATER (AQUA), PEG-6 CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC GLYCERIDES, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, CUCUMIS SATIVUS (CUCUMBER) FRUIT EXTRACT, MANNITOL, XYLITOL, RHAMNOSE, FRUCTOOLIGOSACCHARIDES, DISODIUM EDTA, CETRIMONIUM BROMIDE.

Sebium H2O: WATER (AQUA), PEG-6 CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC GLYCERIDES, SODIUM CITRATE , ZINC GLUCONATE, COPPER SULFATE, GINKGO BILOBA EXTRACT, MANNITOL, XYLITOL, RHAMNOSE, FRUCTOOLIGOSACCHARIDES, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, CITRIC ACID, DISODIUM EDTA, CETRIMONIUM BROMIDE, FRAGRANCE (PARFUM).

My ratings:
Sensibio H2O: 5 out of 5
Sebium H2O: 4 out of 5