Institut Esthederm is my absolute favorite French brand of skincare products. Before I moved to the US in 2012, most of my skincare routine was composed of Esthederm products, and I was regularly going to a day spa for facials with the brand's line. I would describe Institut Esthederm as a high quality professional brand (a lot of their products can only be purchased at salons after a skin analysis by a beautician - those are the ones that come in deep blue packaging if you already know the brand) with a unique philosophy: skin is a complex eco-system that should be protected and nourished with the elements it needs to thrive, rather than forcefully corrected through aggressive treatments. The idea is that skin should "know" what to do to be healthy, so it will reach that state if you provide it with the tools it needs to achieve it but refrain from interfering too much with its natural processes. It's my Esthederm beautician in France who convinced me to completely stop using mechanical exfoliation, i.e. abrasive scrubs, and that decision changed my life (at least my skin's life!).
Healthy skin starts with a gentle but efficient cleansing routine, and Esthederm has a range of cleansing products called Osmoclean. Being an avid user of micellar water (read more about micellar water here and here), I recently finished my bottle of Osmopure Face and Eyes Cleansing Water.
All Esthederm products contain what the brand calls their cellular water, a patented formula that is supposed to replicate skin's interstitial fluid, the liquid surrounding cells. This liquid is where the cells find the energy and elements they need to function (if you speak French and would like more information about the science behind Esthederm's cellular water, check out Poupoune's in depth article here).
If you've read my past posts about micellar waters, you know that they're a 3-in-1 product that replaces an eye-makeup remover, a cleanser and a toner. The idea behind micellar water is that you can gently remove makeup and cleanse your skin without using tap water, which happens to be very drying (although rinsing micellar water is a good idea, especially if you have sensitive or dry skin, you want to do it with a spritz of mineral or floral water, rather than a splash of tap water which would defeat the purpose).
Esthederm's Osmopure does a great job at cleansing skin. It feels fresh and removes light makeup and dirt easily, although it leaves skin a tad bit sticky. It is clear and unscented - I know a lot of people prefer their skincare this way, but I personally enjoy a pleasant smell in my cleansing products.
Unfortunately it doesn't remove eye-makeup efficiently. It won't take off mascara very well (I'm talking about long-wear but non waterproof mascara) and doesn't do a very good job on liner or long-wear shadows either. Osmopure can't replace an eye-makeup remover, it just doesn't work on eye makeup well enough, so it's not quite as versatile and multi-tasking as a micellar water is supposed to be. When I used Osmopure at night, I had to use a separate product to remove eye-makeup. I preferred to use it in the morning, because it was perfect to cleanse and refresh skin just after getting up.
Overall: Osmopure Cleansing Water is not my favorite micellar water, because it doesn't remove eye-makeup well. However it's perfect to gently cleanse skin in the morning and will work great for people who prefer their skincare products to be unscented. Not the best Institut Esthederm product out there, but I'll soon be reviewing awesome products by the brand!
Where to buy: I don't know any retailer of Institut Esthederm in the US, so I buy my products on beautybay.com which is a UK based online store. I've placed several orders with them and everything arrived in perfect condition, if not very fast (keeping your order under $100 and choosing regular postal service means you'll usually avoid custom fees and delays, but there's no guarantee). They currently sell Osmopure Cleansing water for $36.20.
The product featured in this review was purchased by Lulle. I received no compensation to write this post, which only reflects my personal opinion. This post contains affiliate links.
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