Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I can't 5-star this enough. No nasty sunscreen smell. No nasty greasiness or white-cast. This stuff applies like a skin moisturizer, and feels amazingly cooling on already-sunburned skin. FOUNDATION WITH SPF IS NOT ENOUGH. You have to apply a sizeable amount of sunscreen in order for it to be effective. Unless you're slathering your face with a 2-mm thick swathe of foundation, you are NOT adequately protected and should apply sunscreen under your foundation layer. In the US, people tend to ONLY apply sunscreen before hitting the beach in the summer. Most western sunscreens tend to focus on water-resistance, which necessitates an oil-based formulation, which is problematic for daily use because it balls up under makeup (foundation/primer will scrape it off and produce dark, balled-up chunks of sunscreen and dead skin), has a white cast (makes you look pale if you apply the therapeutically recommended amount to your skin), and has this awful embarrassing smell that will make people look at you funny during the winter months. In Japan and many parts of Asia, the dominant aesthetic is to be pale and young-looking. Asian sunscreens tend to be more suited for everyday use. This Biore Sarasara (Japanese onomatopoeia for "smoothness/silkiness" applies very smoothly under everyday makeup. It soaks in much more quickly than oily western sunscreens. Even if the sun isn't out, visible light and UV light have nothing to do with each other. Take it from me, a chemist. Even on cloudy, overcast days, UV-A and UV-B light penetrate the cloud barrier and are capable of wrecking your skin with sunburn and skin-aging. It penetrates your SKIN; please, for the sake of your youthful glow and the health of your skin, do not ignore the significance of this. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, particularly when anti-aging "cures" will cost you thousands. I am a chemist and skin product junkie, with a degree from the top public chem university in the world (UC Berkeley). I formulate my own stuff. This Biore Sarasara absolutely blows me away. I used to hate applying sunscreen because of the greasiness, smell, balling-up under makeup, and a thousand other reasons. Ick. THIS DOES NOT HAVE THAT GROSS SUNSCREEN SMELL. AT ALL. And it absorbs quickly and plays nice under makeup. And if a sunscreen isn't gross to apply, it could convince people to apply it regularly. And this alone will make all the difference.