shiseido senka perfect uv gel

on my previous trip to singapore, i made sure that i bought some sunscreen because i don't have anymore sunscreen in my stash and i was using the last bottle. there are two sunscreens that caught my eyes, both from shiseido senka. one is their mineral uv essence that comes in yellow tube and the other one is perfect uv gel in blue bottle. okay, currently i'm planning for another japan trip, so i'm putting on shopping list for sunscreen as well as i only have another senka sunscreen that my sister bought for me this month. funny thing is, i found the yellow senka one in japan's website, but not this one. perhaps it's another regional product thing.. which is suck. okay.. let's move on to the review.

the description from watson's singapore website: senka’s perfect UV gel protects skin from UV rays that causes dark spots and freckles. It has a dewy and non-sticky texture that spreads on the skin to give a comfortable and refreshing finish. Suitable for daily use.
the plastic bag that it comes with
the description at the back

the packaging: it comes in a small plastic bag. there's a description at the back in english, perhaps because this is imported and sold by singaporean company. but it's stated that it was made in japan, so why can't i find this in any japan's website? the bottle is blue and has bullet-like shape and it has pointy screw top, which is different. it has nozzle inside to dispense the product. the sunscreen comes in 90 ml, which is similar to biore uv gel. i appreciate the big size since i also put the sunscreen on my arms. at the back of the bottle there's another description but everything is in japanese.
the bottle
the scent: at the back of the pouch, it's written "fragrance free" as well as in the ingredients list, i can't find "fragrance" written in it. but it has subtle lemony scent similar to biore uv gel. very faint though. i don't think i can smell it anymore now that i've used half of it. the scent is stronger when i freshly open the bottle. 
all japanese at the back of the bottle
the product: it's awkwardly similar to biore uv gel, but a bit runnier if i'm not mistaken. it's an ivory white gel cream with runnier consistencies than my previous essence. if i remember correctly, the biore gel one also has runnier consistency than the essence. it spreads easily on my face and takes a minute or two to be absorbed. 
the spout on top
the result: it doesn't leave complete matte finish unlike biore, but i'm okay with semi-matte finish or maybe a satin finish. not too dewy, unlike the previous essence. the sebum control is pretty decent. on my lazy day, i put this sunscreen on top of my sana emulsion and i will get shiny nose on very hot day after about 4 hours. mostly, i will put light makeup, which means bb cushion or powder foundation on top of the sunscreen. with bb cream, definitely i need to powder afterward or else i will be like grease ball in under 4 hours. but with powder foundation, i only get shine on my nose after about 4 hours. the most important thing is it doesn't leave white cast nor breaking me out. 
the sunscreen on my hand
after blending 
this one still has bunch of alcohol in the ingredients list, so you might want to proceed with caution if you hate alcohol in your sunscreen. it also has dimethicone in it. again, proceed with caution. i think it will suit combination to normal skin better, but for dry skin, probably it will be slightly too dry for your taste. i will have to say if you have dry skin, the senka mineral uv essence might be better choice for you. honestly, i still like both biore essence and gel better than this, but this one is the closest that i can find lately. hopefully the next japan trip will give me more luck in finding better sunscreen. 

3 Comments

  1. Hai I think Phenoxyethanol is a fragrance or preservative 😢

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    1. Hi! I just check the skincarisma, and there are several ingredients that also acts as fragrance. but i think they meant added fragrance when they say fragrance free. thanks for dropping by!

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