Dupe diaries: L’Oreal Paris Sublime Soft Gentle Micellar Solution

L'oreal dupe title

If there is one makeup remover that gets a lot of hype, it’s the Bioderma Micelle Solution.  I have tried Bioderma and think it’s a great product, it gets rid of makeup in a breeze, but the downside is it’s so expensive.  I don’t think it’s readily available in the United States, but here in Canada it retails for C$22 at Shoppers Drug Mart.  It does go on sale occasionally, but even the sale price is $16 or so, which is still expensive for a makeup remover.

L’Oreal Paris has been on the ball lately releasing drugstore versions of all my favourite products (cleansing oils, primers – we will get to that in another post), and yes, even cleansing water.  For those unfamiliar with micelle solutions, it’s a water-like texture that removes makeup in a flash, while still leaving the skin’s moisture barrier intact.  No rinsing is involved and it’s great for sensitive skin.  Essentially, when it comes down to it, it’s just a fancy word for a makeup remover (at least to me, there is a science behind it – special molecules).  I typically only use these for makeup removing, but technically you don’t have to use a cleanser afterwards as it acts as a makeup remover and cleanser.

Bottle

L’Oreal Paris released their own version of micellar solution, called the Sublime Soft Gentle Micellar Solution, and because I like Bioderma so much, I just had to have it and compare it.  Well, my friends, this stuff does not disappoint.  This product has gotten a ton of hype in the beauty blogger community and for good reason, it’s basically a perfect dupe for Bioderma (yes, I went there).

I wanted to see how well it compared to it’s expensive French counterpart, so I took off my makeup on one eye using Bioderma and the other with the L’Oreal version and it was essentially the same result.  I put some on a cotton pad, put it on my closed eyelid and then wiped away the makeup.  No residue was left and it took off all my mascara.   The best part is, and this is common to micelle solutions, there is no greasy residue.  It’s like a non-oil makeup remover, but better.

Before and after Honestly, when it comes down to it, I wouldn’t even bother repurchasing Bioderma because this stuff does the trick exactly the same.  You do get a wee bit less than Bioderma (200 ml compared to 250 ml), but the price difference more than makes up for the size difference.  At C$11.99 a pop (I’ve seen people post it cheaper, under the $10 range), you can two bottles of the L’Oreal version for one bottle of the Bioderma.

The only thing I can think of that I didn’t like about this product – and it’s such a minor thing – is when you pour it on the cotton pad, I tend to saturate it a bit more than I would like.  If they made this stuff with a pump top that would be perfect, but honestly, I’m not that picky.

Have you tried L’Oreal Paris’ Sublime Soft Gentle Micellar Solution?  What were your thoughts?

Please note, I received this product from PR. All opinions are my own.

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