opinionated, it depends on what type of make up and spf you are wearing, if it's longwear/waterproof a micellar usually doesn't suffice. For some, it's also preference. Gentle second cleansers oft recommended on here are the La Roche Posay Toleriane Hydrating Cleanser (AFAIK still only available to order from France or Belgium), La Roche Posay Toleriane Dermo cleanser (but can leave a filmy feeling if you're in a soft water area or have very oily skin), Avene Extremely Gentle Cleanser. The Cerave hydrating cleanser newly released in Boots is also an option but not many on here have used it, I think only one person is trying it now.
Lone, can you take a pic of the No. 7 INCI for me, can't find it. I'm not surprised it feels ineffective though it's only 5% which is pretty much negligible as you need at least 10% for L-AA to do its thing. It's kind of a stupid product IMO though, you have to toss it out after two weeks so it feels rather overpriced at such a low concentration. I'd keep it in the fridge just in case but it's also in a clear bottle so it's going to oxidise and lose further efficacy every day regardless.
Pupsie, I use two tiny dots about the size of beluga lentils (sorry for sounding like a food snob) but that comes from years of practice exercising the right amount of pressure on the pump, but be easy on the pump pressure at first as you don't need much. Especially in the beginning use sparingly as it does tingle, to some that feels like burning but it goes away quick enough. I dot it out and then tap it in. I'd say start using it 2-3x a week. I use it every other day but it is meant to be used 2x daily but the then my value for money calculations collapse somewhat. I do hope you got it from SkinCity though, the difference in price is ridiculous (80GBP vs. 60EUR IIRC, on offer I paid 48EUR last time, I think).
Thermal water I use as in the video linked previously, after cleansing spray liberally, then blot it off (with soft dry towel or tissues). If I'm doing a second cleanse then I don't blot it off but apply the second cleanser to the damp thermal water skin, then rinse, then do another thermal water rinse, then blot off.
Slight caveat to general train of thought aka my doctrine as explained by Pupsie, spend little on cleansers and moisturisers, then spend your money on a daily sunscreen (as not everyone can get away with a cheaper one but it is considered an essential line of defense in any decent skincare routine, the best sunscreen is the one you'll wear every day and for some that is, unfortunately, a premium one, there's no point spending money on actives without a good sunscreen in place, etc. etc.), then spend your remaining budget on actives in order of importance/tolerability.
I keep going off track as I meant to talk about the Medik8 R-Retinoate Youth Activating Cream earlier. I had meant not to say a thing for at least 14 days but the past 7 days have astounded me somewhat.
I've been using it daily (my intention was to use it daily for 30 days to verify their claim of noticeable results in 30 days, using it 1x a day rather than their 2x) but I'll cut that down to 14, then alternate from that point on. I felt it was safe enough for me to trial at such high intensity as the type of retinol is not new to me and I know my skin gets on well with it, the only other active in the formula is Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate which is the Vit C derivative in the Medik8 CE Tetra that I have also used in the past and liked a lot too. Medik8 also promised no irritation so I wanted to test that too.
I stopped using P50 during this time to truly evaluate the product in isolation, have continued to use the Vichy vitamin C.
First impressions, it's got a misleading name, it's not really a cream but it is in a 50ml dispenser. So basically a serum but with more contents than most which makes up for the high price tag somewhat, but crucially makes it cheaper than the Verso Facial Serum and it's a similar consistency. I can get away with using slightly less of the Medik8 to cover face neck and the deco area. I use the LRP Toleriane Ultra Nuit on top but I can use less of it, the serum on its own would not suffice for me, but possibly on someone oily it would.
It's a lot stronger than I expected, it played with my sensitivities the first few days by showing very minor signs of inflammation (predominantly a touch of redness) but by day 3 this had subsided.
I had a minor purge on days 2-4, small whiteheads that would rise and go quickly (usually when washing my face, but accidentally touching would do it too) they didn't even last hours and left no signs of trauma behind on the skin. Didn't feel like a product reaction either.
On my left temple, I was developing a minor scattering of pigmentation, most likely to me not being diligent enough with SPF/Vit C on the perimeters of my face, had stepped that up in the past few weeks, however on day 2 of using the Medik8 it went quite red, by day 3 it had drastically diminished, by day 4 it was gone completely 
Pigmentation from PIH, however, it hasn't tackled (yet?) but perhaps since that's more one concentrated area rather than a small scattering of tiny pockets of pigmentation?
It's done a lot for my skin texture in a very short amount of time. I've taken daily pictures, so I'm pretty sure I'm not deluding myself and I still struggle to believe it too but the pores on my nose have definitely minimised by sitting much tighter, whereas TO (especially the 2% emulsion) would constantly dilate them and the P50 helped keep that in check, which was an annoying balancing act.
The general tone of my skin is definitely brighter/more even. The scariest thing though, my forehead very much resembles Olli's at the moment, full disclosure, we're not dissimilar in age but my before isn't comparable. Mine qualified as very very fine lines faintly discernible if you looked really really closely.
So the only downside (apart from the price, obvs) so far is that the very even skin tone meant I looked like death warmed over yesterday as it was day1.5 of my period yesterday and it's a particularly heavy one. I don't want to pronounce it an absolute miracle product yet, but I'm very impressed so far, safe to say it's batting in the same league as the Verso Eye Serum at the moment (that does similar miraculous things for me and has had me loyal ever since) and what I really wanted the Verso Facial Serum to be but I do really need to reserve judgement until I use it 3x a week as I don't know if I'd want to financially commit to using this on the daily.
I'll continue to use every night for the next 7 days then move to every other day for the next 14, after which I'll reintroduce the P50 (or possibly in week 4 if the need is really apparent).