Curel UV Protection Milk SPF25 PA++ (for face and body) review/ swatch

Over the last year I've became a massive fan of Curel products and the brand in general. I've pretty much purchased most items from their original line (featured by green cap/ white bottle packagings) which is targeted at sensitive skin that needs moisturisation.

This was about 20-25USD in Asia. Available most commonly in Japan, then HK and Taiwan.

 Curel also has a whitening line which is featured by grey and white packagings.

Here's a review of the UV protection milk, which is Curel's version of a day moisturiser for face and body with sun protection.

Comes in a simple packaging with cardboard backing below:

Contains 60ml:

Comes in a small nozzle opening like this:

It's not quite those liquidity sunscreen that requires shaking before use like the Mentholatum sunkiller line, this feels less liquidpapery in consistency , it does require shaking but it doesn't have that fast evaporating feel like those liquid-paper consistency sunscreens. It's a light milky fluid. Unscented.

It smooths out easily, leaves a very slight shine, but not sticky.

I took this with me on holiday in Thailand- and quickly realised it may not be waterproof. Hence it's best used as a light day sunscreen for face and body instead. However when used as a body sunscreen I feel like you need a fair bit of product to get the right coverage so the 60ml is very small for use on the body. 

As for the face it's a pretty low SPF rating (SPF25 PA++) so I did not feel like it gave complete sun protection. It is lightly moisturising too so doesn't give that tight or dry feeling which some sunscreens leave behind. It's not quite oil controlling on the face though so does seem to make my makeup slip a bit quicker especially when I was in Thailand with the high humidity and all.

Overall this is best for use on a daily basis regular city life, I still prefer Sofina SPF for my facial sunscreen. For the body I like Kanebo Allie line. Both have consistencies I prefer. 

Rating is 3.5/5. It's a good sunscreen on the go and reasonably priced if you are using it as a facial sunscreen. However I just think Sofina is more compatible with me with higher SPF and better finish under my makeup.

Hadatuko Manten Hada Daily Protector SPF30 (sunscreen/ moisturiser) review/ swatch

"Hadatuko Manten Hada" is supposedly, a Japanese 'originated' brand which seems to be sold almost exclusive in Hong Kong and Sasa.com. "Hadatuko" means skin of a newborn- so the brand image is really going for the vibe of "we are going to give you baby soft skin".

After some googling I'm beginning to suspect that rather than a being a typical true Japanese brand as the website page and product packaging is suggesting, it might be one of those brands which features Japanese packaging and supposedly made in Japan and all, but really could be just be backed by a Hong Kong beauty brand (maybe Sasa given it seems to be distributed out of Sasa exclusively) and probably not very Japanese at all. (if you google the official website basically it's actually primarily in Chinese rather than having a dominant Japanese homepage). 

Hopefully someone can tell me if this is the case. It's not so much a brand origin bias thing, but I don't really like particular brands to be packaged and marketed in a certain way in Asia. ( there was various news these few years about brands that market themselves in Asia that they are Swiss originated etc etc with some secret patents formula,  and turned out to be made in some Asian dodgy factory).

The packaging is minimalistic- white paper boxes with green prints. The cap is a nice silvery blue-green.

The Daily Protector is basically the SPF30 moisturiser from the range for both face and body. The bottle is 40ml, given the fluid consistency it actually goes a long way if you only use it for the face.

English ingredient list:

Instructions (sorry, blogger's picture uploading property is terrible sometimes so it wouldn't rotate properly)

The brand says the product line features 6 unique natural skincare ingredients as its active ingredients:

- Jabara citrus peel extract (anti-oxidation/ anti-inflammatory)

- Sake- rich in amino acids, prevents aging and helps dark pigmentation

- Oryza Sativa (rice) lees extract- helps rejuvenate and brighten skin

- Green tea extract- anti-oxidant and anti-allergy

- Citrus unshiu peel extract: anti-allergy and rehydrates

- Natto Gum- improves dehydration and premature aging

Comes in a convenient nozzle design.

The product is light and fluid. It's similar to most of Sofina sunscreen's consistencies.

However it blends out a lot more watery than Sofina sunscreens.

Leaves a slightest shine below. However you can feel a certain 'coating' on top of the skin.

After going through about 6 or 8 bottles of Sofina sunscreens for the face last few years, I decided I might try something different. While this is in the same vibe of a liquid sunscreen (with the shake before use instruction like Sofina), I feel Sofina's formulation is more gentle and better.

In terms of SPF protection it's weaker than Sofina for sure. I have fairly stable skin while using Sofina sunscreens but since I started using this a month ago, I can visibly see a few more freckles coming up.  Not to mention after maybe 6-8 hours it may be slightly itchy on the skin too.

rating is 2.5/5. It's not terrible but it's not a worthwhile product to try.  If you like Sofina sunscreens, stick with those. If you didn't like Sofina type of sunscreens, you can skip this one too.

I will use this as a body sunscreen when I'm going for a walk or something. (I would not trust the SPF protection to be adequate for full outdoor Australian sun or watersports).