Vichy Capital Soleil Suncare Oil SPF 20

I still clearly remember... when I was a kid, I hate any kind of suncare precautions. I would try my best to avoid my mom slathering them on to my skin before playing in the poor or beach. I will refuse to wear cover-ups after swimming. And every, single, time... I paid for it dearly... my skin turned red and painful... bye bye swimming pool, hello sunburn.

Oh... but getting sunburnt skin is not my only problem... my hair got 'sunburnt' too!

It will get so frizzy and tangled and ... almost crispy. Plus... my hair will get lightened... not in a good beach blonde way. Washing my hair apres swimming is a real pain... tangle tangle tangle...

Recently though, I have found myself a solution! Vichy Capital Soleil Suncare Oil SPF 20. (They do SPF 40 too... but when I got it, the shop only have SPF 20 left). 

Vichy is a French brand that you can get easily in European pharmacist (seen them in France and Italy at least). Like most french brands sold in pharmacies, they are focused more on skincare then make up. 

Yes, Vichy's website mentioned that this is meant for skin, but I like to experiment with my beauty oils. On skin, it makes my skin looks well hydrated, but not too oily. It has light floral fragrance which doesnt compete with my cologne. 

But, I found its wonder on my hair... before swimming in the sea, I would apply this oil liberally on my hair. really liberally... the result... after whole day of swimming, my hair is easier to manage ... less tangles in the shower, easier during brushing. I am loving it. Yes, oil slicked hair might not be everyone's cup of tea. But you will love the result when you shower... and your hair will be wet from swimming anyway... 

Usually I love heavy glass bottles, but this time, I am super glad with this light plastic bottle. And the spray format is just so handy... application on skin and hair is super easy. Plus, I can simply throw it in my beach bag and not worry about it spilling or broken in my bag.

Bottomline:

This bottle has been my hair savior this summer. highly recommend it!

(picture from vichy.co.uk)

Kose Cosmeport Rose of Heaven Aquary Gel UV SPF 25 PA++

Another one from Kose’s Rose of Heaven series! This candied rose fragranced line consists of many things… hair care, creams and now sunblock too. I adore the candied rose fragrance in some of the products, while not a big fun in some other. I guess the different formula and intensity of the fragrance makes the lines smell similar to each other but not exactly the same, especially when worn on skin.

(picture from adambeauty.com)

Compared to other sunblock milks or gels from other Japanese brands, the bottle of this one is huge. It contains 90mL in contrast to the regular 30-50 mL.

The product itself is a light milky gel, which feels wonderfully cooling when applied.  My skin feels softer and more moisturized after application. I think this gel might contain a little menthol, as I feel light pleasant tingly coolness after application.

Candied honeyed rose fragrance here is not so intensive, yet it will compete with other fragrance if you are using any.

Bottomline...

fun fragrant and cooling sunblock. perfect for beachy holidays when i just dont want to add extra grammes in my bag for perfume. i wont wear this when i am wearning perfume, though...

Nivea Sun Face Moist Beauty Essence Cream SPF 50+ PA+++

After using Nivea Sun Face Moist Beauty Smooth Milk and liking it, I decided to purchase its twin sister… the Essence Cream.

(picture from adambeauty.com)

The main difference that’s so obvious between the two is the packaging; the Essence cream has squeeze-able plastic tube as the packaging. Also, just as the name suggest- Essence cream is more creamy than the light and milky Smooth Milk. The light cream is pinkish peachy in color- yet the color disappear when you start blending in. no worries, it is easily absorbed and leaves my skin lightly moisturized. Fragrance wise they are the same.

While Smooth Milk is light and easy – suitable for humid summer days, the Essence cream is more moisturizing. I like popping essence cream in my travel pouch- for those days I am too lazy or days too humid to wear separate moisturizer and sunscreen.

When I felt lazy, I even skipped my light moisturizer and put on a little extra dollop of this easily absorbed essence, and I am happy with the result. As long as I dont work too long in air conditioned room... then I would need little help from separate moisturizer to offset the dry air-con  environment.

Bottomline,

At this rate, I think I will repurchase these sisters soon enough! I like the lightly moisturizing effect, the small compact packaging, the price… almost everything!



Seabreeze UV Cut & Jelly in Crush Berry SPF 25 PA++

I have owned this bottle for a while. Amazing how I never thought of making a review on it… this week have been a UV protection-sunblock week for me. I posted my thoughts on Nivea’s smooth milk, Fasio’s airy shield, SuhadaFit’s Baby milk.

Seabreeze is UV protection line from Shiseido. This brand offers variety of fragranced products aimed at younger audience. This Seabreeze UV cut & jelly is available in 4 fragrances: soapy, apple, citrus and berry. I got myself the crush berry from Sasa Taipei.  

It is packaged in nozzle tipped plastic bottle, just like most Japanese UV milks. From the size of the content (60ml) I do think this is aimed at may be face and body too. It is a thin milky gel with sweet-berry candy fragrance with a hint of mint. Like most gel, it gives cooling sensation when applied; the fragrance is quite strong compared to other UV milks I have tried, but not as strong as fragranced body lotions.

It gets absorbed easily and definitely didn’t leave any white cast on my skin.

I do think Seabreeze UV cut & Jelly to be more suitable for body, for simple reason.. the minty sensation might be too much for face’s skin. It is very mild on me, but I can imagine it irritates some people with more sensitive skin.

This has been a buddy in my beach bag. While I don’t think it is water resistant, I like the cooling sensation when I applied it under burning tropical sun. too bad it only comes in SPF 25.

Bottomline,

I do think I will buy this again for my travelling bag. It is refreshing and light for travels.

SuhadaFit UV Baby Milk SPF 38 PA+++

Yes… this is the UV milk week. I managed to write a few posts on various Japanese sunblocks, specifically the milky variation. In the last few days, I wrote about Nivea and Fasio. This time, I will share with you my experience with SuhadaFit.

(from adambeauty.com)

SuhadaFit is a brand from yet another Japanese cosmetic manufacturer – isehan. I don’t have much experience with isehan’s brands, so cant share much about them here. SuhadaFit sunscreen line comes in 4 variations: Face essence, Water gel, baby milk and daily milk. All features cute packaging design and SPF 50 (except baby milk, which offers only SPF 38).

(from isehan.co.jp)

I don’t need another bottle of UV milk when I got myself this. But, cmon… look at the pretty pink packaging! It will look pretty on my office desk! Ha!

According to BeautyKat.com: ‘contains Aloe Vera, Soluble Collagen, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Hyaluronic Acid and Rice Bran Oil for improving dryness and the problem of sensitive skin. extracts to protect skin from drying out caused by sun exposure.’ … and I do agree with most of this product description.

While SuhadaFit is perfect in term of presentation, it is lacking on the SPF department. Most of the milks from Japanese brands will come in SPF 50, this one only offers SPF 38.

This sunscreen is in lotion-like texture which is non-sticky and will not leave a greasy layer on the skin. SuhadaFit’s milk is not as runny/thin as most Japanese UV milks. It is more of runny cream/ thick milk- similar to yoghurt consistency (yes, I am hungry now…). But that comes with a surprise… I feel it moisturizes more than other runny UV milks! I like it, since it is still easy to absorb and doesn’t leave white cast- while doesn’t make my face feel oily. My guess is, this would be pleasant to use for those with dry skin. Another good news: it doesn’t smell like anything. Love!

Bottomline,

I love the texture of this one – more moisturizing, yet not sticky/oily. It would be perfect hand bag companion if the SPF is higher.

Nivea Sun Face Moist Beauty Smooth Milk SPF 50+ PA +++

I have known Nivea since I was a kid (I bet you do too), in form of their classic cream in blue tub. Back then, Nivea creams means heavy cream for elbows and dried hands… now, Nivea also offers light milk, Japanese style sunscreen. Not only that, The Face Moist Beauty series also offers Essence version of the sunblock, which I also purchased later after trying the Smooth Milk and liking it...

(picture from adambeauty.com)

As the bottle suggests, this baby has texture of light milk. The color of the product is not white like most milk sunscreen, but it has a hint of apricot in it. Lovely! It also contains hyaluronic acid and royal jelly to moisturize. Not only that, they also said it helps reduce oiliness!

Like most milk products, this product is super easy to blend. And it doesn’t leave whitish/ashy cast on my face! It blends and gets absorbed effortlessly. It has super light fragrance which I can only detect when I pretty much dug my nose in the milk.

As for the reducing oil claim… it is pretty much non existent on me. But then again, my T zone is almost always oily.

Bottomline,

Even though it doesn’t help control my oil, I do like this one. The tiny tiny bottle makes it easy to carry and I adore its light texture. Plus easy to my wallet. I am going to repurchase this one.

But it does contain alcohol, so those with sensitive skin, must be careful.

I got mine from adambeauty.com

Fasio Airy Shield UV Screen EX SPF 50+ PA +++

I know Fasio mostly because of their mascara and eye shadows – most of the time their products doesn’t appeal much to me. But when I was running out of UV milk, I saw this in adambeauty.com and decided to give it a try.

(picture from adambeauty.com)

Now, as far as I am aware, there’re 2 types of Airy Shield UV Screen from Fasio. The one in golden bottle and the EX (silver bottle). I tried to find the difference online, but I couldn’t find any. And since I don’t read Japanese, the box pretty much says nothing to me…

Back to the product. Just like most Japanese UV milk out there, the bottle is hard and has nozzle tip. The product is light and milky. It is spread and get absorbed easily upon application. I do think it is lightly fragranced, but nothing too noticeable. Just pleasant light whiff upon pouring the milk on my palms. Good thing, no whitish cast when applied. And it is super light I don’t feel like I’m having SPF on my face. Nice!

But… I do feel the alcohol here. Those with sensitive or dry skin might want to notice this…

Bottomline,

Lovely choice for humid summer days. But I don’t think I will repurchase, because of the alcohol-y feeling it gives during application.

Appleface Winnie the Pooh Sunscreen SPF 50+ PA+++

Who doesn’t adore Winnie the Pooh? I don’t exactly need another tube of sunscreen… but Winnie was calling!

Appleface is a Taiwanese brand, which often collaborate with Disney to make cute lotions and potions… Other than that, I don’t have much info on the brand. The Winnie sunscreen I got was made in Taiwan.

Ah…I cant stop adoring that cute Winnie face on the tube! Makes sunscreen application more fun! Too bad the ‘Pooh’ on its cap was just a sticker. 

Now I don’t read mandarin much – but judging from the pictures in the packaing it seems that it is meant to be waterproof (to use during swimming and other sports) and safe for kids- but hey…don’t quote me here.

The sunscreen itself is standard thick white cream you apply liberally on your skin before sun drenched activities and don’t forget to re apply after a few hours baking under the sun! it is sticky – as I expected from waterproof suncreens. Other than that…it is nothing special really.

Bottom line, thanks to Winnie – I purchased this one! No Winnie, no purchase for me.

Kinda forgot how much does this cost… I got it in Sasa during my recent travel to Taiwan.

Neutrogena Ageless Essentials Continuous Hydration SPF 25 with Helioplex

Ive been looking for light, moisturizing SPF for my arms for ages by now. For some reason, I keep on bumping into either SPF cream/milk without moisturizing property or those thick gooey smelly SPFs. Until I bumped in to this…

According to the direction, I is supposed to be used for face, neck and chest… but I am using it for my arms and hands, as I prefer to split moisturizer and SPF for face. But too lazy to do the same for my arms…hehe…

The texture of this one is just perfect. Light cream with just enough moisturizing feel. the formula sports fresh fragrance, if you smell hard enough, you might be able to detect the SPF-ey smell. Not as noticeable as other SPFs though.

Doesn’t feel oily too! Perfect for spring/summer!

Another plus… it doesn’t ‘slid off’ / ‘washed away’ when I wash my hands. With that, this has become my desk essential!