I recently ran out of my beloved Bioré Aqua Rich Watery Essence without time to reorder online, so I had to make do with what I could find at my local shops. I saw this L’Oreal sunscreen pop up at a few, so I thought why not grab it – finding a HG in-store makes things so much easier than needing to reorder online!
I paid NZ $16.99 for this at Farmers, which is a couple dollars more/on par with what I would pay for Bioré on eBay depending on the exchange rate. However, the Bioré is 50ml while this is only 30ml. Honestly, I was pretty stoked to see this in store! Judging from the packaging and other reviews on it, it was originally available just in the Asian market before launching here.
The Aqua Essence contains both chemical and physical sunscreens – here is a link to the COSDNA analysis! Even though this contains titanium dioxide, I didn’t find that there was a white cast on my skin at all. The only thing I would recommend doing if you wear this on it’s own is to set with a mattifying powder – it’s a little shiny on it’s own. Formula-wise, it looks like a traditional sunscreen, but is definitely lightweight and easy to wear. It’s unfortunately not as lightweight as the Bioré Aqua Riche, but it definitely makes a pretty good quick-fix replacement.
This gets a 3/5 from me! It’s good as a short term replacement since it’s so easily available, but the formula could use some work.
What’s your go-to daily sunscreen?
Lexie xx
rating scale
1 – Terrible: Negative effects on skin.
2 – Mediocre: No change in skin/claims not met.
3 – Average: Not amazing, but not terrible.
4 – Good: Would repurchase unless I try something better.
5 – Amazing: Meets trifecta of perfect packaging, formula, & cost.
