Bioderma | Chasing Elixir

Hi peeps it’s been sooooo long! I can’t believe it’s been 1.5 months since my last blog post. The main reason that I haven’t been blogging much is work. Work work WORK has been so unbelievably busy, and for the last 4 months I’ve pretty much been working 12-13 hours everyday.

It’s not a sane way to live; during the week I get home at 10pm, completely and utterly buggered. Too buggered to do anything except sitting on the couch and watching mindless Taiwanese entertainment shows for a couple of hours, before hitting the sack and repeat the process all over again the next day

But the Gods must have taken pity on tired, overworked little me, as when I walked into Sasa last week, I saw Bioderma Sébium H2O in value pack, and promptly took it home with me *cue Beethoven’s Ode to Joy*

What they say:

BIODERMA innovation, Sébium H2O gently cleanses the skin without drying it, through the micro-emulsion of impurities and excess sebum.
Enriched with purifying active ingredients, Sébium H2O cleanses the epidermis in depth and regulates secretion of sebum. The patented sebo-correcting complex, Fluidactiv^®, normalises sebum quality.
Sébium H2O guarantees excellent cutaneous and ocular tolerance.
Sébium H2O is non-comedogenic.

Ingredients:

The ingredients are quite different to the Bioderma Crealine H2O, with the addition of zinc gluconate, copper sulfate and ginkgo biloba leaf extract which are great for for oily and acne prone skin *hand up*.

My experience:

Thanks to Bioderma Sébium H2O, the tedious task of makeup removal now fits nicely into my nightly unwinding aka butt-on-couch-watching-mindless-TV routine. This is what I do:

Walk into apartment like a zombie
Open wine
Pour wine
Walk to the couch with wine and flop
Watch TV and drink wine for 1/2 an hour
Staying on couch, grab 2 tissues, layer them on top of each other, fold into quarter
Squirt some Bioderma Sébium H2O onto folded tissue, go over the face
Do the same for the eye area
Do the same for the entire face again
Keep watching TV and drinking wine

Whilst Bioderma Crealine H2O leaves my skin soft, the Bioderma Sébium H2O leaves my skin feeling refreshed. Both cleanse well, so it depends on your skin type on which one to choose.

For me, I love Bioderma Sébium H2O as it suits my oily skin, but doesn’t dry it out. And whilst I do hope that my crazy work schedule will get better soon, I will certainly be happy to stick to my lazy girl’s way of removing makeup

Bioderma Sébium H2O retails NT$1880 for 2 x 500mL value pack and is available in Sasa, Watsons, Cosmed and selected pharmacies worldwide.

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Bioderma is a French skincare brand developed by biologist Jean-Noel Thorel, and is the 3rd most prescribed brand in France. It’s available in more than 80 countries worldwide, and is now available in Australia.

I first heard about the Bioderma “cleansing water” when a makeup artist asked me if the Face of Australia Gentle Makeup Remover is the same thing. ”No it’s not” I said, since I’d never even heard of Bioderma or such a thing as cleansing water. ”But please tell me more!” as I relish makeup artists’ trade secrets more than, oh I dunno, a teenage girl does a piece of half eaten Vegemite toast by a member of One Direction (*rubbing palms with glee of incoming Google searches*).

What they say:

At the cutting edge of innovation, BIODERMA has pioneered micellar solutions. Specially formulated for sensitive, normal to dry skins, the Sensibio H2O micelle solution gently cleanses face and eyes. It removes water-resistant make-up.
The micelles contained in its formula effectively micro-emulsify impurities while maintaining the skin’s balance (soap-free, physiological pH).
Soothing and decongesting active ingredients prevent the feelings of irritation often caused by cleansing.
Crealin H2O guarantees excellent cutaneous (skin) and ocular (eye) tolerance (tested under ophthalmological supervision).

Ingredients:

Water (Aqua), Peg-6 Caprylic/Capril Glycerides, Propylene Glycol, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Fructooligosaccharides, Mannitol, Xylitol, Rhamnose, Disodium Edta, Cetrimonium Bromide.

My experience:

Bioderma Crealine H2O is a micellar solution, which offers the functionality of oil in terms of cleansing power, but with a freshness of water. It moisturises the skin and does not irritate, making it suitable for the most sensitive skins.

The solution pretty much looks like water, but with bigger bubbles/foams after shaking (note: it is soap free, and you don’t need to shake it to use it, I was just being curious )

To use, I pour it onto cotton squares or toilet paper, and gently wipe it over my entire face. The Bioderma Crealine H20 effectively removes my face makeup, and leaves my skin feeling fresh and softened.

At night, I use this like a pre-cleanse. So after going over my face with Bioderma Crealine H20, I use Simplicite Plant Gel Cleanser, and then POD Liquid Detox. Sometimes I go over my face again with Bioderma Crealine H20, as I really like how it softens my skin.

Bioderma Crealine H20 is also effective at removing most eye makeup. However as I have extremely oily skin, I usually make sure my eye makeup is totally budge-proof: eye primer, waterproof liner/mascara, plus heaps of eyelash glue if I’m wearing fake lashes. So for speediness I still use dual-phased makeup remover (Face of Australia Gentle Makeup Remover) for my eyes.

One other thing I’ve discovered Bioderma Crealine H20 is good for: ink marks. You know when you get stamped at certain bars/clubs these days, and how impossible it is to remove it from your wrist for days? Well a few swipes with Bioderma Crealine H20 and it’s almost all gone:

Had to use a postage stamp since I clearly don't get out much these days

I’ll definitely be purchasing Bioderma Crealine H20 when this bottle runs out – hopefully in 500ml or 1L bottles, which is not yet available in Australia.

Bioderma Crealine H20 retails $39.95 for 250ml and is available at selected pharmacies. For stockists information or direct order please email contact@cosmetifrance.com

*This product was provided for consideration, for my disclosure policy see here.