Truth be told, I’m not your biggest fan of micellar waters or cleansing waters. I know they are all the rage, with Bioderma Sensibio taking centrestage for many (Bioderma is now available locally. I’ve seen it in Guardian pharmacies but the prices are jaw-droppingly high! I’d never buy any of their products here sorry to say. Wanting me to pay over RM200 for a sunscreen I’m not even sure is that great is just crazy. I’ll buy online instead) Ahem! Moving on… 😀
Personally, I found that I preferred using Caudalie’s cleansing water, and since if I do use cleansing waters, I only use it to remove face makeup and then move on with my double cleansing routine, I’m not really that fussed about how efficient they are as a one stop cleaner-remover-thingy. But I recently tried this one from Dr. Brandt and I must say that despite my scepticism, this Xtend Your Youth Dual Fusion Water is very nice.
What I liked about this Dr. Brandt Dual Fusion Water is how gentle it is against my skin and yet how effective it is at removing most of my makeup at the end of the day without using a lot of product.
The product comes in a plastic bottle and the liquid is a strange yellowish shade which would have looked nicer if it was clear but I guess they have their reasons for choosing this colour. It comes with a flip top cap that doesn’t over-pour product onto your cotton pad. When something is as pricey as this one is, it matters not to waste a single drop!
To use this, I just saturate a piece of cotton pad and wipe it over my face to remove my facial makeup. You are also supposed to be able to use it around the eyes, it’s gentle enough, but I choose not to. I just prefer using separate eye makeup removers because for the most part, my liners and mascara (when I wear them) are waterproof and I’d like to minimize all the tugging and rubbing that’s wont to happen when you have a product that isn’t as efficient as a proper waterproof makeup remover.
As a makeup remover for my face makeup, I find it very efficient. I don’t have to wet the whole cotton pad for it to work so I actually don’t use as much product as I do with Caudalie or Bioderma cleansing waters. It cleans my skin very well and doesn’t leave a residue which to me, is important although I do proceed to double cleanse so even if there is a residue it doesn’t matter.
The instructions say to use this to cleanse your skin and remove makeup and then not to rinse. Personally, I just wouldn’t do it because it’s taking the lazy way out of a proper skin cleanse. You can do it once in a while if you’re home late and don’t want to go through the whole rigmarole of cleansing, but I would never recommend using a cleansing water in place of a proper cleansing routine. So, no matter what you’re using, please do not think that cleansing waters replaces using a proper cleanser at the end of the day. Do a proper cleanse. Your skin will thank you for it in later years /nagging
I do find however, that when I use this cleansing water, when I do rinse my face in the shower, I don’t find my skin getting slippery the way it does when I use Bioderma or Caudalie. That usually tells me that there’s quite a lot of residue left on my skin and it kinda scares me. It doesn’t strip my skin nor leave it feeling dry and tight and it actually feels clean and comfortable and refreshed I would like this a lot if it was a little more affordable.
IN A NUTSHELL
The Dr. Brandt Xtend Your Youth Dual Fusion Water is a cleansing water that you can use to remove makeup and cleanse your skin in one step. While I personally will not use it as a one step cleanser and makeup remover, I have to admit that it does a pretty good job at removing most makeup. It doesn’t work well for waterproof makeup especially around the eyes but then I do use a separate makeup remover for the eyes. For the face, it’s ace and doesn’t need a lot of product to get my skin clean and feeling refreshed and comfortable. I do however double cleanse thereafter so I cannot vouch for how well it behaves as a cleanser but I do note that there is little residue left on my skin when I do rinse my face so I would tend to prefer this one over others I have tried to date. The main snag is the pricetag which I find a little high but if you only use this once a day like I do, you can make it last a while. This picture was taken after about a month’s use and you can see I’ve got lots more to go!
PROS: Gentle, Removes most non-waterproof makeup quite quickly and easily, Do not have to use a lot of product, Leaves skin feeling clean and comfortable without too much residue
CONS: Pricey
WHO WILL LIKE THIS: Anyone who wants a gentle cleansing water that effectively removes face makeup and leaves skin feeling clean and refreshed without too much residue
Here is the ingredient list for those of you who are curious.
This retails at RM139 for 120ml which is rather pricey for a cleanser, but in the big scheme of things, not too pricey for something that’s this efficient yet gentle and comfortable. That said, work within your budget because we all have different price pain thresholds 🙂
Have you tried this Dr. Brandt cleansing water? Do you regularly use cleansing waters?
I do use cleansing waters since I have them and want to finish them up but I only use them to remove my face makeup, never as an all-in-one cleanser. It just feels icky not to properly cleanse my skin or at least rinse my face after that. But that’s me of course. I’m particular about these things 🙂
Paris B
Dr. Brandt Xtend Your Youth Dual Fusion Water Price: RM139/120ml Availability: Kens Apothecary and Sephora stores and online
How interesting! I really like using bioderma micellar water and I use it as part of my cleansing routine to remove trace makeup that my makeup remover missed. I hope we get this here in Australia when Sephora opens in December(ish?)! I’d be interested to try it ^_^!
Ooh it might be in Sephora although if you already like using Bioderma then it won’t make sense to try this Dr. Brandt one which will likely be pricier! haha…
I swear by my Bioderma as I don’t wear heavy makeup everyday, its gentle enough for everyday use to remove light makeup….infact I hardly wear makeup on daily basis but on days when I do..i love my Clinique balm cleanser..its fantastic!
Won’t knock Bioderma cleansing water, it’s not bad really for what it does, and it’s fairly affordable if purchased from Europe. But I’m just really appalled by the local prices and because I wasn’t too thrilled with it, I guess it just snowballed haha!
It’s funny – while I get why someone would use Bioderma to remove eye makeup (because it’s oh so gentle) I wouldn’t use it to remove other face makeup because you need to use soooo much product (I like to keep wiping my face over with a flat cotton pad until it’s totally clean and nothing shows up on the cotton). BUT I love using it to cleanse with in the mornings when I’m running low on time and don’t want to cleanse using water (it that case two cotton pads will do and my bottle of Bioderma lasts for a long time!). I cant say I’d be tempted to try an even more expensive cleansing water (essentially)!
LOL I’m the total opposite! I find it easier using a dedicated waterproof makeup remover for the eye area and because I don’t wear mascara anymore, it’s quite easy to get everything off. I don’t find myself using much more than usual for the face but then I do use it as a pre-cleanse so maybe that’s why I find that it works for me. I think cleansing waters work differently for different people but I can understand why it is useful to have on hand. It’s so much easier than wrestling with cleansing milk or lotions!
I do like micellar waters when I feel my skin is a bit stripped from the cleansing oils I use, so I’ll check this one out!