New Sunscreens!

CVS/Pharmacy Ultimate Sheer Liquid SPF70 & La Roche-Posay Anthelios Ulta Light Sunscreen Fluid SPF60

I picked up two sunscreens a month ago because it was getting warmer and sunnier and I didn't want to use my Kiehl's Super Fluid UV Defense sunscreen (mainly because of the alcohol content).

CVS/Pharmacy Ultimate Sheer Liquid SPF70 $12.79

I came in only planning to get the La Roche-Posay sunscreen, but bought this one because I had an $8 off $40 purchase coupon. This is supposed to be a generic to Neutrogena's Ultra Sheer Liquid, but I bought this instead because it was cheaper. The ingredients aren't exactly the same as on the website so here they are:

Active:

Avobenzone 3.0%, Homosalate 10%, Octisalate 5%, Octocrylene 7.5%, Oxybenzone 5%

Inactive:

Acrylates/Dimethicone Copolymer, Asorbic Acid, BHT, Bisabolol, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Camelia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Caprylyl Glycol, Cetyl Dimethicone, Chlorphenesin, Cholecalciferol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Disodium EDTA, Ethylhexyl Glycerin, Fragrance, Isomalt, Lecithin, Mannan, Pentylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Polyester-8, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Retinyl Palmiate, Silica, Sodium Benzoate, Steareth-10, Steareth-2, Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer, Tocopheryl Acetate, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Fruit Cell Extract, Water, Xanthan Gum

Some of the claims it makes are:

-Perfect for daily use under makeup

-Light, clean & oil free

-Won't clog pores

La Roche-Posay Anthelios Ulta Light Sunscreen Fluid SPF60 $29.99

Active:

Avobenzone 3%, Homosalate 15%, Octisalate 5%, Octocrylene 5%, Oxybenzone 6%

Inactive:

Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Alcohol Denatured, Silica, Dicaprylyl Ether, Styrene Acrylates Copolymer, Diethylhexyl Syringylidenemalonate, PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate, Dimethicone, Cyclohexasiloxane, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Nylon-12, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Phenoxyethanol, Lauryl PEG/PPG 18/18 Methicone, Sodium Chloride, Caprylyl Glycol, Methylparaben, Poly C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Disodium EDTA, Cassia Alata (Candle Tree) Leaf Extract, Maltodextrin, Dodecene, Poloxamer 407

Claims:

-Fast absorbing, matte finish

Here they are compared to the other sunscreens I was using:

Out of the two sunscreens, I prefer the CVS brand one simply because it's cheaper and doesn't have alcohol (I plan on returing the La-Roche Posay one). I thought the La-Roche Posay one was drying out my skin due to the alcohol content, but my skin was simply dry and wearing foundation was making it worse. Still, I dislike the alcohol content in this sunscreen. It's third from the top of the ingredients list. When I apply it, the smell of alcohol is strong just like Kiehl's Super Fluid sunscreen.

Both of these sunscreens are shake types that have a milky consistency. The CVS one is more thick and has a fragrance, but I prefer smelling that over alcohol. Both of them don't really give a matte finish, but I put it over my serums anyway (compared to putting it over a completely bare face). 

I would repurchase the CVS one, but I'm starting to get tired of these milk type sunscreens. I saw a review on Missha's All Around Safe Block and got excited because it has a gel type consistency, but I was looking at the ingredients and the active ones only protect against UVB rays : (. So sad. 

Laneige Snow BB Soothing Cushion SPF50+ PA+++ No.31 Brown Beige

Laneige Snow BB Soothing Cushion SPF50+ PA+++ No.31 Brown Beige

Finally reviewing this BB cushion I got in November! I purchased it on Gmarket for $27.63 (29,900 won). There are other BB cushions out there, but I bought this one because they had a third shade (the other brands only have 2). 

Description:

"New Concept Cushion-type BB: A new-concept cushion-type BB with five active ingredients for Whitening + Sunscreen + Sweat-proof + Soothing + Makeup contained in the cushion to maximize the refreshing and soothing sensation. Every time you touch it, the air pump in the cushion contains air bubbles for thin and skin-friendly makeup. Also, it is provided in two separate containers to preserve the active ingredients and their functionality. The formulas can be used fresh and safely from start to finish."

"Cushiony Soothing Cushion Puff: The special puff designed to feel the refreshing soothing sensation absorbs moisture less than ordinary puff to deliver the refreshing sensation of moisture to the face and stay clean and sanitary. The formulas apply smoothly without irratation and even a small amount can spread to cover a large area."

This product is gimmicky in my opinion, but I wanted to try it out because I loved the dewy look it gave. Even though it's gimmicky with all of it's claims it's easy to use. I find that I apply this faster than a regular BB cream. One gripe is the cushion. It gets dirty easy and it takes a long time to clean. After a week of using it, I felt like I needed to clean the cushion already. I use Daiso's detergent for my makeup brushes and even though it is pretty strong, I had to wash the cushion 2-3 times for it to be completely clean. This can be a problem for germaphobes. Also, the inside of the compact can get pretty dirty/messy. 

I would say that the shade is close to an NC30, maybe even lighter. The shade is very close to Missha's Perfect Cover BB Cream in No.27. It has beige undertones.

Left: without product Right: with product

Sadly this shade doesn't work for me because my face and neck are different shades. When I was first using it I thought it worked out well because it was sheer, but after finding out that it matches Missha No.27 I stopped using it because Missha No.27 is too light for me right now. 

(Gimmicky) Claims:

-Whitening: "contains White Plus Renew ComplexTM...for bright and clear skin"

-Sunscreen

-Sweat-proof: "High molecules strong against sweat and sebum form a network to form an elastic barrier on the surface of makeup to hold makeup and UV screen for a long time. Also, highly elastic cushion powder holds up the makeup barrier that can easily be collapsed by sweat and sebum for long-lasting makeup even with one layer."

-Soothing

-Makeup Effects: "The spherical powder with similar refraction rate as the skin controls oil absorption and light diffusion to prevent excess shine and creates a natural and clean skin tone with medium coverage."

This product does give me that dewy look which is great everywhere else except for my T-zone! After I apply it, my T-zone looks really oily/greasy so I have to apply powder. Unfortunately it doesn't last long. After 4 hours my face gets greasy/oily. I find that my face gets oily faster using this compared to other products. It does feel nice applying it, like a cool sensation. I also appreciate the high SPF. I can skip that step when using this. I also like how it's sheer. I think that it can be built up to medium coverage.

Overall, I wouldn't buy any more refills for this (this already came with an extra one). I feel like this would be great for the summer because it is light, easy, travel friendly, and has high SPF, but I can't use it over the summer because that's when my skin gets darker! The only time I can use it is over the winter when my skin lightens up, but by then I prefer a thicker BB cream/foundation for more moisture. 

Omi Solanoveil Protect Face Milk SPF50+ PA+++

Woo finally able to blog again! I have so many things to post! First off is a sunscreen that I got back in August. I'm almost done with it so now I can review it!

Omi Solanoveil Protect Face Milk SPF50+ PA+++

I purchased this back in August from adambeauty. I bought it for $10.50 and paid $2 for shipping. It's a bit small at 40ml, but I'm at month 4 and there's a little bit left (with using it mostly everyday). The good thing about it being small is that it is travel friendly. 

This sunscreen contains hyaluronic acid and arbutin. It does not contain alcohol.

Claims:

- "light diffusing effect to cover skin imperfections"

- sweat & sebum resistant

- makeup base

It's one of those shake, milky-type sunscreens. I have to work with it fast because it's so liquidy, but it doesn't bother me that much. It kind of smells like gasoline (I don't know, I'm weird -__-), but I don't even notice the smell anymore. It has a very slick feel because of the cyclopentasiloxane. 

You can't really tell in the photo, but it does make my skin whiter. I don't mind it because I put my foundation/BB cream over it anyway. I think that it did whiten my skin over time simply due to the SPF content. To me, it wasn't that sebum and sweat resistant because my skin started to become oily after 4-5 hours and the initial application leaves an oily finish. Again I don't mind because I'm going to put a powder over everything anyway. 

I would repurchase this again because it's cheap and has a high SPF content. I was planning on trying the whitening one, but I saw that one of the ingredients was pig placenta. Yeah, not going to put pig placenta on my face -__-.