In partnership with Bioderma.
I use the term “cult” in beauty sparingly. A cult product goes beyond a best-seller. A truly cult beauty product redefines an entire product category.
Bioderma’s now-iconic Sensibio H2O Micellar Water is widely credited with popularising the French Pharmacy skincare movement that hit global fever-pitch in around 2012, thus defining a category, and was also the world’s first ever micellar water- meaning it created an entirely new technology. Originally used by makeup artists, Bioderma’s micellar water was relied on to cleanse the skin of models in between fashion week shows and on set at photoshoots. The ease of a makeup remover combined with the cleansing capabilities of a gentle cleanser, micellar water allowed makeup artists to return a model’s skin to a clean canvas without irritation, mess or oily residue when a quick change was necessary. It was when the product moved from backstage to centre stage and reached mainstream popularity that I finally got my hands on a bottle.
I first sourced myself a bottle of Bioderma’s Micellar Water in Paris, 2015, after scouring every pharmacie I walked by. My eyes would light up as I spotted a green cross in the general vicinity, and my heart would sink as I discovered the product on top of my wish list had already sold out- until I finally found the pink-lidded bottle I had searched so far for. In the five years that have followed, Bioderma’s Micellar Water has become a pillar of my self care routine.
While I would never suggest that applying makeup each day is essential, not now nor ever, I treat makeup application as an act of self care. The time I have to myself each morning to apply my makeup and, in turn, the skincare ritual I work through of an evening to remove it, is time I treasure and find cathartic. For me, skin care is self care.
I consider the removal of surface makeup, skincare, SPF and general grime to be an essential first step in any skincare routine. Without an adequate first cleanse, the steps that follow won’t hit the pores as surface buildup will block our skincare from reaching them. Where the focus of my second cleanse is to deeply clean the pores, the first step of my evening ritual functions to clean the surface of my skin- this means reaching for a product that will remove and almost dissolve makeup without me having to tug at my face or use force, as such abrasion can be of long term detriment to the skin.
Bioderma’s Sensibio H2O Micellar Water is one such product. One sweep of a Bioderma-soaked cotton round across the skin picks up all visible traces of my makeup, as well as invisible skincare residue and general oil and bacteria, to leave my skin fully prepped for the next steps in my ritual.
The formula is simple, elegant and pared back, in line with the French Pharmacie skincare ethos- a product that does what it promises to do.
Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water is available at Chemist Warehouse, Priceline, Adore Beauty and selected pharmacies. Find a full list of stockists at bioderma.com.au/
