Hello! My current skincare obsession at the moment is micellar waters, and I’m determined to try as many as I can. One particular micellar I have been putting through its paces is the Superdrug Vitamin E Micellar Water .
Superdrug Vitamin E Micellar Water
They say:
Vitamin E Gentle Micellar Solution is designed to gently but effectively cleanse away impurities, and helps remove makeup and mascara, leaving skin feeling refreshed and hydrated. Enriched with naturally sourced Vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant that will help to shield your skin against environmental damage and premature skin ageing by combating the harmful effects of free radicals. The multi-functional formula also contains a skin conditioning multivitamin complex, comprising vitamins A, B, F and H, which, combined with horse chestnut extract, helps to care for dry skin.
Ingredients:
Aqua, Propylene Glycol (helps the skin to absorb moisture) , PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides (emollient) , Polysorbate 20 (surfactant) , PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil (surfactant) , Tocopheryl Acetate (skin conditioning) , Tocopherol (Vitamin E) , Parfum (fragrance) , Aesculus Hippocastanum (Horse Chestnut) Seed Extract (skin conditioning) , Disodium EDTA (chelating agent) , Alcohol Denat (preservative/astringent) , Benzophenone-4 (enhances the ability of other chemicals to penetrate) , PEG-35 Castor Oil (surfactant), Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A – antioxidant) , Inositol (humectant) , Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5) (humectant), Linoleic Acid (Vitamin F) (emollient) , Biotin (Vitamin H) (used as a texturiser) , Coumarin (fragrance) , Linalool (fragrance) , Butylphenyl Methylpropional (fragrance) , Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone (fragrance) , Sodium Hydroxide (pH adjuster), Citric Acid (pH adjuster) , Phenoxyethanol (preservative) , Ethylhexylglycerin (preservative) , 2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1, 3-Diol (preservative) .
I say:
A few years ago, micellar waters were almost unheard of. Skip to 2015 and now every brand and their dog has slapped their name on one. I have previously tried offerings from Bioderma, as well as Avene , La Roche-Posay and B.Skincare . So far, Bioderma is the one to beat.
Upon a wander around Superdrug, my eyes spotted a new addition to the Superdrug Vitamin E range. For £2.99, I threw caution to the wind, and threw it into my basket.
From the first few uses, I noticed that the micellar felt quite “heavy” on my skin, and it took my skin a while to “get used to it” so to speak. Before I looked at the ingredients in-depth, I would have simply dismissed this as a basic micellar water. It did an okay job of removing my make up. It wasn’t good at removing my eye make up so I used a separate bi-phase remover. Much to my surprise, it didn’t break me out.
However, whilst my skin wasn’t feeling irritated, I did notice that my skin was looking and feeling dull. You know when your face just looks a little bit grey, and feels weird to the touch? Yeah, that. Even though my skin was clear, I didn’t feel like it was healthy. I noticed that make up wasn’t sitting right on my skin; it wouldn’t blend into my skin and when it finally did, it had disappeared after a few hours. My skin was feeling unbelievably dehydrated, and it was taking layers and layers of moisturisers to make it feel normal. Despite these problems, I still didn’t put them down to this micellar water and I even repurchased a second bottle. I thought “if it isn’t giving me spots, then it’s fine!”. Silly me. When will I learn?
Now that I have had a look at the ingredients, I can understand why my skin had declined so much. Eeeek! I know it was only £2.99, and I know that I shouldn’t expect too much, but sadly it seems none of the ingredients are particularly skin beneficial. I don’t feel it particularly has cared for my skin – I think it has made it decline! It claims to be high in anti-oxidant yet there is one, maybe two, ingredients that claim this. A few of the ingredients such as PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil and Sodium Hydroxide(!) have had concerns raised about them, which worries me as this is a product that is designed to be absorbed by the skin and it isn’t washed away. I’ve stopped using this micellar water and I feel that my skin is feeling a lot better for it already. I just hope any damage caused is irreversible and can be corrected!
I think it’s time I give my face a break from micellar waters and give it some TLC. I’m sorry skin, please forgive me!
Dannie x
Not tried this, but I used to love the hot cloth cleanser from the range! I’ll be sticking to my Garnier one then, thanks for sharing Aimee ;-) xx
I like the hot cloth cleanser from that range too :) you’re welcome ;) xx
Eeek this doesn’t sound good! Thanks for the honest review – I’ve tried a couple of things from the same range and found it very hit and miss :( x
Evelyn @ We Were Raised By Wolves
You hit the nail on the head there! I feel the same about the range. xx
I would have been tempted to buy this but it looks like it’s best to be avoided! I want to try the Bioderma version but I’m waiting for my current Garnier version to run out first
http://www.jessicainyourear.com
It’s currently on offer at Escentual if that sways you towards a purchase ;) xx
When I saw this post I got all excited but after reading your review I think I’ll avoid it. At the moment I’m using Tesco’s own brand micellar water and it seems to work just fine for me – not that I really notice a huge difference from them at all.
That’s good if it works for you, you’ll save yourself some pennies! :)
I never even thought about Tesco own brand… I’ll have to have a look at it at some point :) xx
Oh dear, one to stay away from then. Poor skin.
Corinne x
My poor skin indeed :( I think it’s recovering now :)) x
Yikes! I know how that feels like when the skin isn’t very happy about the product we use. Thanks for the heads up Dannie!
Regards,
Josephine
http://www.skinfrostings.com
Oh dear! I was eyeing this up in my local Superdrug but I may just stick to my L’Oreal one. I hope you skin gets back to normal soon (: xx