Sunscreen Review: Rohto HADA LABO Koi Gokujyun Perfect UV Gel SPF 50+ PA++++

Claims: Moisturising sunscreen, has 3 different types of Hyaluronic Acid, Rhoto's Proprietary Encapsulation Technology (where some of the sunscreen filter ingredients are coated in order that they are not penetrate the skin and better form an even seal of a sunscreen film on your face).

Ratings: SPF50+ PA++++

Cost/Value: $11-$18 (50 grams) depending on where you buy it / fair deal

It is a Combination Sunscreen leaning heavily on the chemical side. Its active ingredients are Octinoxate, Parsok SLX, Tinosob S, Uvinul A Plus and Titanium Dioxide.

It DOES sting my eyes, sometimes. My eyes felt a bit sensitive, but it honestly did not bother me at all.

It did NOT gather in my wrinkles.

It did NOT leave a white cast in my skin. This is the most magic sheer sunscreen I have ever used. Even with a large amount of this sunscreen, it dries down completely sheer. Even if you overapply, don't blend at all, have patches all over your face . . . in 20 minutes, it will be sheer. If a white cast is your biggest fear, get this sunscreen. It will never have a white cast at all. It has magical finish that sinks into skin and really moisturises it. This sunscreen makes skin look smooth, healthy and glowy to your skin. 

It DOES dry down in 20 minutes, with a slightly sticky finish.

It DOES wear well under make up. This sunscreen is not formulated to be water or sweat resistant. If I want to wear make up over it, I make sure to overapply. That said, once you have make up over a large amount of this sunscreen, it looks totally beautiful and doesn't affect the make up at all. 

It DOES stay throughout the day, but like most chemical heavy sunscreens, should be reapplied. This is not a resilient sunscreen. If you are wearing make up and powder over it, I would highly recommend reapplying it during the day. 

This is best suited for dry to normal skin. Not because it would be bad on oily skin in any way, but because there are several mattifying options for somebody with combination to oily skin. This is a stunning sunscreen and definitely in my top 10 for everyone, but particularly great for dry and normal-to-dry skin.

 I would recommend this sunscreen to anybody who is looking for a super elegant sunscreen who is not trying to wear it to exercise or be outside all day long. If you are looking for everyday super natural, incredibly sheer, very elegant sunscreen, this is so good. 

Sunscreen Review: Rohto SUNPLAY Super Cool Sunscreen Milk SPF 50+ PA++++

Claims: Alcohol free, Hyaluronic Acid to keep your skin moisturised and water resistant.

Ratings: SPF 50+ PA++++

Cost/Value: $5-$13 (27 ml) depending on where you buy it / Good value.

It is a Combination Sunscreen with active ingredients of Octinoxate, Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide and Uvinul A Plus.

It did NOT sting my eyes.

It DOES smell. It features a bit of Mentholatum. Some people find it to be irritating and it has a very minty smell. It has a strange cooling effect on the skin. It cools your face as it dries down, like vicks vaporub.

It DOES leave a white cast on skin. As it dries down, it tends to be mostly sheer but leaves little white patches in areas where you inadvertently overapplied.

It DOES gather a little bit in my under eye wrinkles. It is easy to pat out and it won't re-occur.

It dries down in 25-40 minutes, depending on how much you apply. When it dried down, it dried to a sticky texture.

I do NOT have any problems putting it under make up. You do have to be very careful not to remove it or move it around. If you are wearing foundation over this, it would be best to apply a liquid foundation gingerly with a flat paddle shaped foundation brush.

It DOES lasts throughout the day.

It is NOT suitable for sensitive skin or broken skin because of Mentholatum. It's not advisable to apply it over acne, psoriasis or skin problems. And because it does highlight dry patches a bit, this is not good if you have really dry skin.

Because of its oily texture, you have to shake it before using. 

I would definitely repurchase this sunscreen and recommend it highly, especially if you're on a budget!

Sunscreen Review: CHIFURE Sunscreen Milk SPF 50+ PA++++

Ingredients (Good): Hyaluronic Acid

Ratings: SPF 50+ PA++++

Cost: $10-$25 (30ml) depending on where you buy it

It is a Combination Sunscreen with active ingredients of 8% Octinoxate, 6% Titanium Dioxide, 5% Zinc Oxide and 2% Uvinul A Plus.

It did NOT sting my eyes.

It did NOT smell.

It DOES leaves a strong white cast on my skin. Not recommended to wear on its own, it definitely requires make-up over.

It DOES gather a bit in my under eye wrinkles.

It did NOT dry down in 20minutes or less. If you apply a very very thin layer, it will set in 20 minutes. But if you apply enough to create an even thick sunscreen film on your face, which you really need if you want your sunscreen to serve you well all day, it takes about an hour to set. When it dries down, it has uneven white cast. It has dry and sticky feel to it.

It does NOT sits well under make-up. It works best under mineral and powder foundations rather than liquids.

It DOES last throughout the day. It's actually a bit tough to remove. 

This is suitable for any skin type. Though it has 3% alcohol, it did not dry or moisturize my skin. 

It has a milky texture and you have to shake it before using.

I don't love this sunscreen for the price, but I do plan on finishing the bottle.

Sunscreen Review: Dr Ci:Labo UV & White Moisture Milk SPF 50+ PA++++

Ingredients (Good): Niacinamide, Resveratrol, Collagens, Hyaluronic Acid, Ceramide, Vitamin E, Plant Extract

Ingredients (Bad): Ensulizole, which is known to create free radicals in the presence of sunlight and has been shown to cause cancer mutations in vitro. 

Ratings: SPF 50+ PA++++

Cost/Value: $41-$83 (60ml) depending on where you buy it 

It did NOT smell.

It did NOT sting my eyes.

It DOES leave a slight white cast on skin due to the small amount of ZInc Oxide. 

It did NOT gather in my wrinkles.

This is Combination Sunscreen with active ingredients Octinoxate, Zinc Oxide, Octisalate, Ensulizole, Uvinul A Plus, Uvinul T-150 and Tinosorb-S. 

It DOES wear well under make-up. It has a very elegant texture and looks beautiful under make-up.

It DOES dries down in 10 minutes to completely sheer finish.

It has a very thin consistency and did not last well throughout the day. Not a good sunscreen for long hours, direct sunlight or exercising.

It has a milky texture and blends out completely sheer with slight white cast.

This is really elegant finish that would work for almost any skin type. I don't think it will over-emphasize texture on dry skin, and I don't think that it will do anything to help mattify oily skin. I would not recommend this sunscreen because of the ensulizole and the high price, but you could definitely do worse.

Sunscreen Review: Kao Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence SPF 50+ PA++++

Claims: Moisturizes and smoothes skin with Hyaluronic Acid and Royal Jelly Extract.

Ratings: SPF 50+ PA++++

Cost/Value: $10-$20 depending on where you buy it / fairly priced.

This is 100% Chemical Sunscreen. Its active ingredients are Octinoxate, Tinosorb-S, Uvinul-A plus and Uvinul T-150.

It did NOT leave a white cast in my skin. It went on completely sheer.

It did NOT gather in wrinkles. 

It DOES have a slight smell. There is a mild fruity scent. It also smells like alcohol. 

It did NOT sting in my eyes. 

It DOES dry down in 20 minutes or less. It has a very smooth silicone type finish, and takes about 10 minutes to sink into skin slightly. After that, it stays smooth and slippery throughout the day. 

It sometimes wears well under make-up. On its own, this has one of the most elegant textures I've tried. Under make-up, it only looks good about half the time. I've changed up various elements of my skincare routine trying to pinpoint the offender . . . and have found that the sunscreen just looks good half the time, the other half of the time it pills up under foundation.

It DOES last throughout the day. 

This is suited for all skin types. It is particularly great for textured skin. If you have dry scaly patches or really big clogged pores, this sunscreen has a blurring effect on the skin without having any pigment. 

The texture is truly a watery essence. Even a large amount goes on completely sheer. 

I HIGHLY recommend this sunscreen, it's one of my all time favorites.

Sunscreen Review: Isehan Sunkiller Perfect Strong Moisture SPF 50+ PA++++

Claims: Alcohol free, Collagen, Hyaluronic Acid to keep your skin moisturized as much as possible.

Ratings: SPF 50+ PA++++

Cost/Value: $8 in Ebay and $24 in Amazaon (30ml)

It is Chemical Sunscreen with active ingredients of Octinoxate, Octocrylene and Uvinul A Plus. 

It DOES sting my eyes very slightly.

It DOES smell. It has a very mild Citrus and floral perfume scent.

It did NOT leave a white cast on my skin. It is completely sheer and can be worn out by itself.

It did NOT gather in my wrinkles.

It did NOT dry down in 20 minutes or less. This never dries down, although it slowly absorbed into skin over the course of the day. This went on as a heavy oily film and made no progress for between 30-35 minutes. It dried down very slightly but remained unbearably oily. It partially sunk into my skin after more than 7 hours.

It did NOT sit well under make-up. No matter what type of foundation you apply over it, it becomes a super dewy foundation. It is not comfortable to wear this under makeup.

It did NOT wear well throughout the day. It either slides off or sinks into skin.

This type of sunscreen, you have to shake.

I would recommend this only for *very dry skin* due to the moisturizing effect and oily finish.

Sunscreen Review: Ishizawa Shigaisen Yohou Non Chemical UV Cream SPF 50+ PA++++

Ingredients: Hyaluronic Acid, Collagen, Orange Oil, Aloe Leaf Extract, Grape Extract, Chamomile Extract, Barbados Cherry Extract, Mulberry Bark Extract, Skullcap Extract and Wandering Dew Extract. 

Ratings: SPF 50+ PA++++

Cost/Value: between $27-$34 on Ebay (40 grams) / average to pricey

It is 100% Physical Sunscreen. The active ingredients are Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide. Completely free of chemical sunscreen filters.

It did NOT sting my eyes.

It did NOT smell.

It DOES leaves a very strong white cast. If you apply a an appropriate amount, it can get patchy. You really need to wear make up over this.

It dries down in between 20-25 minutes, depending on how much you apply.

It DOES repeatedly pool in my undereye wrinkles, at least 2 or 3 times during the day. 

It changes the look of foundation. Any foundation that you put it under will look a full shade lighter and more powdery or matte than it normally would. It does not become more sheer throughout the day. However, once everything has applied and set, the finish doesn't change. It really sticks around throughout the day and your make-up really sticks to it. It helps my foundation lasts longer in good condition.

It is definitely present throughout the day.

I recommend this for sensitive skin (unless you know yourself to be reactive to Citrus Oils, in this case I would not recommend it). I would also recommend it to acne sufferers. Zinc has a natural calming effect on skin and anti-bacterial properties that will help fight your acne.

Sunscreen Review: Rohto Skin Aqua UV Super Moisture Gel SPF 50+ PA++++

Claims: UV Boost Technology that boosts UV protection beyond it stated factor, plus Hyaluronic Acid, Collagen and a type of Amino Acid.

Ratings: SPF 50+ PA++++

Cost/Value: $13-$15 on Amazon (140 grams) / really budget friendly inexpensive sunscreen.

This is a purely chemical sunscreen with active ingredients Octinoxate, Uvinul A Plus, Tinosorb-S and Uvinul T-150.

It DOES sting my eyes. I felt quite irritated throughout the day.

It DOES smell. Before it dries down, it has a chemical sunscreen odour. The chemical smell is masked by some sort of artificial fragrance that smells something like baby powder.

It did NOT leave a white cast on my skin. It is totally sheer, completely wearable by itself.

It did NOT gather in my undereye wrinkles.

It dried down in 5 minutes or less into a completely sheer, very sticky film. It took about 35 minutes to be absorbed somewhat into my skin and lose some of that stickiness, but it still had a tacky texture that did not change throughout the day. Towards the very end of my day, it became somewhat oily.

It sits beautifully under make-up.

This would work fine on any skin type except for oily skin. If your skin is already fighting your make-up with shine mid-day, you would look really greasy in this by the end of the day. I would not recommend for oily skin. 

At the end of the day, because it irritated my eyes I would not repurchase or recommend this sunscreen. If your eyes just are not sensitive to chemical sunscreen filters, this is definitely worth a shot due to it's low low price and completely sheer, elegant finish.

Sunscreen Review: Kate Somerville Daily Deflector Moisturizer SPF 50 PA+++

RATING: SPF 50 + and PA +++

COST: $48 (1.7oz) 

PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL: 100% Chemical Actives: 3% avobenzone, 10% homosalate
5% octosalate, 2% octocrylene, 6% oxybenzone

STING: YES it did sting my eyes.

WHITE CAST: It does NOT have white cast. But when you over application it will reflect white in that area.

DRY DOWN: It does NOT DRY DOWN IN 20 MINUTES OR LESS. It takes over an hour for the oily finish to dry down.

WRINKLES: It does NOT settle in wrinkles.

SMELL: Yes, It has slight classic sunscreen odor.

MAKEUP: It wears beautifully under make up.

ENDURANCE: It lasts on the face all day.

FINAL THOUGHTS: If you are in the market for a high end sunscreen, nothing is ~wrong~ with this choice. It provides excellent protection, and has a more mild reaction than other chemical sunscreens. Still, I wouldn't apply in the eye area. It is good combination with mineral sunscreen around my eyes and my face on rainy days.