Skin type/concerns: My skin is pretty dry and SUPER acne prone. I use tazarotene 5x/week. I have pretty bad acne scarring and I’ve been doing monthly microneedling or TCA peels to try and address them, so my primary goal with skincare rn is to promote healing/skin health.
Western moisturizers usually break me out (ccs on my forehead). I’m on a moisturizer exploration quest right now after years of using Elta MD AM Therapy – it doesn’t break me out, but it’s expensive and it’s not heavy enough for use with taz. My cc breakout problem is pretty annoying because it takes 3-4 weeks for them to start showing up after beginning use of a product.
Onto the reviews…
HITS:
– Dr. Althea 147 Barrier Cream: I started using this with a weeklong split-face test with my Elta MD moisturizer. The 147 cream had noticeably longer-lasting moisture and made my skin feel great even with taz use. It has a pretty matte/velvety finish that works great under makeup. Feels heavy enough to use at night, as well, though I may end up preferring something thicker. I used the entire tube AM & PM and it never broke me out. I’m continuing my moisturizer gauntlet but I would not be surprised if this is my ultimate pick in the end, particularly for AM use. Already re-purchased to stabilize my skin after a moisturizer flop (below) before I try the next one.
– Biore Skin Aqua Super Moisture Barrier UV Essence (rose gold tube): I think this is headed towards HG status for me. Incredibly lightweight feeling and rubs in/dries down immediately. Using 2 fingerlengths full doesn’t feel like you’re drowning your face in product. Has a skin-like finish; not ultra matte or drying but not shiny AT ALL. This is my favorite AB sunscreen I’ve ever tried.
MEH:
– Biore UV Aqua Rich Water Essence (not pictured, threw away the tube but also recently finished): This is a cult classic for a reason; it’s a great sunscreen, but it’s just been shown up by the rose gold option for me. Just feels a tad bit greasier and more film-like on the skin.
– Kose Suncut UV Perfect Gel: Same thing as the Aqua Rich; it is suffering in comparison to the rose gold Biore. 2 fingerlengths full feels like you’re drowning your face. Dries down to leave a film. Wears fine under makeup, but I wouldn’t want to wear it out on its own.
TRASH HEAP:
– Celimax Dual Barrier Skin Wearable Cream: Started wearing this in a split-face with the 147 cream. It does have a very long-lasting hydration feeling, but it feels a lot more oily/greasy than the 147 cream. It wears quite badly under makeup IMO, like it’s creating an unstable surface. I tried wearing it AM & PM for ~2 weeks or so, but I just hated the texture under makeup, so I shifted to PM only. It did feel very healing/soothing when used with tazarotene. After another ~2 weeks, I started breaking out on my forehead. I discontinued use and my skin is already feeling much better and the ccs are going away. Overall, really disliked this product and would not recommend.
– Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Hold Cream: This is perhaps the worst sunscreen ever created. It’s an abomination. Thick and greasy with the strongest old-lady fragrance you can imagine. Thick white cast that..kind of dries down. I don’t know how this got into production at Biore given how good their other sunscreens are. I used this up on my neck because I couldn’t bear to put it on my face.
GlitteringEggCarton on
Are we using the same Biore Skin Aqua Super Moisture Barrier UV Essence? It’s greasy and shiny no matter how much you use. I couldn’t call it skin like finish, and my skin is dry to begin with.
2 Comments
Skin type/concerns: My skin is pretty dry and SUPER acne prone. I use tazarotene 5x/week. I have pretty bad acne scarring and I’ve been doing monthly microneedling or TCA peels to try and address them, so my primary goal with skincare rn is to promote healing/skin health.
Western moisturizers usually break me out (ccs on my forehead). I’m on a moisturizer exploration quest right now after years of using Elta MD AM Therapy – it doesn’t break me out, but it’s expensive and it’s not heavy enough for use with taz. My cc breakout problem is pretty annoying because it takes 3-4 weeks for them to start showing up after beginning use of a product.
Onto the reviews…
HITS:
– Dr. Althea 147 Barrier Cream: I started using this with a weeklong split-face test with my Elta MD moisturizer. The 147 cream had noticeably longer-lasting moisture and made my skin feel great even with taz use. It has a pretty matte/velvety finish that works great under makeup. Feels heavy enough to use at night, as well, though I may end up preferring something thicker. I used the entire tube AM & PM and it never broke me out. I’m continuing my moisturizer gauntlet but I would not be surprised if this is my ultimate pick in the end, particularly for AM use. Already re-purchased to stabilize my skin after a moisturizer flop (below) before I try the next one.
– Biore Skin Aqua Super Moisture Barrier UV Essence (rose gold tube): I think this is headed towards HG status for me. Incredibly lightweight feeling and rubs in/dries down immediately. Using 2 fingerlengths full doesn’t feel like you’re drowning your face in product. Has a skin-like finish; not ultra matte or drying but not shiny AT ALL. This is my favorite AB sunscreen I’ve ever tried.
MEH:
– Biore UV Aqua Rich Water Essence (not pictured, threw away the tube but also recently finished): This is a cult classic for a reason; it’s a great sunscreen, but it’s just been shown up by the rose gold option for me. Just feels a tad bit greasier and more film-like on the skin.
– Kose Suncut UV Perfect Gel: Same thing as the Aqua Rich; it is suffering in comparison to the rose gold Biore. 2 fingerlengths full feels like you’re drowning your face. Dries down to leave a film. Wears fine under makeup, but I wouldn’t want to wear it out on its own.
TRASH HEAP:
– Celimax Dual Barrier Skin Wearable Cream: Started wearing this in a split-face with the 147 cream. It does have a very long-lasting hydration feeling, but it feels a lot more oily/greasy than the 147 cream. It wears quite badly under makeup IMO, like it’s creating an unstable surface. I tried wearing it AM & PM for ~2 weeks or so, but I just hated the texture under makeup, so I shifted to PM only. It did feel very healing/soothing when used with tazarotene. After another ~2 weeks, I started breaking out on my forehead. I discontinued use and my skin is already feeling much better and the ccs are going away. Overall, really disliked this product and would not recommend.
– Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Hold Cream: This is perhaps the worst sunscreen ever created. It’s an abomination. Thick and greasy with the strongest old-lady fragrance you can imagine. Thick white cast that..kind of dries down. I don’t know how this got into production at Biore given how good their other sunscreens are. I used this up on my neck because I couldn’t bear to put it on my face.
Are we using the same Biore Skin Aqua Super Moisture Barrier UV Essence? It’s greasy and shiny no matter how much you use. I couldn’t call it skin like finish, and my skin is dry to begin with.