Yves Saint Laurent Top Secrets Toning & Cleansing Micellar Water Review

Being a first time user of micellar water as makeup remover I was amazed at how easily the YSL Micellar water took off my heavy makeup with no trouble at all. I usually use a make up removing face wash which leaves my face feeling very 'clean' if not a bit tight and dry. The first thing I noticed about the YSL Top Secrets Toning and Cleansing Micellar Water was the scent, it is a very fragrant but pleasant smelling product which I hadn't expected. I was very impressed with its ability to take off my makeup while being a very gentle feeling product which didn't sting my skin or eyes and left my skin feeling very healthy and with minimal residue left on the skin after letting it dry (Micellar water is meant to be left on the skin and not washed off or dried).

In comparison to other makeup removers I have tried including the Simple Micellar water it felt luxurious and slightly nicer on my skin, the packaging not only looked a lot prettier on my vanity, but the pump to dispense the product was definitely a bonus.

So would I purchase it again? The YSL Micellar Water has definitely helped in persuading me to use Micellar Water to take my makeup off instead of cleansers because of the way it left my skin feeling. However, I would be perfectly happy to continue using the Simple Micellar water on a day-to-day basis and use the YSL Top Secrets Toning and Cleansing Micellar Water for those days where I'm feeling a bit fancy.

I KNEW there was a reason all my favourite beauty vloggers were going nuts over Micellar cleansing water! Thank you so much BR for letting my trial it!

I really liked this packaging. The pump at the top made it really easy to get the exact amount you wanted. I found that one pump on a cotton pad was all I needed to cleanse. And a separate cotton pad and pump for removing ALL my makeup.

The smell is really fresh - not chemically or strong - so you feel good about putting it on your skin.

I could tell instantly when I put it on my skin to remove my makeup that it was going to do a better job and be nicer to my skin than using a regular cleanser or using makeup wipes. The formula is so delicate but it does a really good job - Even at removing my Benefit Mascara, which does. not. budge. Haha.

After I put it on I did feel as though it felt a little sticky on my skin as it was drying but that went away when it was dry and it didn't make my skin feel tight. Just fresh! Which I absolutely love!

I tried this one against the Simple formula and overall I would say that the packaging, the scent and the overall feel on your skin separate this one from the cheaper - But I would absolutely use both!

The packaging for this looks quite fancy, but between the tiny font and the fact that half of the text is in another language (French?) it’s hard to tell what’s in the bottle at first glance. The bottle also has a handy nozzle which twists to close; it's great for getting the right amount of product out but it does look a little untidy always poking out without a cap. The description was a little bit over the top - I don’t know if micellar water is a ‘top secret’ (if so, YSL’s security department needs an overhaul), but I was excited about the prospect of skin that ‘radiates with freshness and purity’. The first thing I noticed when I popped a couple of squirts of this onto a cotton pad was the scent – it definitely has perfume in it! It smells nice but the scent does linger on your face for a long time, which can be a bummer if you were planning on picking your own perfume for the day. It lathered up a little and looked kind of like soapy water on the cotton pad, and after my experience with this product I’m not really convinced it’s anything more than that. The first time I tried it, it removed my very light makeup (a bit of powder and some mascara) with two cotton pads, although I still felt weird not washing my face afterwards. It was light and easy to use, it didn’t irritate my skin or require any rubbing to get everything clean. It was definitely quicker than using a make-up remover and cleanser combo, although I don’t think it cleansed my face as thoroughly. I didn’t use a toner afterwards, as the bottle says it will leave your skin toned anyway. The big downfall for me came after I applied it. There seemed to be some residue left over that made my face feel quite tacky, to the point where I could hear my hand peeling off my face if I touched it. This lasted for at least an hour and was quite a gross feeling! I felt like a lightly scented piece of sticky tape. I used this for about 4 days and noticed the stickiness each time, so gave up on it. I also noticed that if I was wearing more make up (read: BB cream and a little eyeliner) it took at least 4 cotton pads to clean my face, which is more waste than I’m ok with. I guess this product would be ok if you only wore very light makeup (it does say on the packaging that it’s designed for ‘nude’ makeup), but you’d have to be cool with a sticky face and constantly smelling like flowers. I also didn’t notice any benefits to my skin from using this. In this case, my initial skepticism was valid. For me at least, YSL Micellar water is just overpriced soapy water. The cheaper micellar water that I tried was far more suitable for me.