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.
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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?
Perhaps this is HG?
I tried a bunch of eyeliners that many on the blogging and Youtube community raved about. Sadly none really gave me the same great results that everyone else had. I got this trio on a whim a LONG time ago and actually forgot about them! At the time and for a period after, I did not bother with eye makeup of any sort. But after realizing how much I had been neglecting my eye makeup collection and finally paid some attention to these guys, I found that I was completely missing out on a good product the whole time.
This set that I got is from a couple of years ago. I know that Physician's Formula recently just promoted the Nude Eyes line, but I am not sure if these eyeliner colors are the still the same or not. Comparing from the photo on their website it looks to be about the same. Don't fret if you're looking for something more smokey or a variety of colors. Although it isn't much they do offer gray, blue, purple, and green. The common themes with these Physician's Formula eyeliners seem to be they target eye colors & there is a black liner in all the trios.
Ingredients:
Cyclopentasiloxane. Trimethylsiloxysilicate. Polyethylene. Ozokerite. Lauroyl Lysine. Synthetic Beeswax. Octyldodecanol. Disteardimonium Hectorite. Propylene Carbonate. Lecithin. Ascorbyl Palmitate. Citric Acid. Tocopherol. May Contain: Iron Oxides. Titanium Dioxide. Mica. Aluminum Powder. Bismuth Oxychloride. Black 2. Blue 1 Lake. Carmine. Chromium Hydroxide Green. Chromium Oxide Greens. Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide. Ferric Ferrocyanide. Manganese Violet. Silica. Tin Oxide. Ultramarines. Yellow 5 Lake.
The ingredients list is relatively short. Most of these aren't ones that I understand. Some that I remember reading/hearing are Bismuth Oxychloride, Mica, and Silica. If anyone is allergic to these, be careful! As far as fragrance and parabens go, this product is free of them (as the company claims).
Packaging:
I absolutely love that this is a retractable eyeliner. I wouldn't mind sharpening a pencil liner if it worked well for me. But having something that I don't need to sharpen at all is great! This product actually comes with a built in sharpener that I rarely use. I don't go for a defined eyeliner look anyway so a short stubby eyeliner is fine by me! The downside to having a retractable liner is the plastic packaging. It isn't the most eco-friendly but there doesn't seem to be a way around it while still being retractable.
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| Black |
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| Pewter |
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| Champagne |
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Champagne (top row), Pewter (middle row), Black (bottom row)
left column: Swatched 2-3 times, about how I would apply on my eye normally
middle column: Swatched heavily to show the colors
right column: Swatched once |
There is sparklies/glitter in all 3 eyeliner colors in this trio. I actually don't mind the glitter because it isn't too apparent. It shows more in Pewter and Champagne than in Black. I tend to reach for Pewter most often. I barely even use Champagne because it doesn't show up well when I apply it on my upper lashes. It's probably best to use this on the lower lash/water line. (That is something I have yet to do...baby steps!)
Smudging, transferring, panda eyes, flaking...you name it, that's how the other eyeliners (pencil, gel, & liquid) worked for me! I thought it was just that my eyes were too watery for eyeliner altogether. But come to find it was just the formula of a product that made the world's difference!
The formula of these is drier than other eyeliners I have tried. I think it is also waxier? After seeing the ingredients list I think this may be because of the synthetic beeswax in it. I think this is the main reason why I didn't experience smudging with this. I know...But creamy eyeliners are the best! There's no tugging when you apply it. The only problem for me is, I don't think creamy eyeliners & my eye shape works well. Usually, with the others, they smudge from the upper to lower lashes within the hour of applying. I don't usually set my eyeliner. Thinking back, I assume that would have helped a lot. But...FUSS FREE IS KEY! Despite the drier product, these eyeliners were actually not that difficult to apply. It kind of warms up a bit and glides pretty smoothly onto my lids.
After rubbing a bit with some cleansing oil and rinsing, there is still some eyeliner stubbornly stuck on there. If I remember correctly, that actually stayed on my arms for another day or two. Why I'm not sure myself. I would think a shower should have cleaned it off but apparently, I didn't scrub enough that day. I think this is sufficient enough to show how well it could last on my eyes. Again, I don't set the product and I can easily wear this pretty much all day with only some fading. If I had really watery eyes or blinked more than what I normally do (which is already quite a lot) then there may sometimes be some transferring of it onto my lower lash line.
My biggest gripe is this product ONLY comes in a set of three. Even with the other sets, I think I would only regularly use one (two depending on the set) of the three colors at most. If I wanted all the other colors, I would end up with way too many black colored eyeliners (even with daily usage one of these can last a while). Other than that, I think Physician's Formula did something very right with these liners. This is definitely a product I would repurchase. Anytime soon...I'm not too sure yet because I still have a lot of the product left in one eyeliner x3! Perhaps if there was a very good sale/promotion happening?
What is your favorite/HG eyeliner? What makes it THE best for you?
