Ahh, the beloved micellaire waters that took 2013 by storm. First Bioderma, then L'Oreal, Garnier and every other drugstore skincare brand you can think of. It's no surprise that the standard is so high - they've had to follow in the footsteps of the French pharmacy favourite, Bioderma.
It's worth noting that if you live in the UK, Bioderma was like gold dust. We had to scour eBay to find a ridiculously over-priced 100ml bottle, but now that they're readily available on Escentual, we're able to roam free. I managed to bag a bottle as a Christmas present and half of a large bottle has lasted me almost three months. I must also add that it is amazing and really does not sting your eyes at all. It really is practically water with some amazing chemicals that dissolve makeup at first wipe. Brilliant.
So, the question is can anything compare to it? Personally, I think not. I tried the L'Oreal 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution and it had not a patch on Bioderma. It left a slightly sticky residue on my face and always felt to urge to itch and scratch my face. Bioderma does really feel like genuine water, whereas L'Oreal's version felt a bit more chemical-ly. The packaging is also so much better on Bioderma. There's barely any spillages whereas the L'Oreal bottle meant it was awkward to get the product out onto a cotton pad and most of it was spilt.