The 5 Sunscreens We Just Love So Much - Review M24
As far as I remember, the first water-gel textured sunscreen that I have used was Biore’s Aqua Rich Watery Gel Essence. This cool-touch, fast absorbing, real watery emulsion texture made me stay with this sunscreen with more than a year. I am a cosmetic curator and I am not a very loyal fan of any brands, so using same products throughout the year is a big thing. I knew it contained 4 parabens (even propyl & butylparaben) families on the top of BHT while I was using it and I also knew that it contained methylisothiazolinone and DMDM hydantoin with high immunotoxicity but it didn’t give me any bad reaction. I just used it anyway because of its invincible texture. I mean, no white cast with watery gel texture was just too good to give up.
In 2015, Biore introduced 2015 version Aqua Rich Watery Gel Essence WITHOUT parabens and two banned molecules (methylisothiazolinone and DMDM hydantoin.) It still DOES contain BHT as preservatives but I don’t use Biore anymore even with its improved ingredients. There are literally plenty of watery-gel sunscreens with superb texture and excellent ingredients. This posting includes some of the sunscreen that we don’t carry as well.
1. Neogen Code 9 UV Defense Long-lasting Protector
This sunscreen from Neogen Code 9 is nicely made with nice texture. Interestingly, this encapsulate hydration ampoule with diamond powder and adenosine. Unlike other sunscreens, UV Defense Long Lasting Protector does contain titanium dioxide, providing extra coverage. It does have a bit of traceable white-cast but it is very minimal and gives you nice glow after use. It is not 100% physical sunscreen (still, this concept of physical / chemical sunscreen is still arguable because the concept of “reflection” particle is hardly contested nowadays,) still it gives sun-coverage from titanium dioxide and I think it is a huge plus.
2. Too Cool for School Aritfy Waterfull Sun Essence
This light touch sunscreen from Too Cool For School has very watery and light texture just like Biore’s sunscreen but while Biore somehow leave a little slippery and oily residue, Waterfull Sun Essence really feel like watery essence. Again, this is a completely chemical based sunscreen without zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. Because of the composition, it does not have full protective coverage for UVA ray. In terms of the texture, this is a winner for the watery game.
3. Elensilia Enchante Marine Energy Sun Gel SPF 50+
Nicely made gel textured sunscreen from Elensilia. It also has watery texture and leaves nice glow on the skin after use. So, in terms of “bareness & nudity,” Too Cool For School is a bit better one than this. However, this one does have full coverage on UVA because of Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, and still this sunscreen has decent texture. Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine provides additional sun filtering coverage. Mineral rich deep sea water is used as base and marine cristae stem cell extracts and plankton extract improves hydrating property of this sunscreen. In terms of sun-protective property, Elensilia's Enchante Marine Energy Sun Gel is definitely a winner of the league.
4. Missha All around Safe Block Aqua Sun Gel
The previous version contained propylparaben but Missha updated their ingredient list of this Safe Block Aqua Sun Gel in 2016. So, now it does not contain it. It has the most similar texture to the Biore’s sun screen and lightly cool down your skin after the application (presumably from the high contents of denatured alcohol.) It does not leave any white cast and it has a bit of water & sweat proof property, so if you are active person during the summer but still want to use watery-gel type sunscreen, this is a product for you.
5. Innisfree Eco Safety Aqua Perfect Sun Gel
Honestly speaking, I didn’t have very good impression on this sun gel because it did seem like some oily layering when I first used this. But the oily looking layer nicely melts into skin in few seconds and gives nice feel just like a good moisturizer. It has very similar chemical composition with TCFS’s Artify Waterfull Sungel and they added some naturally driven oils (sunflower seed oil.) It also does not provide full UVA coverage, but if you are looking for some moisturizing sunscreen, this can be a good choice as well.
