Review – Shiseido Anessa Perfect UV Sunscreen Aqua Booster SPF 50+ PA ++++

I must admit that when it comes to beauty and skincare products, I’ve got a roving eye. I’m always on the constant lookout for the latest products with interesting ingredients or textures. I guess that’s why my cupboard is full of unopened products. I’ve only got one face and a limited amount of space to slather all of them at once. However the only and I really mean THE ONLY ONE product that has stayed constant with me throughout the years is the Shiseido Annessa UV Perfect Sunscreen. It’s got my heart firmly with it in the sunscreen category and I’ll always come back to it even when I try other products. In my case, I think that the biggest affirmation of a product is that I would repurchase it over and over again and have backups of it just in case it’s discontinued. That’s how much I love this sunscreen. As per normal, the ingredients list is below.

Ingredients

Dimethicone , Water, Alcohol, Zinc Oxide, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Isopropyl Myristate,Talc, Isododecane, Octocrylene, Polybutylene Glycol/PPG-9/1Copolymer, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate, Titanium Dioxide, Glycerin, Diisopropyl Sebacate, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Dextrin Palmitate, Xylitol, Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine, PEG/PPG-14/7 Dimethyl Ether, Sodium Chloride, Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Angelica Acutiloba Root Extract, Thymus Serpillum Extract, Rosa Canina Fruit Extract,Sodium Hyaluronate, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Isostearic Acid, Aluminum Hydroxide, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Stearic Acid, Hydrogen Dimethicon, Distearyldimonium Chloride, Trisodium EDTA, Butylene Glycol, BHT, Sodium Metabisulfite, Fragrance

How does the Shiseido Annessa Perfect UV Sunscreen Aqua Booster fare?

By now after reading the above paragraph, you should know that I love this product and actually I do have a story behind the reason why. If you had read an excerpt of me under “About Me”, you would know that I’m working as a civil engineer. Civil engineers design, plan and construct all manner of things such as buildings, roads, bridges, land reclamation, railways etc. Many people are surprised when I told them that I work as a civil engineer as they would always exclaim “Why are you so fair?! Ain’t civil engineers supposed to be very tanned because they are working on construction sites under the hot sun all the time?” Ladies and Gentlemen, this product is the reason why I didn’t burn to a crisp or tanned when I need to go out into the hot sun for site inspections. Even though nowadays, I don’t really need to be constantly on site for quality inspections or monitoring, in the early years of my career, I was on the construction site everyday. I was noticing that my pigmentation problems were getting worse and my skin tone was looking more and more uneven even though I do use sunscreen everyday. I wasn’t using the Shiseido Annessa sunscreen at that time yet. Somehow I went looking online for strong sunscreen to help to combat my working conditions and I came across recommendations for this product. And the rest, as they say, is history.

When it comes to sunscreen, I must recommend that you also use the appropriate amount everyday. The common directions is to apply sunscreen “liberally”. But how much is “liberally”? For me, I try my best to use around 0.5 teaspoon (equivalent to around 2.5ml) for my face and neck alone. Hence, one bottle (60ml sized) of this sunscreen usually lasts me for around one month based on my own rate of usage. As the texture of the Shiseido Annessa sunscreen is quite fluid, my face doesn’t feel sticky or suffocated even when I use that much. In fact, it dries quite nicely to a matt finish ready for makeup. It also doesn’t leave a very strong white cast to the face, it’s more of a gentle glow.

However, I must caution that this is a very water resistant sunscreen which, in my opinion, cannot be completely washed away by just a normal gentle cleanser. In fact, if you believe it, the latest formulation of this product states that with the Aqua Booster Technology, the UV protection veil becomes even more effective when bonded with sweat or water. I always use either a cleansing oil or balm as the first cleanse to remove sunscreen and makeup before I use another cleanser to wash the skin itself. I’m just paranoid like that as I’m very prone to clogged pores.

Where can you find it?

The Anessa range is actually not available in Shiseido counters in Singapore. That is why I usually stock up at the Shilla duty free shops in Changi Airport where they are selling it. It retails at S$33 (60ml sized) and S$43.80 (90ml sized).

Update: Anessa is now available at Watsons store in Singapore! It retails for S$39.90! 

Or if you have friends visiting Japan, you can beg them to buy it for you. It retails at 2678 Yen (around S$33.68) the last time I bought it from Tokyo.

Thank you for reading!

Review – Su:m37 Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick

I’ve heard about the Su:m37 Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick for quite some time. Ever since I saw it on Korea’s famous beauty show “Get It Beauty”, I’ve been lemming over it. Unfortunately as the brand wasn’t easily available in Singapore, I couldn’t manage to get my paws on it for the longest time. That was until I was shopping on iHerb for my usual vitamin supplements and I saw this being listed! I actually rubbed my eyes to see if I was dreaming! So into the shopping cart it went and I promptly checked it out. Now that I’ve been using it for some time (around one month), I feel like I could give it a proper review. As usual, let’s check out the product ingredients, shall we?

Ingredients

Glycerol, water, orange peel oil, lime peel oil, lemon peel oil, green tea seed oil, coconut oil, basil oil, ylang ylang flower oil, majoram oil, fermented damask rose extract, apricot seed oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, betaine, stearic acid, lauric acid, camellia oil, tocopheral, rose flower water, potassium hydroxide, lauryl betaine

How does the Su:m37 Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick fare?

Looking at its ingredients, one would expect this cleanser to be relatively mild with some skin-loving plant extracts and oils. If you look at the photo above, you can even see some rose petals included inside the cleansing stick. *Pardon the grubby look of the product.. I do not review products until I’ve used them for some time..* HOWEVER… I can’t, in all honesty, say that I like this product even though I’ll use it up. The thing is, my skin actually feels slightly dry and uncomfortable using this cleanser. I’m not certain the reason why though. Many people have used it and claimed that it’s life-changing or something! My skin usually can tolerate foaming cleansers quite well and in fact, I prefer foaming cleansers as my second cleanse. That being said, many people have used it and liked it a lot so you might want to give it a try. Sadly, this won’t be a repurchase for me!

Where can you find it?

I bought the Su:m37 Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick from iHerb for S$37.41. I heard that the brand Su:m37 is now available at the Shilla Beauty Loft in Changi Airport so you can check it out there too!

Thank you for reading!

Review – PIXI Glow Tonic

Pixi Glow Tonic was one of the products that marked my entry into using acid toners. As you can see from the picture above, I’ve been using it for around 3 months now and I’m ready to share my thoughts on it with you. Let’s start by looking at its ingredient list, shall we?

Ingredients

Water/Aqua/Eau, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycolic Acid, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Sodium Hydroxide, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Leaf Extract, Aesculus Hippocastanum (Horse Chestnut) Seed Extract, Hexylene Glycol, Fructose, Glucose, Sucrose, Urea, Dextrin, Alanine, Glutamic Acid, Aspartic Acid, Hexyl Nicotinate, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA, Biotin, Panthenol, PPG-26-Buteth-26, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance (Parfum), Caramel, Red 4 (CI 14700).

The product contains 5% glycolic acid which helps in accelerating the turnover rate of skin cells. What this means is that it helps to rid the old dead skin cells on your face, revealing the fresh new cells underneath. Now I must preface this by telling you about the condition of my skin first. I’ve combination skin that is prone to clogged pores, especially during the week before and after my period. I don’t really have problems with wrinkles or sagging skin yet. As I spend long hours in air-conditioned offices and sleep in an air-conditioned room, my skin is also dehydrated.

How does the PIXI Glow Tonic fare?

The PIXI glow tonic is a runny water-like acid toner. In my opinion, exfoliating toners with such watery consistency are best applied by pouring some out onto the cotton pad and swiping it all over your face. My experience in using this product is that my skin tingles when I used this the first few times. However, the tingles are slight and there is absolutely no burning sensation and my face didn’t turn red or even pink. I don’t even feel the tingles anymore after those initial times (I’m not certain about its effects on those people with sensitive skin so please try to get samples or do a patch test before you use it if you have sensitive skin).  After using this for three months, I noticed that my clogged pores has lessened and my skin is generally smoother, more even toned and “fresher” as it were. I’ve also experienced lesser breakouts during that time of the month and existing breakouts also seemed to heal faster. One thing which surprised me about this product is that somehow I have a feeling that my skin is not as dehydrated when I use this. Does anybody have any explanation for that or am I imagining things? Another thing which I wish to highlight is that this product has a slight herbal floral smell (that I didn’t like) but it dissipates quite fast so you won’t be smelling it all day on your face.

I think that this is a good product for people starting on acid toners or those who cannot use stronger acids *not THAT kind obviously.. =p* but want something to counteract dullness in their skin. I used to apply the glow tonic day and night but now I only use this in the daytime as I’m currently testing some other products at night. My routine in the daytime is this: Cleanser => Pixi glow tonic => hydrating mist => hydrating serum(s) => day moisturiser mixed with a few drops of facial oil => sunscreen.

Where can you find it?

I bought PIXI glow tonic from ASOS online but the product is now available in Sephora stores in Singapore and is retailing at S$28 (100ml size) and S$45 (250ml size).

Thank you for reading!