Australian Gold Botanical SPF 50 Tinted Face Lotion

Ingredients:

Titanium Dioxide 4%, Zinc Oxide 4%,Alumina, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Caprylyl Glycol, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Disodium EDTA, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Extract, Glycerin, Hexyl Laurate, Iron Oxides, Panthenol, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Porphyra Umbilicalis (Red Algae) Extract, Silica, Squalane, Stearic Acid, Terminalia Ferdinandiana (Kakadu Plum) Fruit Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate*, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Water

*Vitamin E

This item is labeled as 100% mineral sunscreen hence its main ingredients are Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide.

As per COSDA, certain ingredients may trigger acne:

• Stearic Acid (2)
• Squalene (1)
• Zinc Oxide (1)

The ratings are low however, if you are known to have issues with any of these, use it with caution.

Trial Period: 1 week

Skin Condition: Currently purging due to Glycolic Acid

Environment: Humid, tropical summer

Packaging:

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Price: 19.99 CAD Amazon Prime Canada / around 14 USD – 89 ml

Review:

This is a mineral sunscreen. It contains both Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide. This is a good choice if you’re after something that will rather sit on top of your skin rather than absorbed, a concept which is better if you have sensitive or acne prone skin.

This product does not contain fragrance at all which is perfect if you have a sensitive skin.

The product itself is somewhat a heavy cream with less oil in touch. It is soft and glides smoothly in the skin. This sunscreen is not sticky but can be a little tacky in touch – a common property of a mineral sunscreen. If you’re on the normal to dry skin, I suggest that you top your skin with something moisturizing before applying this to avoid it from getting too dry.

This tinted sunscreen has no coverage but to be fair, it claimed nothing of such. Do note though that this might tone you up in a pinkish way. I’m on the mid-fair tone and this specific sunscreen made by face and neck differs a little bit. It is not very huge difference at least from my skin but for those with darker complexion, this might be a little bit tricky to play around. They don’t look like they sell different shades (I may be wrong) so please do ask their customer support to verify.

This is not a replacement for your foundation especially if your goal is to cover up some blemishes. It will help though even out some minor skin discoloration but not to the level of hyperpigmentation.

Another thing I noticed about this mineral sunscreen is that it has a minor flashback. I don’t go out taking pictures all the time so it is not an issue but if you’re planning to get a picture, this can be a bad thing.

Without Flash:

With Flash:

Good news about this though is that it has very little transfer. Once settled, I don’t worry about it getting into my headphones or likes. It will not compound much as well on your eyeglasses’ nose pad – perfect for those who wears them a lot.

This product is also advertised to be water resistant up to 80 minutes. I personally did not try this, but I noticed though that even I sweat mildly, I did not see the need to reapply. This product has some clinging power to my skin – which probably explains my narration above.

Lastly, despite me currently purging from Glycolic Acid, no apparent additions came into my inventory of blemish.

Final Thoughts:

• This is a mineral sunscreen, a better option for those with sensitive or acne prone skin.
• Contain no fragrance
• Can even out skin tone but not cover blemishes or hyperpigmentation
• Has a pink undertone
• Might be a little tricky to use if you have darker skin tone
• Has a mild flash back
• Best used with moisturizer underneath
• Can be a little tacky but not sticky
• Very little transfer and compounding
• Can resist sweat
• No bad skin reaction

Cerave Facial Moisturizing Lotion (PM)

Ingredients:

Aqua / Water / Eau, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Niacinamide, Cetearyl Alcohol, Potassium Phosphate, Ceramide Np, Ceramide Ap, Ceramide Eop, Carbomer, Dimethicone, Ceteareth-20, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Cholesterol, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium Edta, Dipotassium Phosphate, Caprylyl Glycol, Phytosphingosine, Xanthan Gum, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Ethylhexylglycerin

As per COSDNA, these below item are worth noting on the comedogenic rating:

• Polyglyceryl-3-Diisostearate (4)
• Dimethicone (1)
• Cetearyl Alcohol (2)

As irritant:

• Cetearyl Alcohol (2)
• Carbomer (1)

Trial Period: 3 months

Skin Condition: Acne Prone (first two months of use) / Dry and Dehydrated (recently)

Environment: Warm humid (first two months of use) / Cool and dry (recently)

Packaging:

*** packing may vary on other countries

Price: 14 CAD Walmart Canada / around 11 USD – 89 ml

Review:

I started using this moisturizer when my face is still very acne prone. I watched tons of Youtube videos and I see a lot of influencers and even dermatologist using this product. As someone who’s struggling to get a better skin, I definitely felt hooked – light / not greasy, fragrance free and most importantly it contains Ceramides, Niacinamide and Hyaluronic Acid!

Ok, so let’s discuss their importance very quickly –

Light / not greasy

During my ordeal in acne, this moisturizer felt really light on my skin. I never had any irritation or any bad reaction during those time. It is very hard to know its presence in my skin as it is absorbed almost completely just a minute after the application. Since it is light and totally absorbed, having sunscreen is a lot easier. It will not make your skin heavy even if you put sunscreen plus makeup.

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However, I find this product to be too light when I’m going to a place where air can be cooler and dry. It works fine with me on humid, warm days but when AC is around, my usual two pumps for the face is not enough. You might want to either add more or top it with something more moisturizing. This alone cannot stand cooler and dry environment without assistance.

Fragrance Free

Well, for someone who’s very concerned about the ingredients they put on their skin (a paranoia that I developed trying to understand my acne), this is a big hooray! Like I mentioned on other reviews, I see no reason to include fragrance (natural or not) on your skin care and this is just that kind of product that listened.

A big point here.

Ceramide

This ingredient can be produced by our skin naturally. However, due to some factors (like age and harsh products), this can deplete.  To help build and strengthen our barriers, sometimes we need to add this in our skin care routine and this moisturizer boast to have that.

It’s hard to actually measure and compare this aspect as very few products still has this ingredient and if they do, they are usually pricey. I personally have not tried much to compare this with. I do, however, felt like my skin tends to go back to its more natural state faster when using this product – a sign of Ceramide presence.

Niacinamide

This ingredient boast tons of promises like shrink pores, treats hyperpigmentation, treats acne and likes. I personally did not notice all of that. However, when I’m using this moisturizer, I noticed that I don’t oil as much as when I’m using other moisturizers. Though to be fair, I’m also using Hyaluronic Acids before applying this.

Hyaluronic Acid

This ingredient is naturally produced by our skin. However due to certain factors like age, this deplete during production. Having this in our routine aids our skin to retain moisture and promote suppleness. This moisturizer has that.

I’m not sure how much Hyaluronic Acid this product contains in its formulation but I can tell you confidently that it is not its biggest asset. During my dehydrated days, this alone is not enough to provide the hydration my skin needed. Hence, I added Hyaluronic Acid lotion before this product and most of the time I have to top my skin with heavier creams. I think this will work well alone when your skin is on the normal and oily side.

Additional —

For some reason though when my skin is a bit stingy (probably due to strong ingredients), when I apply this on my skin, the stinging tends to intensify a lot. I am personally not sure how normal that is or if I can even add moisturizer when my skin is compromised but for the record that happened. I’m not sure if it is the Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate or Cetearyl Alcohol that’s amplifying the sting so be cautious putting this when your skin is compromised already.

Will I recomment this? Yes. However, this may not be sufficient for all skin types so you might want to play around with this.

Final Thoughts:

• This contains no fragrance
• Formulated with Ceramide and Niacinamide
• Very light on the skin
• Perfect for acne prone / oily / normal skin but not adequate if you’re on the dry and dehydrated side so you might want to look for something else or add heavier hydrators
• Contains no strong ingredients like AHA and BHA so it can easily be added into your routine
• Be cautious on using this when your skin is compromised as it may intensify the sting

Simple Hydrating Light Moisturizer

Ingredients:

Aqua, Glycerin, Paraffinum Liquidum, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Cetyl Palmitate, Dimethicone, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Bisabolol, Borago Officinalis Seed Oil, Caprylyl Glycol, Carbomer, Cetyl Alcohol, Disodium EDTA, Lactic Acid, Panthenol, Pantolactone, Pentylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Carbonate, Potassium Hydroxide, Serine, Sodium Lactate, Sorbitol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Urea.

There isn’t much ingredients highlighted to cause acne or irritation. Do note though that this product contains Dimethicone. I don’t consider this an issue, but I understand that some people are highly concerned about this.

Trial Period: 4 months

Skin Condition: Acne prone, occasionally dry and combination

Environment: Tropical – warm with little humidity

Packaging:

Price: 499 PHP Watson, Lazada, BeautyMNL / around 10 USD – 125 ml

Review:

It wasn’t my first go-to moisturizer.  Ever since I started doing Tretinoin, the importance of clean and fragrance-free moisturizer has always been my goal. I started using Cerave PM during those days (which I hoarded when I visited our relatives in Canada last year). Let me tell you this – it is perfect. Cerave PM is the moisturizer that I have been looking for all my life. Unfortunately, due to baggage limitation I was only able to hoard 4 months supplies of these lotions. Hence, the search for next best locally available lotion went into picture…then I got this.

This moisturizer is literarily simple when it comes to its claim. Let’s discuss each:

Hydrating Light Moisturizer

True – it is light. It never feels heavy during and after application. It is perfect with or without makeup. However, do know that it isn’t the lightest moisturizer I have tried. I have no problems with its weight in the skin but it I wouldn’t say it is an upgrade (weight – wise). The difference, if I will compare it with Cerave PM, is not even huge so it will definitely not bother you at all.

Texture: Light white cream which becomes invisible after application

Immediately After Application:

After around one min:

12 Hours Hydration

Hydrating and Moisturizing for 12+ hours – checked!

There isn’t much to discuss about this topic though. It does what it claims perfectly. If there’s one thing that this moisturizer do best amongst those that I tried – this is that. However, if you have extra dry skin, you might want to add something like Hyaluronic Acids before using this. On regular days, this can stand alone. However, there are days when I tend to use more active ingredients that sometimes makes my skin dry. As a result, my skin compensates the issue with oiliness. The trick that I learned from my fellow skin care lovers is to add HA (through Hada Labo or Neutrogena Clear Lotion). Voila!

Fragrance – Free

Yep! No fragrance even for masking purposes only. You will not get any irritation due to fragrance.

Others worth mentioning….

If I’m not using Hyaluronic Acid Lotion, I use this immediately after washing my face (when my skin is still moist but not dripping). A small pea-size will do. I use it this way to prevent water lose (which often happens when your skin made contact with water). You may use more if you wish but this procedure works perfect for me.

If I intend to sequence this with my go-to HA lotion, I will use HA lotion first when my face is still moist. Then when my face is already sticky, I will follow it with this moisturizer. When in HA though, I tend to put more of this as HA requires tons of moist. Your face might get dry if you don’t supply it with more moisturizer (unless your place is very humid). Three pea size seems to work well for me.

Also take note that there’s really not much promises this lotion claims. It is perfect to partner with active ingredients like BHA, Retinoids, AHA, Azelaic etc. I have no issues with them when I use this products because to begin with, there’s nothing in this lotion’s recipe that it known to counteract or cancel any of the actives I mentioned.

Precaution though, for some reason this product has been giving me a slight “sting” whenever I applied it. I’m not sure what specific ingredient this contains that could possibly give me such reaction. I have been using this product for months now and it is only recent that I felt this mild sting. To be fair though, I started feeling this when I added AHA and BHA (couples of times per week as cleanser) to my routine. There’s a possibility that my face is still too sensitive for these additions (since I also use Tretinoin at night). If you’re not using any actives but your face stings, please discontinue use.

Takeaways:

• It does hydrate and moisturize for 12+ hours
• Fast absorbing
• No fragrance (both artificial and natural)
• Best used after face wash (when skin is still moist)
• No known ingredients to cancel out popular active ingredients
• There is a possibility that you might feel mild sting especially if your skin is sensitive

Simple Rich Moisture Sheet Mask

Ingredients:

Aqua, Glycerin, Methylpropanediol, Agave Americana Stem Extract, Carbomer, Hydroxyethyl Urea, Tromethamine, Cellulose Gum, Allantoin, Caffeine, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexyglycerin, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Disodium EDTA, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil, Althaea Rosea Flower Extract, Cananga Odorata Flower Oil, Laminaria Digitata Extract, Cassia Angustifolia Seed Polysaccharide, Phenoxyethanol, Hydroxyacetophenone

This mask contains Butylene Glycol which has a rating of 1 for acne. Not a huge number and personally, I did not get any skin issue after using this mask.

Trial Duration: 1 day

Price: 89 PHP (Watson, Lazmall and BeautyMNL) / 2 USD – 1 sheet

Packaging:

Current Skin Condition:  Combination

Environment:  Tropical – warm with little humidity

Review:

Every Saturday, I practice a routine called “No-Tretinoin Night”. So basically, this procedure consists of chemical exfoliation  (via BHA Cleanser) and extreme moisture practice (and from the name itself, no Tretinoin). For the moisture, my go-to Hyaluronic Acid lotion and moisturizer (Simple Hydrating Light Moisturizer) are usually sufficient for my daily needs. However, who doesn’t need an extra kick, right? Hence, I bought this hydrating mask.

The official claim of this mask is:

“Simple Rich Moisture Sheet Face Mask infuses active nutrients into the skin to condition dry, dehydrated skin. The perfect antidote to dry city skin! Our Korean sheet mask is made of natural fibers, so light and soft that it contours the face like a second skin. Enriched with a blend of Botanical Extracts and moisturizing ingredients. It contains no colour or dye, no artificial perfume and no harsh chemicals that could lead to skin irritation. Perfect for even sensitive skin. Feel the benefits of a moistuising facial treatment, in one convenient, easy-to-use sheet face mask. Dermatologically tested and approved. Ophtalmologically tested. Hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic.”

From: https://www.simpleskincare.com/ph/products/masks/kind-to-skin-rich-moisture-sheet-mask.html

The claims are literally simple and not extravagant. Let’s dissect the claim.

Infuses nutrients to skin to condition dry and dehydrated skin

This part, I can assure you happened. My skin afterward went literally well moist and supple after using this for only 15 minutes!

After I soaked and washed by face with Cerave SA Cleanser (which contains 2% Salicylic Acid), my face literally went dry. It’s not irritated but it feels very tight. For this specific test, I did not grab  my humectant (Hada Labo Goku Jyun Hydrating Lotion) and moisturizer (Simple Hydrating Light Moisturizer) to see how much this mask can provide me.

After I removed the mask, my face went very sticky. If I will compare it to other cheaper masks that I have tried, I can say that it is not the stickiest. It takes a while though to get the remaining serum to totally be absorbed / dry by itself.  You may top your face with very little moisturizer if you want the stickiness to disappear faster. This is a practice I learned from using Hyaluronic Acid which by the way this mask has in form of Sodium Hyaluronate.

Also for those asking if I needed to add more moisturizer to support the Hyaluronic Acid inside this product, for me not at all. This mask itself contains the needed moisture to supplement the humectant’s need. Though you can still add if you wish especially if you think that your face is still very dry. I just did not see the need for it based from my experience.

Mask is made of natural fibers, so light and soft that it contours the face like a second skin

True.

The mask is very thin and soft that it can easily be molded to fit your face. It’s like a stronger version of wet facial tissue – that’s how it feels when I pulled it out from the packaging.

Another thing I like about this mask is that it can be used as well by people who have bigger and rounder faces. Combining it with the mask’s flexibility to be folded and molded to your face – I can say that it is perfect to any face shapesand sizes.

It contains no colour or dye, no artificial perfume and no harsh chemicals that could lead to skin irritation. Perfect for even sensitive skin

True – no color and artificial fragrances. I also did not get any irritations (even clogged pores) when using this product.

HOWEVER — for the record, this product contains very mild scents from essential oils like Cananga Odorata Flower Oil and Cananga Odorata Flower Oil (Bergamot Oil). Caffeine is also a form of fragrance which this product has. Surely, they are natural but we have to understand that not all “naturals” are safe. Based from my experience in this specific mask, I did not get any bad side effect but I can’t speak for everyone especially on this matter. I still think that this product can be good even if there’s no fragrance involved.

Will I recommend this? Yes. It is a good addition to your weekly routine especially if you’re looking for an extra kick of hydration and moisture.

Takeaways:

• When it comes to moisture and hydration, this mask can stand alone
• Has a very thin and soft structure that helps when molding this mask to your face
• No artificial colors and scent but still contains fragrance though from essential oils and Caffeine.