Shu Uemura UV Under Base TSUYA Mousse Moist 4,000yen
In Japan, it's common knowledge that you need to protect your skin from the sun every single day, even when on a cloudy, miserable winter day. UV ways come through windows which means you must wear a sunblock in the office, too. I'd been being lazy relying on my favourite Bobbi Brown foundation which has SPF40 SPF+++ since last summer but I'd been on the hunt for a good sunblock / sunscreen at the same time. I hate the tacky feeling and the unpleasant smell of sunblock, which makes me super picky and fussy when it comes to choosing sunblocks.
This sunblock from Shu Uemura seemed very interesting, as it comes out as mousse and leaves natural glow to your skin. I usually avoid any base products that makes my skin look shiny as I have combination skin that becomes shiny without a help from beauty products, but my skin has been looking dry and dull during the winter. Thus, I thought it could be a good idea to add slight glow to my skin to make it look healthier.
They also have a different type of mousse sunblocks without the glowy finish called UV Under Base Mousse CC, which come in 4 shades such as pink, ivory, beige and deep beige.
First of all, it's hard to control how much of the product you dispense. I always end up wiping the half of it with tissue as it dispenses too much. I have to be really careful not to apply it too much as it makes my face look like one tiny disco ball. It smells of vanilla which is sickly sweet that I wonder why they decided to put this fragrance in it. It's OK for a body lotion to have a sweet scent, but not a sunblock! Then, it feels tacky. The combination of the tackiness and the sweet scent makes me feel like I'm smearing sweets on my face. Yuck, right?
But it's too early to judge that this is a crappy sunblock -because it makes your skin look super healthy as if you've had 10 hours sleep last night. As it's tacky, you must blot with tissue paper before applying your foundation on top. Then, apply your primer, foundation and concealer as usual. If you have oily to combination skin, finish up with powder -I like Me Me Me one which I've been using for years now.
Then voi-la! You look glowing yet not shiny in a gross way.
The only thing I cannot get over is the scent. It lingers for hours and hours that every time wind blows I can smell my own face. You're lucky if you like the scent, great, but it's a torture if you are not a big fan of a sickly sweet scent. I recommend this sunblock for those who have dull and possibly dry skin.