Review | REN Rosa Centifolia 3-in-1 Cleansing Water


Cleansing waters seem to be the latest 'it' product, you can't really walk through Boots without a new one having been released, I even saw today that Soap and Glory have decided to have a try at one. Bioderma started it off years back, but with it not being readily available over here and only really being a product people could get from a trip to France or an expensive eBay order, British brands started to see the gap in the market. I've tried a handful in the past year and I wasn't convinced by them, even though I was cleansing after I still hated the feeling they left on my skin for that minute between cleansing, and just felt they were doing my skin more bad than they were good. I was recently given the REN one by my sister, I love what I've tried from REN so I had high hopes for it, especially considering how expensive this is compared to the drugstore options.

Ren describe the product as "A gentle 3-in-1 cleanser, make-up remover and toner that is suitable for the delicate eye area and even the most sensitive skin", but I can't help but disagree. I never agree to any cleansing water labelling themselves as a cleanser, because just like makeup wipes they can't really get deep in to the pores like a cleanser and hot cloth can, but the least I expect from a cleansing water is for it to remove my makeup. This product couldn't even do that, not only did it leave a tacky and itchy feeling residue on my face it wasn't able to remove most of my eye makeup. I used a cotton pad per eye which was left on for around 30 seconds then swiped, and probably about 70% of my eye makeup was still there. I persisted and tried to remove as much as I could and was eventually able to get my eyeliner off but there was still mascara on my lashes and below my eyes there was a dark smudge of eyeliner and mascara that wasn't budging. I might as well have used standard hot water on my eyes because it probably would have done the same job. To make matters worse it actually stung my eyes, I'm guessing it was due to the rose oil extracts, but it didn't really help in trying to win me over.

I've read reviews and they seem to be half an half, some people having the same problems as me and some people loving the product and saying it refreshes their skin. I've tried a sample of the hot cloth cleanser that is in the same line as this and whilst I liked it, I wasn't wowed by it, so maybe I just don't mix well with rose. Either way for £13.00 and only 200ml of product I don't feel it's worth it, if I was going to splash out on a micellar water I'd just go for Bioderma, thanks to Escentual now stocking it it's easy to buy, you get more product for your money and it's got makeup artists all over the world singing it's praises!

In short, this didn't convince me on the micellar water front, I'd much rather just spend a couple extra minutes and do a full double cleanse, I feel a lot cleaner and my skin in the long run looks a lot fresher and clearer.

What are your opinions on cleansing waters, love them or hate them?


2 comments

  1. I use cleansing water too, the one from Clarins though. It's called Clarins Water Comfort One-Step Cleanser. I reviewed it a couple of month ago if you're interested to know more.
    I think cleansing water is not as effective as oil cleanser in removing waterproof makeup, but I love using it every morning before I wash my face with facial foam. I find my skin has become smoother by doing this every morning :)

    xx
    http://felishmichelle.blogspot.com

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    1. I'll check it out! I don't know if I could part with my money on a Clarins one, I imagine it to be slightly expensive, but I'm glad it's working for you :) x

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