Kao - Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence SPF 50+ PA++++ 2019 Edition

Product Information

This list of ingredients represents all options or variants of this product. Actual ingredients in a given product option may vary from this list. Even though it's a super waterproof type (confirmed in an 80-minute water resistance test), it comes off easily with regular soap. This has been my go-to sunscreen this Summer and I’m so sad I’ve almost run out of it. Asides from the overwhelming scent of alcohol which dissipates after a few minutes, I love the cooling sensation after application. I mean there’s a reason why it is described as a ‘Watery Essence’. It is the perfect Summer sunscreen.

Biore belongs to the Japanese company Kao. Kao has been around since 1887 (!), started with manufacturing soaps and has been branching out ever since. They own not only brands you might associate with J-Beauty like Kate, Kanebo and MegRhythm, but also John Frieda, Oribe and Molton Brown. Description Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence Spf50+ Pa++++methicone silsesquioxane crosspolymer, agar, isoceteth-20, c30-45 alkyl methicone, polyvinyl alcohol, c30-45 olefin, sodium hydroxide, butylene glycol, propylene glycol, sodium hyaluronate, royal jelly extract, citrus aurantium dulcis fruit extract, citrus grandis fruit extract, lemon fruit extract, phenoxyethanol, edta-2na, bht, fragrance water, ethanol, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, lauryl methacrylate/sodium methacrylate crosspolymer, alkyl benzoate, bisethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine, diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate, dimethicone, ethylhexyl triazone, silica dimethyl silylate, dipropylene glycol, xylitol, dextrin palmitate, acrylates/ I solemnly swear to research skin care and beauty products, ask my dad (the chemist) for advice, and share those findings with you! Learn More

This is formulated for those that require protection from the sun but won’t be in the sun for longer periods of time. It’s a sunscreen you want to wear if you’re dashing around outside a bit but aren’t going to be exposed to the sun for long periods of time. It’s a great daily SPF. I tan easily and this won’t prevent me from tanning but it will help to protect my skin when I wear it. The new, improved release consists of (…) Bioré UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence, a watery essence with a transparent feel that blends effortlessly with the skin, (…), delivering maximum UV protection of SPF50+ and PA++++.US FDA is very cautious on the approvals of drugs, it can take longer than a decade, they want to make sure long term safety test data. Despite the robust protection they provide against UV, these new sunscreens feel as light as water on the skin. The airy, vibrant sensation never disappears, no matter how often the sunscreens are reapplied. Kao Global

If you don’t normally wear makeup, you might want to opt for a tinted sunscreen like Australian Gold instead, which helps blur imperfections, delivers a matte finish to reduce shine at the end of the day (and is also rated PA++++).However, these actives has good field data from years of European consumers, I think it should be a good formula based on the ingredient list. Unfortunately, Japanese sunscreens don’t list the percentage of active sunscreen ingredients at the top of the label, the way American ones do. So it took a bit of research to find the active sunscreen ingredients in this formula:

Dear Emily, when I worked on sunscreen formulas for Europe, I still use US approved sunscreen actives even though Europe has approved a few other effective sunscreen actives as those in the Japanese formula. clear, oil-soluble, “cosmetically-elegant” liquid, not photostable (loses 10% of its SPF protection ability within 35 mins), needs other filters to stabilize (like Tinosorb S) Just need to confirm the stability of this formula (stable emulsion without separation)one way to tell is to squeeze Product to your palm and observe if any running liquid coming out from the cream or not. This is an SPF 50 the 50 references the amount of time you can stay in the sun and be protected without getting burnt. PA++++ means the wearer can withstand at least 16 times more UVA radiation before tanning. The UV and UVB filter here is titanium oxide as well as tinosorb s. There are two other filters here but the more important of the four are the TO and TS which act to filter out the harmful UV and UVB rays. c10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, dimethicone/vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer, polysilicone-9, glyceryl stearate, aminomethyl propanol, vinyl dimethicone/Water, Ethanol, Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, Ethylhexyl triazone, Isopropyl palmitate, Lauryl Methacrylate/Sodium Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate, Hydrogenated polyisobutene, Bis-ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine, Dextrin Palmitate, BG, Xylitol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Dimethicone, alkyl benzoate (C12-15), Glycerin, Glyceryl stearate, Propanediol, Glyceryl behenate, Vinyl dimethicone / methicone Silsesquioxane crosspolymer, Cetanol, Agar, Sorbitan distearate, Isoceteth-20, Polyvinyl alcohol, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Arginine, Potassium hydroxide, Sodium Hydroxide, Royal jelly extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Phenoxyethanol, EDTA-2Na, BHT, Fragrance Ingredients: Water, ethanol, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, ethylhexyl triazone, isopropyl palmitate, (lauryl methacrylate / Na methacrylate) crosspolymer, hexyl diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl benzoate, hydrogenated polyisobutene, bis ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine, palmitic acid Dextrin, BG, xylitol, (Acrylates / alkyl acrylate (C10-30)) crosspolymer, dimethicone, alkyl benzoate (C12-15), glycerin, glyceryl stearate, propanediol, glyceryl behenate, (vinyl dimethicone / methicone (Silsesquioxane) crosspolymer, cetanol, agar, sorbitan distearate, isocetes-20, polyvinyl alcohol, (dimethicone / vinyl dimethicone) Rothpolymer, stearoyl glutamic acid, arginine, hydroxylated K, hydroxylated Na, royal jelly extract, hyaluronic acid Na, phenoxyethanol, EDTA-2Na, BHT, fragrance