Love and Hate | Bioderma Crealine H2O Micelle Solution

Err so my plan to get back in a blogging routine went out the window...When did the days go by so quickly? I was so sure I made the last post no more than a week ago! *sigh* Anyways, I'm going to share my opinions on a product that many of you guys were interested in a few hauls ago. Hope this can help someone out!!

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One product seemed to have taken the beauty world by storm recently, Bioderma Crealine H2O Micelle Solution. All the raves for it sparked my curiosity to try it for myself . However, Bioderma is not carried officially in the USA and I do try to limit myself from ordering beauty items online. When I saw that a beauty store in Chinatown started to carry this product and for a fair price (similar to that on Amazon), I decided I couldn't wait any longer to give the product a try.
This particular product I believe comes in 3 different sizes but all with the flip-top spout. The one I have is the largest. The packaging does the job but it could be a bit better. I think I'd prefer something other than this flip-top bottle because it is a little difficult to control where and how the liquid pours out. Sometimes it'll leak and drip down the sides. However! I do remember a blogger share that there is new packaging for these cleansing waters. Instead of a flip-top it has a pump (like those at Sephora) which I think would be the best for this type of liquid product.

Product Description (in French I presume):

 Ingredients:

I have consistently used Bioderma Crealine as my sole makeup remover for the past few months. I have to admit it was hard for me to decide whether  I liked this product or not. One of the main reasons being, I am a bit very bias towards a particular makeup removal method. I started my makeup and beauty journey being a cleansing oil girl. Cleansing oils are probably the quickest and most heavy duty makeup removers out there. So the switch to a cleansing water was very different for me.

Like with any other product, with the exceptions of maybe HGs, there are positives and negatives to the Bioderma Crealine.

Positives:
✔ very gentle
✔ not messy
✔ pleasant, light fruity scent
✔ doesn't sting or irritate my face or eyes
✔ leaves my skin feeling super soft and hydrated
✔ can remove some eye makeup (eyeshadows)
✔ doesn't leave a residue (when it dries down feels like when I don't have makeup on)
✔ not many of the common harmful ingredients (ex: parabens)
✔ very simple product & free of extra/unncessary additives (ex: fragrance & color)

Negatives:
✘ needs way too many cottons pads to remove all my makeup
✘ eyeliner and mascara removal takes a bit of effort
✘ rather pricey and difficult to get a hold of in the USA

But the reason why it ended up being a love and hate item on my list is because the pros and cons seem to balance out each other despite one list outnumbering the other.

I always found myself gravitating towards the cleansing water even though I had a bit of cleansing oil left that I was easily accessible. That must mean that I like it enough to keep going back to it right? Perhaps it's because I love how mess free and simple it is. Unlike most cleansing oils, this also does not leave my skin dried out or make it feel tight.
This was after (what I think) a light makeup day.
In terms of number of products it seems like a lot. But it was the amount of each that made it 'light',
Maybe not yet half a squirt of primer, a pea size amount of BB cream,
a bit of concealer, powder, blush, eyeshadow, and pencil eyeliner.
The problem really come from having to use so much more of the cleansing water and cotton rounds in order to get the job done and well. Regardless of whether it's a light or heavy makeup day, I could easily use 3+ cotton rounds (back & front) yet still have traces of yellow residue on the next cotton round. As for removing eye makeup, this only does a mediocre job. It isn't impossible but I would definitely recommend sticking to your favorite eye makeup remover for that task. It just boggles my mind to think of how much product and cotton rounds I could go through if I ended up really loving the Bioderma Crealine for makeup removal. Whenever I use this product to wipe off makeup, I feel like I must put in more effort to double cleanse afterwards with a cleanser.

While in the process of trying out this product, I came across a couple of bloggers/Youtubers who shared their experiences with this cleansing water. Some feelings were so-so, while others were negative. But their methods and suggestions on how they repurposed the product was very interesting.

Lifeandlensofbeauty mentioned that she started to wipe her face with the cleansing water AFTER a round of cleansing oil. For her, she found it was able to pick up more gunk and residue which I found fascinating. I gave it a try and didn't end up with much residue on the cotton pad. Perhaps this would be different depending on the cleansing oil. But it is definitely not a bad idea to take extra precautionary measures when it comes to makeup removal anyways.

Pinkiecharm on youtube mentioned she used this in the morning as a gentle cleanser rather than as a makeup remover. Of the two suggestions I came across, this one worked best for me and made the most sense. After my skin started to break out like crazy in the last half of the year, I have gotten to the point where I sometimes don't do anything to my skin to try to let it balance itself out. The problem is I always get a little annoyed because my skin feels so dirty and a bit oily but I don't want to further irritate it because I don't know what exactly is causing my breakouts. Now, using the cleansing water doesn't particularly help nor prevent my breakouts but it does ease my mind loads in terms of feeling clean.

Oh the troubles of having conflicting feelings. After thinking it over, for myself at least, the Bioderma Crealine H2O Micelle Solution will sadly not be replacing the role of cleansing oils in my makeup removing routine. But I may consider repurchasing this as a morning cleanser and as an precautionary makeup removal step depending on if my breakouts and skin gets any better with this addition to my routine. After finishing this I am also thinking of giving the oily-acne prone skin version (in the green packaging) a try. However, I heard that formulation was definitely more harsh in comparison to this, so I am going to have to think about that a little more.

Here are some sites that sell Bioderma for those who are curious and would like to try them out. They seem to sell for more or less in the $30s range online (sans shipping). I think outside of the USA, the deals are much better though. So if you get the chance to while abroad, you could always grab yourself a bottle then!
Sasa (It goes by Sensibio instead of Crealine)
Imomoko
oo35mm
Amazon

Nonetheless, I still wonder why so many people love it as a makeup remover. Is there a trick to using this that I am not getting? How do you use this product? Please share your routine down to the number of swipes and direction of wiping you make! Perhaps I am doing something wrong... For those who have yet to test this product, do you still think you will still give it a go?

Giveaway Package from Makeup Kismet

I'm sorry for being MIA for all of May. School got the better of me and I ended up neglecting the blogging world. But now I'm back! Even though I signed myself up for the summer session, hopefully I will still be able to get back into a blogging routine!
BOTTOM: Stila Daydream Palette, Canmake Cream Cheek No. 6 - Nut Cream, Kiehl's Lip Balm #1
On the last day of my finals, I received an email from Ashley of Makeup Kismet for winning her Stila giveaway. What great news to start my summer with right? I haven't started to use any of these goodies yet but I cannot wait to, especially the Canmake Cream Cheek (even though that isn't suppose to be the star of the giveaway). What can I say? I really like my other Canmake Cream Cheek blush. But I'm a little weary of how this bronzer color has shimmers in it though. Does anyone have any tips for those type of bronzing products?

Vaseline Spray & Go Moisturizer - Oat

I think I have mentioned this before, but I am not much of a body lotion user. Despite having very dry skin in the colder months, I hate how most lotions take forever to sink into my skin. Standing in the bathroom unclothed in the winter is not a very pleasant experience! Neither is having to put on clothes when lotion is still wet on the body.

When I saw this product in the Sugar 'N Spice VoxBox, I was both skeptically and excited. The way the product is housed reminded me of the spray on sunscreens. The feature I liked of those were how easy it was to just spray on sun protection and not have to rub anything in. However, I just wasn't sure how necessary it is for a lotion to be in a spray on form.

Unlike the name, I don't think this is necessarily a product where you can literally Spray & Go like how you could with a spray on sunscreen. After you apply this lotion onto your skin, you definitely do need to rub it in like you would need to for any other body lotion.

Ingredients:

One of the downsides I saw to the spray can was that it was definitely messy. When I used this moisturizer in my room and sprayed the product directly onto my arms and legs, some of the product would miss my body which ultimately landed on my furniture and floor. But because the product has a slipperiness to it, the product made the floor slippery to a certain degree. I would definitely recommend this to be used inside the bathroom or best inside the shower. I searched around for other reviews and others suggested to spray it into the palm of the hands first and then apply it like a typical lotion. Although this is a way to fix the problem, it kind of defeats the purpose of having it be a spray on lotion doesn't it?

Even though on the bottle it claims to be non-greasy I found it to not be completely true. When compared to other lotions, after the Vaseline lotion sinks into the skin and if I touch my skin it definitely will not feel greasy. However, when I picked up my arms after I had rested them on my desk there will be a greasy mark on the table. Luckily the grease stain does goes away after a while.
How the lotion looks sprayed straight onto my arm
This product is very different from any body lotion I have ever used. Typically the ones I am used to have a thicker and more cream like texture, even if it is dispensed through a pump bottle. The best way to describe the consistency of this body lotion is like that of liquid ice cream (but less sticky). Or if that is a little too weird, it is most similar to that of the milky lotions (such as the ones by Hada Labo or Juju Aquamoist). The product is very liquidy and runny, hence it is also very light. There are good and bad points to this feature. Yes, my skin does absorb the lotion really quickly and (like the bottle says) I can put my clothes on right away. But for my dry skin, this light lotion just isn't enough. Perhaps for those with normal-dry skin this will work better or even for anyone in the warmer weather when your skin isn't craving as much moisture.

There is a slight scent to it but it is nothing too overpowering. I have only used this lotion a few of times since I got it so I cannot really say how long one can will last. But since this is a metal spray bottle, it is kind of difficult to tell when I will run out of product. Of all the different products that have come in the VoxBoxes, this is probably one of the few that I still have not really seen in stores yet. (It could just be the stores in my area though.)

According to Influenster, one 6.5oz canister sells for about $7.99. There are two other variations: Aloe and Cocoa Butter. It seems to be quite expensive though just because it is in a spray form, especially when there is only 6.5oz of product per can. I did a quick browse on a few drugstore's websites and found that the typical pump dispensed lotions fall into the $5.99-$8.99 range while offering 2x the product per bottle.

I'm probably going to save it for the summer months because it doesn't do much for my dry winter skin. As for whether I will repurchase or not really would depend on if there is or isn't a good sale available for it.

What do you think? Would you give this product a try? Have it tried it before? What are your thoughts about it?
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