By now, I think we all know that drugstore brands have a habit of releasing dupes of popular higher-end beauty products, and, undoubtedly, we love them for it. But what does a dupe make? That's what I'll be exploring today, putting up L'Oreal's Ideal Soft (Skin Perfection) Micellar Solution against the famous Bioderma Sensibio (Crealine) H2O one.
Let me start by listing their similarities first: they're both unscented cleansing waters and they're both designed to be tolerated by sensitive skintypes, to which my sensitive skin can attest to. Their texture is identical and they even... foam up in a similar way when I shake up both bottles! And, as one would expect (otherwise they wouldn't be compared that often), they perform almost identically, when put to the test.
The test, in this case, included a very basic smudge of my Urban Decay Bourbon eyeliner, and two coats of Avon Mega Effects mascara. I was very careful to apply the same amount of makeup on both eyes and soak the cotton balls equally. After holding them over my eyes for about 30 seconds, here's what I ended up with:
As you can see, the results are almost identical. To me, the Bioderma one did remove slightly more mascara than the L'Oreal one, and certainly more of the eyeliner, but then again, I am deliberately looking for differences here.
For the most part, I'd have to say that L'Oreal's micellar water is an excellent dupe for the Bioderma one, and for a much better price.
Then again, there is one remarkable difference: the ingredients! The Bioderma far surpasses the L'Oreal one in that sense, as it contains cucumber extract, rhamnose, and a number of other sugar derivatives (mannitol and xylitol are sugar alcohols), whereas the L'Oreal one is pretty much synthetically made. Does that make a difference to its cleansing abilities? Nope, but it might explain the difference in price and the Bioderma one may also be more beneficial to your skin (though I think the effects of rhamnose are still debatable). Full lists included below:
(L'Oreal Ideal Soft (Skin Perfection) Micellar Water Ingredients)
(Bioderma Sensibio (Crealine) H2O Micellar Water Ingredients)
Disclaimer: By no means am I inventing the wheel here, lots of beauty people have compared these two products before me. I just wanted to add my two cents from a skincare perspective. I've purchased the L'Oreal one with my own money, and the Bioderma one was part of a previous Glowbox.
Have you tried any of these micellar waters?
What's your favorite?
after trying bioderma and LRP micellar waters but i think they are not my cup of tea. i prefer cleansing oils. i have tested mac, that's better and loreal and i got the same feeling as you with the micellars. all three had the same good results but loreal had the worst ingredients.
ReplyDelete@evi: I'm with you, I use cleansing oils to break down my makeup too and then I follow up with another cleanser.. My main use for these waters is for the eye area, because they're gentle and they don't irritate! They're also great for cleaning up any mascara smudges (in case you're a klutz like me), without messing up your eye makeup or adding oiliness!
DeleteI've tried both and I so agree with you, these are so identical. And I don't really mind so much about the igredients, cause two motnhs now I'm using L'Oreal since my Bioderma finished and haven't experienced any bit of a breakout with both (B or L) so for me these are the same and the better price is a winner...cause ok who wants to pay so much for water? oh and cucumber...
ReplyDelete@Irene Blushing Loves: Haha regarding the cucumber comment! No, you're right, and I failed to explain it properly on the post: it's not that cucumber is an expensive extract, just that any product that's labeled "natural" or "organic" or that sort of thing, tends to be way overpriced (and although it is of better quality, it's not the ingredients you pay for 99% of the time)! I'll agree, the L'Oreal is a great option! ;)
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