Reviewing Japan's best sunscreens!
- Samantha Lee
- Sep 7, 2024
- 6 min read
I recently went to Tokyo and went crazyyyy at Don Quijote (or Don Don Donki as per Singapore branding), Loft and Cosme. I've been on the hunt for a good sunscreen since returning from the UK. In the dry and seasonal weather of Europe, I've been fine using the Colourscience Sunforgettable Total Protection Face Shield Flex SPF 50 (shade Tan), but with the tropical weather my face gets oily way faster and looks a bit TOO 'glowy' in about an hour.
The Japanese are famous for their innovative beauty products that uniquely suit East Asian skin concerns (albeit an abysmally small shade range for foundations and concealers), so I saved a bunch of Tiktok reviews for easy reference in the stores. I bought 7 different sunscreens (thank you SGD to YEN exchange rate) that came HIGHLY reviewed for oily and sensitive skin types.
Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Gel SPF50+ PA++++
This one came well reviewed for people with oily skin and it was literally being sold on every floor of Don Quijote. A gel texture is typically less heavy and pore-clogging than cream textures, which allows for greater breathability and less unnecessary oil production.
This one evaporates fast and sinks nicely into the skin due to the alcohol in the formula, which might not be good for people who are sensitive to it. It does have a slight alcohol scent to it and a bit of a white cast at first. After I rubbed it in for a while, it melded into my skin very nicely. The consistency of this is thin and watery (as per the name), literally slipping and sliding around as it came out the bottle. It was really nice and invisible after I rubbed it in and the finish was neither shiny nor sticky, exactly how my skin looked before I put it on.
Four hours in and I was really not secreting any more oil that I normally do. I also applied some CC cream on top of it and even after many hours I did not look caky or was the CC cream separating on my skin. Worth the hype!
NOTE: don't get confused between this and the other Biore sunscreens (there are MANY). This one has a white cap and is in a screw-top bottle.
Breathability: ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
Consistency: ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
No white cast: ☀️☀️☀️
Quality as a base: ☀️☀️☀️☀️
Price: $
Canmake Mermaid Skin Gel UV SPF50+ PA++++ 01
I heard that this one was just an overall good product for all skin concerns - no potential irritants like actives and alcohols, so I decided to try it. I could only find this at Cosme, way at the bottom of the Canmake wall. Canmake is known for makeup, so I was a bit skeptical about their sunscreen but.....
I freaking love it!!!! The texture was really nice, a bit more creamy than the Biore but really did not require much rubbing in for absorption. It did not leave a white cast at all and also no scent. It had a really smooth, non-ashy finish and wasn't sticky at all. No more shine than when I started. I put on my CC cream and it sat very nicely on top of this sunscreen all day with no separation.
NOTE: I got the 01 and honestly I have no idea what the difference is between 01 and 02, I just swatched (do you use 'swatch' for sunscreen?) both of them and felt like the 01 was slightly thinner in consistency. I'm sure there's info about the diff somewhere though. Also, they also have the 'tone up' variations, which are meant to help lighten the skin, which is not my thing.
Breathability: ☀️☀️☀️☀️
Consistency: ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
No white cast: ☀️☀️☀️☀️
Quality as a base: ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
Price: $$
Nivea UV Deep Protect and Care Gel SPF50+ PA++++
Now if there was a sunscreen more promoted in EVERY single store in Tokyo than this one then I was freaking blind because you could pick this up at like the smallest Family Mart in a town with 20 people. So obviously I believed the hype and had to get it at Don Quijote.
This was the only one that I read no reviews for and impulse bought, so my expectation were honestly quite low. I kind of view Nivea as brand that predominantly does creams, which as mentioned is notoriously bad for oily individuals. Despite that, I decided that trying the gel formula couldn't hurt.
The texture was almost exactly the same as the the Biore, watery and smooth. It had a very slight scent which was not unpleasant at all and had a great application with zero white cast. This one also felt particularly nice on the skin but not sure if it was because I was just feeling myself or because the sunscreen was great hehe. As expected from Japan, this also did not result in me having any additional oil secretion without being drying or ashy.
I had CC cream on top of this too and while the cream was a bit harder to pat in due to how thin this is (not particularly smoothing), I once again did not cake up or did it separate.
Breathability: ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
Consistency: ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
No white cast: ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
Quality as a base: ☀️☀️☀️
Price: $
Dr G Red Blemish Soothing Up Sun SPF 50+ PA++++
Ok so, this is not technically Japanese but I bought it at Loft because I LOVE Dr G's Clear Soothing Cream (my top moisturiser of all time) and I tried this once from my flatmate and was quite into it. After this I am now 100% subscribed to the religion of Dr G!!!
This formula is slightly more creamy and thick than the gels, but the moment I rubbed my fingers together the cream felt so luxurious and smooth. It got absorbed immediately into my skin with minimal rubbing despite it not being marketed as a gel or essence. However, it certainly feels like something is on your skin instead of just going -poof- like the more watery ones.
This thing really felt like magic and the slight creaminess paid off in it being a fantastic primer for some CC cream. Even through sweat and sun after a number of hours my skin was looking great with a healthy amount of glowiness instead of like the inside of a KFC bucket.
Breathability: ☀️☀️☀️☀️
Consistency: ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
No white cast: ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
Quality as a base: ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
Price: $$
Anessa Mineral UV Sunscreen Mild Gel SPF35 PA+++ (for sensitive skin and babies)
Anessa was actually the brand I started my sunscreen journey with - my mum gave me a bottle of the og Perfect UV Sunscreen Skincare Milk when I was 13 and forced me to put it on everyday. After reaching my skincare awakening, I felt like the formula was a bit too ashy and white cast-y for me and switched it up. However, I saw this 'mild gel' at Don Quijote and decided why not give Anessa another chance (also I'm a sucker for cute packaging and LOOK at this).
I didn't think anything made in Japan could disappoint me, but alas! This one came out quite thick and creamy, not very gel-like, and the moment I rubbed my fingers together I knew I wouldn't vibe with this. The white cast was crazyyyy and it wasn't even a WHITE cast because there was a weird purplish tint (UV-style) that made it even harder to apply. It took me at least 3 minutes of constant rubbing and dragging it down my neck for the sunscreen to look a bit more invisible.
Maybe I was not supposed to put as much as I normally do (2 fingers worth) but either way I was also let down by the filmy feeling it left behind on my skin. The consistency felt more like a going-to-the-beach kind of sunscreen rather than an everyday kind even though it was only SPF35. Gonna give this to my baby cousin :(
Breathability: ☀️☀️☀️
Consistency: ☀️☀️
No white cast: ☀️☀️
Quality as a base: ☀️☀️☀️
Price: $$
Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics SPF50+ PA++++
Yes, I am a bandwagon-er. I saw this in Don Quijote and before I knew what was happening it was in my cart for checkout. As the most internationally famous Korean sunscreen, I had very high hopes for this even though I knew it wouldn't be particularly gel-like or tailored for oily skin.
The texture of this is really nice! It's thicker than the Biore and the Nivea, similar consistency to the Canmake. It felt very luxurious and cooling, spreading onto my skin very comfortably. There was a light white cast at first but with about one minute of rubbing it disappeared. There was also no smell.
It felt a bit thicker than some of the others and had a slight filmy feeling on my skin. It did give a bit of an extra glow instead of absorbing completely but did very well as a base for my CC cream, helping it to apply smoothly and not resulting in any streaks.
I think this would work better as a winter/dry climate sunscreen as opposed to hot and tropical because I did look a bit more oily in a few hours than usual. However, the hype is well deserved for this and I can see it working well with all skin types.
Breathability: ☀️☀️☀️☀️
Consistency: ☀️☀️☀️☀️
No white cast: ☀️☀️☀️☀️
Quality as a base: ☀️☀️☀️☀️
Price: $$
Here ends my review! I hope you enjoyed this and make an educated choice when you buy your next sunscreen, or do as I do and just take things off the shelves with no second thought ♥️
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