Bioderma‘s micelle solution (often mis-said as “micellar” in English, which is really just an attempt to anglicize the French “solution micellaire”) is a product that I begrudgingly jumped on the bandwagon for several years ago. (I say begrudgingly because it was a little on the expensive side and basically only readily available in France – which is where I first picked it up!)

And now… it’s everywhere in my apartment and I’m loathed to be without it! It’s in my bathroom to help clean up and refresh my skin after I’ve removed my makeup. My husband even uses it when he’s feeling a bit greasy in the face after workday and wants a refresher.

I also have it sitting on top of my makeup table to help me fix any makeup mistakes and clean up under my eyes when I experience fall out from my eyeshadows.

I was, however, slightly unaware that Bioderma actually made a few varities of their micelle solution. The one that’s most easily recognizable is the Sensibio H2O (called Crealine H2O exclusively in France) which has a pink top. For those unfamiliar with the product, Sensibio H2O has the consistency of water and is considered perfect for sensitive to intolerant skin. It is fragance, alcohol and paraben-free, as well as hypoallergenic.

Some people use it to remove their makeup entirely, however I don’t find the formula is heavy duty enough for that on my face because I often wear waterproof and/or longlasting products. I prefer to use this after I’ve removed the bulk of my makeup with an oil-based remover/cleanser and then go in with the micelle solution on a cotton pad and clean up the excess that I missed by washing my face (and trust me, no matter how much you wash your face, you will still have excess makeup somewhere!). It’s odourless, but not tasteless, so if you use this to remove your lipstick, it will be a touch bitter.

I also use this to clean up any makeup mistakes while I’m doing my face and to clean up the inevitable eyeshadow fallout on my under eyes during application.

The Hydrabio H2O formula is entirely new to me. I don’t notice any difference in my skin when I use this (as in, it performs just as well as the Sensibio H2O), however this is formulated for dehydrated sensitive skin. One thing that I thought was interesting about this one is that it smells really, really nice. Bioderma‘s web site indicates that it’s an allergen-free fragrance, as it would have to be since this is intended for sensitive skin. I’ve actually grown quite fond of the scent of the Hydrabio one and if it comes in the larger 500 ml bottles like the Sensibio, I’ll be switching to this one once I’ve finished all my bottles up!

The final micelle solution is the Sebium H2O which was created for combination, oily or blemished skin. I’m none of these things, so I can’t tell you how it does, or does not help the skin in those respects. (I mean, I’m potentially combination skin, but it’s February here in the northern hemisphere so I’m basically just a dry bastard right now.) This one is also scented (although interestingly not marked as allergen-free), hypoallergenic, paraben-free and has no colouring agents. I assume the colouring agent comment is indicated on their site because unlike the others, this liquid is actually blue!

Final Thoughts

I cannot live without the Bioderma micelle solution in any of its formats. It’s a gentle, easy to use product that works wonders to help clean up my skin, or refresh it if it’s feeling tired and dirty. It’s rinse-free, which means you can splash it all over your face and not have to worry about reaching for a towel. If there’s one skincare product out there that I can recommend to you, it’s this one.

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration, although I did already own the two larger bottles of Sensibio H2O.