Princess Serendipity
If It's Not Baroque
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2012
- Messages
- 203
Sure you can recommend some brands![]()
I've used Scinic Perfect Sun Cream (It's in a yellow tube) before with success and really liked it, but it might be harder to find these days.
Biore (from Japan) and Sofina sunscreens are very popular with people with oily skin- they tend to be pretty matte.
Right now I am using Skin Aqua UV Sara Sara Essence. You can find it pretty easily on Amazon/Ebay for about $17 with free shipping. I bought mine from Rakuten- they were $6 or so a tube, but with more expensive shipping. Since foreign sunscreens tend to come in smaller sizes than Americans are used to, I found it more economical just to buy a bunch of $6 tubes and pay the higher shipping.
When I run out of that sunscreen, I am looking forward to trying Nivea Sun Protect Plus UV cream (I have drier skin).
Pretty much none of the sunscreens I've tried from Japan/Korea have broken me out, and I have absurdly picky, finicky skin. Since they're designed to be worn all day, every day, under makeup they're usually a lot more skin-friendly than the "I'm just slapping this on to go to the beach" sun blocks.
Also of note- a lot of sunscreen agents are not photostable or will destabilize each other (avobenzone and octinoxate [ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate] for instance). Some sunscreen agents help to stabilize them (octocrylene is a popular one), but on the whole I just avoid avobenzone and also oxybenzone. I think L'oreal has their patented agent (Mexoryl) FDA approved now so you might be able to find that in some sunscreens in the US now, and I believe it's a pretty decent agent. My favourite besides zinc oxide are tinosorbs, which isn't available in the US yet sadly.
Edited to add:
It's also a bad idea to layer sunscreens or rely on moisturizers/foundations with sunscreens in them, generally. Since some sunscreens can destabilize each other, if you're laying a product with UV protection in it with another (say, moisturizer and sunscreen or foundation and sunscreen), they can react and lead to UV damage. Also you need, generally, at least 1/4 teaspoon of sunscreen on your face for sufficient protection, and most people usually don't put that much moisturizer or foundation on their face.