Caudalie Cleansing Water $12/$23 Review

I had heard a lot of nice things about this toner and when I ran out of my usual Shiseido toner, it was a perfect time to try this guy out! I say that I "ran out" of toner knowing full well that I have like a bajillion little promotional sample sized toners stashed away in a promotional makeup bag under my bathroom counter. I bet if I poured all of the little toners into 1 container it'd fill a full-size toner bottle....but I digress!

So back to this toner! As with most Caudalie products, you can purchase Caudalie Cleansing Water in 2 sizes: 200ml/6.7oz for $23 or 100ml/3.4oz for $12. This toner is a micellar water meaning it will attract dirt from the skin to gently cleanse and remove makeup without rubbing. It is suitable for all types of skin, including sensitive skin.

The Verdict: C
I have to first say this is called Cleansing WATER - meaning not oil so I was skeptical it would remove makeup. Well, I was right. If you soak a cotton ball with this stuff, it will remove some makeup but it really is no comparison to cleasing oil. I would not recommend using this as a makeup remover because there's a lot of stuff that gets left behind.

I gave it a shot for eye makeup too. With mascara and full eye makeup, I used cleansing oil first to get rid of as much as I could and then used the Cleansing Water to remove any remaining residue. It removed some, but again it wasn't as thorough as I'd hoped. I even lost an eyelash or 2 in the process. When I'm going light on makeup, this stuff works great for removing pencil liner.

I also tried using this solely as a toner. As it is alcohol-free, it does not tighten skin or suck moisture away. It is also odorless, so there is no funky smell at all. It does get very slighty soapy as it's applied and because of that it leaves a weird gummy film after it's dried. I find I have to rinse my skin after this and that just tears it!

Unfortunately after all this trail and error, I will not be re-puchasing this. I'll probably use up the bottle I have for removing pencil liner only.