Unfortunately, Japanese sunscreens don’t list the percentage of active sunscreen ingredients at the top of the label, the way American ones do. So it took a bit of research to find the active sunscreen ingredients in this formula: Water, Ethanol, Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, Ethylhexyl triazone, Isopropyl palmitate, Lauryl Methacrylate/Sodium Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate, Hydrogenated polyisobutene, Bis-ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine, Dextrin Palmitate, BG, Xylitol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Dimethicone, alkyl benzoate (C12-15), Glycerin, Glyceryl stearate, Propanediol, Glyceryl behenate, Vinyl dimethicone / methicone Silsesquioxane crosspolymer, Cetanol, Agar, Sorbitan distearate, Isoceteth-20, Polyvinyl alcohol, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Arginine, Potassium hydroxide, Sodium Hydroxide, Royal jelly extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Phenoxyethanol, EDTA-2Na, BHT, Fragrance This formula lists “ethanol” pretty high on the ingredient list, which is used as a solvent to dissolve sunscreen actives. Although this helps create a more “cosmetically elegant” formula that doesn’t leave a white cast, it may dry out or irritate some people’s skin. However, my dad has noted in the past that you can offset these drying effects by including moisturizing ingredients like glycerin, dimethicone, and sodium hyaluronate in the same formula, like Biore has done with this sunscreen. If you don’t normally wear makeup, you might want to opt for a tinted sunscreen like Australian Gold instead, which helps blur imperfections, delivers a matte finish to reduce shine at the end of the day (and is also rated PA++++). Although you can use both products on your face and your body, the biggest difference between these two products is that the Biore Aqua Rich UV Watery Essence is better to use on your face as a foundation primer rather than the Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Gel, which may be better to use on your body. The Biore UV Aqua Rich watery Gel may be used on your face for foundation primer, but the chances that the sunscreen gel would become flakey is higher since the gel version is denser than the watery essence version.

The Bioré UV Watery Essence Aqua Rich Sunscreen contains an advanced micro defense formula that is specifically developed by Bioré for this particular product. The formula not only helps spread the product evenly and smoothly onto the surface of the skin, but the formula lets the product stay on your face longer.

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Ethylhexyl Triazone is amore modernchemical sunscreen which I believe is not available in the US yet due to FDA regulations. It gives thehighest photo-stable absorption of all available UVB filterstoday. Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate It’s definitely not going to do your pores or oily skin any favors. But it’s probably for layering with makeup

Just need to confirm the stability of this formula (stable emulsion without separation)one way to tell is to squeeze Product to your palm and observe if any running liquid coming out from the cream or not. water, ethanol, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, lauryl methacrylate/sodium methacrylate crosspolymer, alkyl benzoate, bisethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine, diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate, dimethicone, ethylhexyl triazone, silica dimethyl silylate, dipropylene glycol, xylitol, dextrin palmitate, acrylates/ My dad formulated sunscreens for American companies that sold their products in Europe, but still didn’t use actives that weren’t approved in the U.S. So he doesn’t have personal experience with these non-U.S.-approved actives. However, he does think that the actives have very good field data and have performed well for European consumers over the years. Therefore, he thinks that this sunscreen will be a good formula, as long as it’s stable. This ingredient also looses its effectiveness over time; it loses 10% of its SPF protection within 35 minutes of applying it. For this reason it is usually combined with other sunscreens to give the product more stable, broad spectrum protection. Ethylhexyl Triazone Dear Emily, when I worked on sunscreen formulas for Europe, I still use US approved sunscreen actives even though Europe has approved a few other effective sunscreen actives as those in the Japanese formula.

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c10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, dimethicone/vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer, polysilicone-9, glyceryl stearate, aminomethyl propanol, vinyl dimethicone/ The new, improved release consists of (…) Bioré UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence, a watery essence with a transparent feel that blends effortlessly with the skin, (…), delivering maximum UV protection of SPF50+ and PA++++. I solemnly swear to research skin care and beauty products, ask my dad (the chemist) for advice, and share those findings with you! Learn More

There is no explanation on how much sunscreen to use, so it’s difficult to determine how much to put on and reapply to protect your skin from the UV. However, due to the complex and well-developed formula, as well as the ability to build up the product without making your skin uncomfortable, I’m not too worried about how to use it. But it would be nice to have some reference to follow. clear, oil-soluble, “cosmetically-elegant” liquid, not photostable (loses 10% of its SPF protection ability within 35 mins), needs other filters to stabilize (like Tinosorb S) Overall, I have to say, it is pretty difficult to think of any cons, because the product works very well with my skin. Nonetheless, I will be listing some cons that do not apply to myself, but may be applied to others. The Pros: For my everyday makeup look, I usually apply concealer or foundation on top of my sunscreen. When I used the Biore Sunscreen in the same method, my makeup did not budge at all, which means that it’s very effective to use as a makeup primer. methicone silsesquioxane crosspolymer, agar, isoceteth-20, c30-45 alkyl methicone, polyvinyl alcohol, c30-45 olefin, sodium hydroxide, butylene glycol, propylene glycol, sodium hyaluronate, royal jelly extract, citrus aurantium dulcis fruit extract, citrus grandis fruit extract, lemon fruit extract, phenoxyethanol, edta-2na, bht, fragranceEthylhexyl Triazone (also known as octyltriazone or Uvinul T 150) protects against UVB ( read more about it here) May be drying to some people’s skin types, or vice versa, greasy (may depend on your skin type or environment you live in) You already know it, but I give this product a 100 out of 10! There may be so many sunscreens in Japan that are good, but considering the price, amount of product, usability and quality of this product, this sunscreen is hands down the best! This product is something that all people should use in their skincare routine, or use at least once in their lifetime. Octinoxate is the only FDA-approved active that is included in this product. The other three are not currently approved for use in U.S. sunscreens, they have been approved outside the U.S. for some time. This article from BASF (the maker of these sunscreen actives) explains it. Tinosorb S is an oil-soluble UVA filter that peaks in protection around 350nm, and has been available in Europe since 2000 (with approval in Japan and Australia about five years after that). Uvinul A Plus’s protection peaks around 355 nm. This makes both Tinosorb S and Uvinul A Plus good sources of UVA protection (hence the high PA++++ rating for this sunscreen). My Dad the Chemist’s review of Biore UV Aqua Rich Water Essence SPF 50+ PA++++ Despite the robust protection they provide against UV, these new sunscreens feel as light as water on the skin. The airy, vibrant sensation never disappears, no matter how often the sunscreens are reapplied. Kao Global