Micellar Water Is The GOAT Of All-In-One Cleansers
Micellar water is quickly becoming an item to covet among its users' skincare staples.
Over the past year, it has been raved about in magazines, on blogs, and on YouTube as more and more beauty gurus find and fall in love with the product. Initially, I thought it was strictly a makeup remover, but when I saw a video of a beauty vlogger going camping and using the micellar water as a cleanser, I thought to myself, Hmmmm. I wanted to try the product out for myself and quench whatever curiosities I had.
I did so and I loved it and it really affirmed to me that it's one of the best cleansers out there.
Let me demystify why micellar water might need to be added to your skincare staples.
WHAT IS MICELLAR WATER?
Micellar water is made up of tiny balls of cleansing oil molecules (micelles) suspended in soft water. It looks and moves like water but has a slightly different texture. It's like if you could perfectly blend oil and water together, with no separation.
Micelles are attracted to dirt, oil, and grime so they draw out impurities, but won't dry your skin out. To put it in simpler terms, it removes the stuff you don't want on your skin and leaves the good stuff. Micelles stick to the dirt and makeup on your skin and pull them away, leaving your skin clean, radiant and hydrated. Therefore, it can be used for pretty much all of your basic skincare needs from makeup removal to moisturizer. Most other cleansers have a foaming solution that strips away everything and requires you to balance and rehydrate your skin. Micellar water allows you to skip the toning and moisturizing if you want.
HOW DOES IT HELP MY SKIN?
The less you touch your skin, the better off it usually is. Micellar water allows you to cleanse, tone, and moisturize all in one step and could possibly do a better job at all three than the products you're using right now. If it does all three at once, then you don't have to rub your face two more times.
Micellar water is great for people with dry and sensitive skin. It's gentle and hydrating so it won't dry your skin out or irritate it. It could be your entire skin care routine! If you have oily or acne prone skin it might not clean super well on its own so you'll have to use a traditional cleanser as well, but way more impurities will be removed from your skin with the second cleanser. This probably explains why the wipes didn't work so well for me.
Bonus: If you hate packing up all of your skincare products to travel, micellar water is pretty much all you need.
HOW DO I USE IT?
Whether you use it mostly as a makeup remover or as a cleanser you'll use it the same way. Soak a cotton pad or round with product and press it into your skin. Wipe all the makeup and dirt way. That easy! You don't even need to rinse!
SHOP:Garnier | Simple | LaRoche
Hailing from the hometown of Beyoncé, DeAndrea is a hyper-chatty winged eyeliner enthusiast in love with all things feminine chic. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter (@xodeandrea) and on her lifestyle blog: asisterscrown.com.
Featured image by Shutterstock
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ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Another season of Love Is Blind has come to a close, and almost two months later we’re still unpacking the drama that is Clay and AD. The finale, reunion, and post-interviews with Clay and AD after season six of Love Is Blind left millions of people wondering - why couldn’t AD see the signs? Clay told her he had a fear of marriage, his parents experienced infidelity, and he seemed to have many doubts about saying, "I do."
After changing his mind at the altar and hearing AD question why she feels like she’s never enough, I was finished watching. I didn’t need to hear anything else because, at that moment, I realized this wasn’t about Clay; this was about AD feeling inadequate before she ever met Clay.
If I’m honest, I don’t watch much dating television. TikTok keeps me updated with the clips that I need to see in order to be kept in the loop, but it’s difficult for me to watch an entire season of dating TV because seeing Black women settle for less and questioning their beauty is a trigger for me. In many ways, there were points in my life where I was AD, settling and ignoring red flags because I wanted to be loved.
Now, on the other side, it doesn’t feel good to see Black women lower their standards on national television. There have been many hot takes on this couple and who was in the wrong. Did Clay play in AD’s face or did she not listen to the truth of what he told her from day one? Was his reason for joining the show to promote his business and not to find the one?
We’ll never know the truth, but what we can do is learn tactics to better our self-worth. Founder and CEO of The Self Love Organization Denise Francis shared her expertise with xoNecole on what tangible steps to take to improve feelings of worthiness. “Self-love blooms in a garden where self-worth is planted, nourished, and whole. However, when your self-worth is challenged, displaced, or broken, it could be difficult to rebuild," Denise explains.
How To Rebuild Self-Worth
During her self-love coaching sessions, Denise likes to walk her clients through the cornerstones of rebuilding self-worth: grace and self-compassion. To her, self-worth is never lost, it's only displaced, so practicing self-compassion and giving yourself grace is a must. "We tend to place our self-worth in entities and people of ourselves such as relationship status, physical appearance, material possessions, social media followings, what others think of us, and more. Self-worth is not something to be measured by anyone or anything outside of ourselves because we all innately hold value and worth.
"Self-worth is not something to be measured by anyone or anything outside of ourselves because we all innately hold value and worth."
"When we place our value into people or things, we tend to feel that we are not enough, worth it, special, or important when relationship status, job titles, friendships, and physical appearances are lost or changed. We then tend to feel lost within ourselves because we’ve placed our value outside of ourselves. Using grace and compassion, you can rebuild your self-worth by returning home to who you are at your core," she concludes.
How To Return Home To Yourself
Denise advises taking a step back and using self-reflection through journaling by answering the following journaling prompts:
First, ask yourself, "What do you tend to attach your self-worth to and why?"
Is it your relationships, your job title, your finances, your appearance, etc.? Why do you think you place so much emphasis on external status? How does it make you feel when you are defining yourself through these entities and/or people outside of yourself?
Then, ask yourself, "Without these things, who am I?"
Once you have your answers, show yourself kindness, remove the shame, and, as Denise says, "Redefine yourself by detaching your value from the things and people you have no control over and no longer serve you. Challenge yourself to define yourself outside of titles and societal values."
"By returning home to your core, you find value in who you are as a person. You begin to find value in the way you love instead of your relationship status, your compassion instead of your popularity, your drive instead of your income/job title, and your heart instead of your physical appearance," she adds.
"By returning home to your core, you find value in who you are as a person."
"Be intentional with healing your self-worth by leaning into the people and things that nourish your core values. Surround yourself with the people who love and cherish you, they will always remind you just how valuable you truly are."
It all goes back to self-compassion and grace. As Denise explains, leading with those two things as you heal and rebuild your self-worth allows you to reduce negative self-talk that might come up for you. "This weakens thoughts like, 'I am not enough... why am I never enough?'" she shares, "And 'I don't deserve this while strengthening thoughts like 'I deserve better,' 'I am enough,' and 'I am worth it.'"
Denise continues, "Once you return home and remember the irreplaceable person you are, you can rebuild your self-worth by placing it back where it belongs. It belongs to you."
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Featured image by LaylaBird/Getty Images