Garnier Skin Active Micellar Gel Wash Review

Removed my makeup well, and left my face feeling fresh and clean. Definitely up there with some of the more expensive products I have used, for a far more affordable price

Whoohoo!! I always wanted to try this gel cleanser. Saw it on the shelves like it was calling out to me, and I just couldn’t hold back on the purchase. I’m so glad I finally got to try it out; a cleanser and make up remover all-in-one. It has a turn on and off lock, so you wont need to worry about accidental spillage when carrying it around with you on the go.

I thought I would have preferred this micellar gel cleanser to the micellar water. However, after trying out the gel, i realised i missed wiping that cool water over my face.

I don’t usually use eye make up.. but thought i would do a little test with this gel cleanser. This clear and thick transparent gel cleanser frothed up nicely, and cleaned off my usual basic make up of the same o’ BB cream and powered foundation. However, when it came to my eyes, although the colour shadow was gone, i still had residue of the glittery substance around my eyes.

When it comes to foamy cleansers, I have the tendency to try avoid as much as my eyes as possible, which was most probably why my eye make up didn’t come off as cleanly as I would have liked it. Although the gel wasn’t harsh on the eyes, I would probably stick to my micellar water, as I feel less anxious wiping that around my eyes than rubbing the gel over it.

This gel cleanser like the micellar water; easy and simple to use. But due to personal preference, if i wore any eye make up, I would probably stick to using the micellar water with facial wipes, and double cleanse with another cleanser. But if i felt a little lazy, and don’t have any eye make up on; I would go for a quick and easy clean with the gel cleanser in the shower.

I was skeptical with this product. My usual routine is to use makeup wipes and then cleanse using a high end cleanser like clarins or dermalogica. My review of this product will be comparing this cheaper product to my usual. The size of the bottle is great value for money. A similar size bottle in cleansers I normally use is over $100 so the price is definitely a plus. The pump lid is also really handy to manage the amount you want to use. The liquid is light and clear. When rubbing on my face it doesn't foam up as much as I expected so a full pump is required, definitely not a pea sized amount you would use with the high end cleanses. The bottle says to massage around your eyes and lips to remove makeup. I purposely didnt take my make up off with a wipe to test this claim. It works! Even on waterproof mascara, it gently removed it without having to scrub with a wipe. The liquid is free of perfume so I didnt like the chemical smell very much. Scrubbing my lips I accidentally tasted the product and it was sour and gross but your not meant to eat it so I can't judge that! After cleansing, my face didn't feel tight and dry which is good because even some high end cleansers can make it feel like this. Overall this product is great value for money but I do prefer more specialized cleansers that are for hydration or break outs. I do like using makeup wipes so I havent got much need for this. I will continue to use it as an extra makeup remover after using the wipes but I'll still cleanse properly with my high end stuff.

Well I normally use a face wash for acne...but this stuff did a good job. My face is clean and soft. And best part is it doesnt blench my face clothes. So this face wash has got the thumbs up from me. But it didn't help with oil control. Oh well cant have it all. Soft on skin little to no fragence.

I tested this every day for a week and it removes almost all make up on the first go! Waterproof formulas generally take a couple of washes but that’s ok because I didn’t find it drying which was nice. The smell though, ugh! It was a very harsh smell and I hated it for that reason alone. I’d use it if I didn’t have better smelling options, but I don’t think it’s my go to.

I wanted to like it, unfortunately I can’t get past the smell.

This Gel Wash definitely caught my attention, you can use it on your face, eyes and lips! I really that idea, it makes removing your makeup a lot quicker. It comes in a clear plastic bottle with a pink pump lid, its easy to use and you need a couple of pumps to get enough product for your entire face and neck. Trying to get it to foam up on your face after you apply to wet skin didn't really work for me but if you foam it up by rubbing it into your hands first it works great. Before I used it I made sure I had another read of the instructions on the back of the bottle, luckily I did because it says 'incase of direct eye contact rinse immediately' so I guessed it really isn't good to get in your eyes! I was a bit worried because I wasn't sure how I'm supposed to use it on my eye makeup without getting some in my eyes, the thought of it freaked me out a bit. The product doesn't have much of a smell to it, just a mild chemical scent. The first time I used it I foamed it up in my hands and rubbed it all over my face and lips, I've got to admit it works really well at removing makeup, but I really don't like the fact that it stings if you gets some in your eyes, I found it impossible to not get any in my eyes while removing my eye makeup, the next morning I ended up with a swollen eye up the top, which has never happened before so I wont be using it on my eye makeup again. It also tastes really bad so try not to get it in your mouth while using it on your lips! I liked that it didn't dry my skin out it was very gentle. I'm not sure if I would purchase again just because of the fact that I wouldn't use on my eye makeup again when that's what its for, the price is affordable though.

After reading all the rave reviews of this gel wash, I thought I'd better give it a go.

What I like:

Lathers up well

Comes in an easy to use pump bottle that is clear so you can see how much is left

Seems like good value for money as you get quite a lot and don't need more than a coin sized blob for your face

No exfoliating beads so OK for when you don't want to scrub

If fragrance irritates your face or eyes then you might like this, but only if that's the only thing your face doesn't like.

What I don't like:

I mistakenly thought all micellar things were the same, and all natural/healthy. Unfortunately Garnier have resorted to using Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES) which was a surprise - I wouldn't have bought it if I'd read the ingredients.

While it doesn't feel harsh upon application or directly after, a little while afterwards I notice that my face feels a prickly and irritated. No other face washes or scrubs make my skin feel like that. The feeling goes away if I apply moisturiser but since I've already put some on after my shower, this would be an additional layer.

The labels says you can wash your eye makeup off with this but it didn't make a dent in my non-waterproof mascara or waterproof eyeliner. It did get the cream eyeshadow off.

Overall I give this a No Thanks. I'll probably finish it off in the shower as a body wash, but it needs to stay away from my face.

I was super keen to try this as I love Micellar water and the Garnier one is my favourite!

You only need to use one pump and the definite advantage over the water is that you don't need a cotton swab to use it. It foams up relatively nicely and definitely removed all of my skin makeup! It says it can also be used to remove eye makeup and it didn't sting or irritate on the eye area. However, I found it couldn't remove all of my mascara without using something else. I had to bring out the face halo or a cotton pad to get the rest of it off.... this was probably the biggest let down.

It doesn't really have a particular smell. Just clean and fresh. Which is nice for a makeup remover.

It does the job it says (minus removing eye makeup) and it is very gentle on the skin but because of it not removing mascara I would always choose the water over top of this. The water would also last a lot longer as I find you literally need the smallest amount and a bottle of the same price would last sooooo much longer.

Good product, but the alternative is better!

I'll be frank - not overly impressed with this micellar gel wash. I was intrigued because I use the Garnier Micellar Water and love it. However, I love it because I don't have to rinse my face afterwards. Putting it in a gel wash just defeats the purpose for me. But, I still gave this product a go. It doesn't foam up too much, and looks pretty cool in a clear gel form. But my skin was irritated by this, even though it was meant for sensitive skin. Not sure why, maybe I just have ultra sensitive skin? It also didn't remove makeup around my eyes, and I use mascara. To me, this product wasn't anything special, and that's a bummer.