Laneige Oil-Free sunblock SPF 35 VS. Neutrogena's UltraSheer Water light sunscreen spf 45 (comparison & short review)

Hello ladies (and gents?)!! So today I'll be making a comparison between two sun protector products. I know, you guys must be saying: "What? You should have done this post in summer! Not when the season is nearly over.." Well, let me tell you that sunscreen/sunblock isn't only for summer! You should protect your skin all the time, even in winter! It's not because it's winter that UVA/UVB rays will not damage your skin.

UVA, UVB, suncreen, sunblock etc... What the heck?!? These terms are a bit confusing sometimes so I'll demystify them for you guys before continuing! :)


UVA = Causes more damage than UVB rays because they penetrate more deeply into your skin. It's the rays that ages your skin rapidly and causes wrinkle. It's believed that it's the rays that causes skin cancer
UVB = These are the rays responsible for sunburns & skin reddening.

(For an in-dept explanation you can go on http://www.skincancer.org/ )

Sunscreen = Chemical sunblock. The chemical will reflect or absorb the rays, but there's still a bit of rays that will be absorbed into the skin. Protects against UVB and UVA rays.

Sunblock = Physical or inorganic ingredients that acts as a wall between your skin and your environment. It's better to look for Titanium dioxide and zinc oxide as the main ingredients. It only protects against UVB, it doesn't protect against UVA rays.

(For more info: Sunblock VS Suncreen)

Okay now that these terms are a little bit clearer, let's move on to the products brief review & comparison.

First product: Laneige's Oil-Free SPF 35 sunblock
 Yes! Another Laneige product lol! I bought this in a little beauty shop in Chinatown, here in Montreal! When I found out that they sold Laneige products I rushed there to see their selection of products XD This was an impulsive buy but I'm very happy with it ^_^

The first thing that hit me when I tried it out on the spot is the texture. It has a kind of gel/cream texture and there's a slight cooling sensation (super nice to put on your face on a hot and humid day!) and there's a light fresh "Laneige" scent (if you used water sleeping pack you know what I'm talking about!). It didn't had that classical sunscreen smell. The tube has a nozzle so you won't be afraid to squeeze out too much product :)

At first, it might look heavy but it isn't. It goes on smoothly on my face and didn't "balled up". It says that it's oil-free, but after application it leaves my face very dewy (shiny like) but not greasy (I hate dewy looking face on me because I find that there's a very thin line between dewy and oily =/) & can be slightly tacky right after application. However, it absorbs after a few minutes. I decided to blot to see if there were oil on my face and I was surprised to find nothing on my blotting sheet, not even a trace (see Neutrogena's review down there to see why). I love the cooling/fresh feeling on my face after applying it. While blending it on my hand in order to take a picture, look what I discovered!
See the tiny droplets? I think that's what causes the cooling/refreshing sensation on your skin! It also leaves my skin very soft through the day. BUT, it doesn't mattify my skin nor have any "pore control" effect like it claimed & didn't emphasizes them either or made my skin more oily.

What I like <3 about this product:
Love the scent, not overpowering
Cooling/refreshing sensation
Absorbs into my skin
My skin reacted well
No white cast

What I don't like about this product:
No sebum or pore control as stated
can be slightly tacky after application, depending on the amount you used.

Final ratings!
Packaging: 5/5 Squeeze tube and nozzle end
Product : 4.9/5 Absolutely love it! Lacking on the pore minimizing effect xP
Price: I paid 30$ for 70mL 
Scent: 5/5 The classic Laneige smell hehe
Would I repurchase? Yes absolutely! Especially in winter since it's hydrating! :D
 
 
Second product: Neutrogena's UltraSheer water-light sunscreen SPF 45
I bought this in the beginning of summer and I got it because so many people raved about it. It was pretty hard to find it in my area and I was able to put my hands on it in a drugstore in Downtown. There were only 2 left so I assumed that I would love it and bought both of them. At first, I was impressed by how liquid and light it was. When I started to apply to my face, it felt it was greasy and my face looked oily, no not dewy, really oily. I decided to wait a bit to let it absorb and it did. I still felt some greasiness on my face so I decided to blot with a blotting paper. Eeeh, what I saw wasn't pleasant. However, after blotting, the product seemed to absorb better and my face was shine free for the rest of the day. I think this product would be more suitable for drier skin types or in winter. Plus, it "balled up" a little bit, maybe because of my moisturizer too.
I don't now if you guys can see the dewy finish on my hand. My hands are the driest part of my body due to washing my hands very often (no I'm not a germ freak, I just got used to it due to my job). There's a slight white cast to it but it isn't a problem for me. I do really think that it's a good sunscreen but it's just not made for me. I have a combo/oily skin in summer so anything that would make me look greasy or oily is a big no no to me. Since my cheeks are drier, it's still ok on that zone but they became very reactive. I became intolerant to a lot of sunscreen product due to eczema on my cheeks that I developed a few weeks ago (now it's gone thank god! The Dr. prescribed me some cream to put locally) and I think that some of the ingredients in sunscreen triggered the reaction (I'm pretty sure it's avobenzone or titanium dioxide when it's one of the main ingredients).
 
What I like <3 about this product:
Lightweight
Travel friendly package
Can work well on drier skin type
 
What I don't like about this product:
Made my face look oily/greasy 


Packaging: 5/5 Squeeze tube, nozzle end too
Product : 3.5/5 Lightweight and runny but didn't work for me
Price: I bought it on sale for 15$CAD
Scent: Typical sunscreen smell!
Would I repurchase? No, gave it to my mom. Still have a back up tho! Don't know what to do with it =/ If anyone is interested into having it, write me an email :)
 
So this concludes my sunscreen comparison/review. Obviously, the Laneige one is my favorite and I'll continue to use it.
 
School started already for me and it was pretty relax. We're having a heat wave right now and there's no ac in the classrooms!! Imagine how unbearable it is! Today it was like 40 degrees outside! >_<" I hope back to school was not too harsh for those of you who are still in school! 
 
See you guys soon! 
-S



Comments

  1. I actually really like the Neutrogena sunscreen! :) I think it works great on me :p haha This is a great comparison though! I love it when you compare products :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like your review! This reminds me that I need to get something with SPF.. I rely on my foundation which as SPF, but that's probably not enough.

    You know what's funny? I know most people have oily skin, so they don't like product that makes it greasy/oily.. but I have really dry skin so I like those products! Some people actually complained that Revlon photoready makes them oily, but it dries my skin out >_<

    ReplyDelete
  3. thank you for your review! :) i was also curious about the neutrogena water light sunscreen because a lot of bloggers were raving about how good it was, but i just cant find it here! this post definitely killed the lemming, i want to check out the laneige oil free sunblock, maybe after i finish all three bottle of sunscreens that i have now hahahah :P

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for the comparison, but i think I can't use either one of them as my skin is very oily and we have summer the whole year! :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. The laneige one sounds fantastic! I never knew the diff between sunscreen and sunblock, thanks for the info =D

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for the extra info on sunscreen vs sunblock, i didnt know there were differences!

    The laneige product sounds great.. I think you might like neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch sunblock in SPF 50+++ better because it's oil-free and it doesn't feel oily at all!

    ReplyDelete
  7. @Rainy: Lucky you! I really wanted it to work for me :(

    @S: Yeah drier skin type tend to absorb better the oils!

    @Coffretgorge: If ever you get a chance, try it, who knows? maybe it would work for you! :) 3 bottle of sunscreen! thats a loot! ;P

    @Dina: Whoa summer all year!

    @Rachel: No problem dear :D

    @Nic Nic: Thanks for the recommendation! I'll check it out :D

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh wow, the Laneige sunblock sounds so tempting to buy! Haha! I have that Neutrogena one though so I must hold back on buying another sun protection product LOL.
    Great comparison reviews, I love reading reviews like this =)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Aww..the Neutrogena didn't work? I was lemming for it at the beginning of the summer but then they all disappeared from the drugstore for no reason......>.>

    http://xmaterialgirlsx.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi there. I'm wondering... where's the little beauty store in chinatown??

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for your comments! I'll try my best to reply to all your msg! ^_^

Popular Posts