Ask any beauty aficionado, what their favorite sunscreen is and more often than not the Biore UV watery essence will pop up. It's no secret that most Japanese skincare brands have my heart (along with Korean beauty products) - they just work really well for me. I'm an avid fan of the Biore UV watery sunscreen in the blue tube/bottle and can completely understand why it has cult status.

Why's to love about Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essense?

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It has a water-gel texture that's easily absorbed by the skin giving a natural, skin-like non-greasy finish (no noticeable white cast). It's also super lightweight, making it great under makeup or by itself.

Sometimes  though you want something different, you can't get a hold of the Biore sunscreen or for some reason it's not working for you anymore. Enter Village 11 Factory's Hydra Sun Fluid.


 
Biorè vs Village 11 Factory

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1. Bottle - Village 11 has a pump but there's a tendency to lose the cap as it can be easily opened whereas the Biore one comes in a squeezable tube and a harder bottle with a screw-top.
2. Scent - The Biore has this alcohol-scent to it while this one has no noticeable scent.
3. Texture - While similar, Village 11 is more water-gel-like than Biore. But both are runny.
4. Color - Biore is has more of a milky color that blends on the skin while the Village 11 is clear.
5. Availability - Biore is more easily accesible at most Watsons' stores while Village 11 you can only find online. I got mine at Mei Satsuki on Shoppee (they also have a Facebook!)
6. Price - Biore's 50g tube costs around P500 at Watsons while Village 11's 50ml tube is around P650. Not much difference really.

Get the Biorè if you like Japanese brands or if Biorè in general has worked for you (if certain brands already work for you my advice is to stick to it) but if you're sensitive to scents or don't like alcohol-smelling products get the Village 11 Factory instead or Face Republic's Super Screen Sun Gel! (Very similar to Village 11's. All in all, they work great on their own and under makeup :)

Which one have you tried? Are you a kbeauty hoe or a japanjapan one? I'm both if you couldn't tell already.


xx,
CJ

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With 'Glass Skin' being the latest talk of [Korea beauty] town in terms of skincare, it's no surprise that affordable korean beauty source, Althea Korea came up with another addition to their line.



Makeup artist Ellie Choi shares her skincare routine to achieving clear, pristine, poreless a.k.a 'glass-like skin',

I've tried the whole line for about a month and I have to say this line overall is pretty good with one a particular standout I might add.


Althea Korea, has been on a roll with their own beauty brand following a great response from their pioneer product - Althea Velvet Powder. Now they're delving into the world of skincare and tackling the laborious 10-12 Korean skincare routine. Their answer? The 3 step 'Bare Essentials' line.

Great makeup starts with great skin

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As most makeup lovers know, great skin equals great makeup. There's no denying the satisfaction of playing with makeup and getting your face ready for the day but there's equally a satisfying feeling when you apply less or not to even wear makeup at all you know?

The 3 step line, aims to give a more streamlined easier approach to having Kbeauty skin without the intense multi-step regimen.




The product breakdown

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Step 1 - Cleanse
Contour Cleanser - a rich and refreshing foaming cleanser that contains micro capsules to both cleanse and gently exfoliate away impurities while improving blood circulation for that V-shaped look.

You guys know about Althea Korea by now for sure. The online Korean Beauty destination has captured every Kbeauty enthusiast in the Philippines (and Southeast Asia!). Just in case you've been living under a rock here are some links (here, here and here) to get you acclimated to the wonderful world of Althea.

Althea finally released their own makeup brand, the first product being this Petal Velvet Powder made for all skin types and more importantly (to me at least) made from natural ingredients + CRUELTY FREE!

Claims :
- Translucent
- Controls sebum but non-drying
- Blurs pores and leaves a lightweight, smooth velvety finish
- Non-comedogenic
- Made from natural and cruelty-free ingredients

The main highlighted ingredient are "Althea seeds" which give hydration, sun protection and provides anti-ageing properties.

Full ingredient list : silica, mica, vinyl dimethicone/methicone silsesquioxane crosspolymer, dimethicone/vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer, methicone, hibiscus syriacus seed extract, hydrogenated lecithin, 1,2-hexanediol, glyceryl caprylate, maltodextrin, fragrance



Packaging is a simple and compact screw-cap lid jar. Not surprisingly, the puff included is very soft and useable. I would assume the people behind Althea know the woes of having 'trash' applicators included in the product.

Compared to another cult KBeauty loose translucent powder - Innisfree 'No Sebum Mineral Powder', this is priced at P220/3g while the Innisfree one is P260 (sale price)/5g. Althea's is cheaper but barely. For how much you get, it's more sound to get the Innisfree one.



If you want to try something new and if the added bonus of Althea seeds, sun protection and anti-ageing intrigue you Althea's might suit you better. Apart from the aforementioned claims, I don't see anything different from what they both hope to achieve, which is to set the makeup, control sebum and leave a silky soft finish on the skin.



Experience

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Ok I admit the price is up there for 3g but you really don't need much especially for these types of powders. Let's start with the aesthetics and other superficials. The packaging with the Althea branding is great. It's compact and the plastic material isn't the cheap kind. You know those types of plastic packaging that break easily?

The scent is very light to me. There is a noticeable scent but it's faint. As for the product itself, it sets the face well leaving my skin velvety smooth (true to the claim) but that's the case for most translucent 'silica'-y powders. I do like the added benefit of anti-ageing, sun protection and hydration (from the Althea seeds).

I can also commend the fact that it's non-comedogenic (my sensitive skin didn't break-out thankfully), cruelty-free and has ingredients that are natural. As for the oil control though, as someone who has dry skin my t-zone still oiled up. It didn't dry out my skin though and if you put a little too much it can tend to make your skin look REALLY dry.

Though it's nothing a little face spray can't fix. I wouldn't say it's the magical product for all oily-skinned people. It's a pretty great touch-up powder too because there's no colour it doesn't alter your face base.

Bottom-line: It's not bad. At all. The price is good. The product works sufficiently well. There's no white-cast that I can claim. But I wouldn't necessarily wax poetic about this powder.

Have you tried this powder? Have you tried any loose setting translucent powders? Share below!

xx,
CJ

PS. Thanks Althea Korea for sending this over and letting me try it!

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The market is saturated with subscription boxes and everyone just can't get enough. From healthy snacks, pet things, clothes and of course beauty.

Before December finally comes and bites us in the ass, I wanted to catch up on some backlogs (and I have plenty to go around). 🙏

I have finally decided to review one of the items I got from my last Althea box and it's this huge 30ML Elizavecca "White Bomb Gold-CF Nest" Eye Cream.

Read on for more!