When I first read about the release of this product on ratzillacosme.com (the encyclopaedia of the Japanese beauty industry) earlier this year, I couldn’t wait to try it. However, it has turned out to be incredibly disappointing. 

The sunscreen combines zinc oxide and chemical filters, offering us high protection of SPF 50+ and PA++++ (4). The unique feature of the formula is the addition of an antiperspirant ingredient, potassium aluminium sulphate, which attracted my attention to the product in the first place. The rest of the formula contains silicones in various forms, and for hydration, we can find stalwart sunflower oil and squalene. There is quite a bit of alcohol in the product, and yes, it irritates. Also, there’re heaps of fragrance; the product feels more like perfume than skincare, though the scent dissipates speedily. 

The temperatures jumped rather quickly in June here. After a rainy May, now we have, on average, 30 degrees Celcius every day, and for me, it feels like summer weather, so I’d decided to test out the product before the start of the calendar summer. However, I had to stop trialling the product, at least as sunscreen, after the third day. I usually try out sunscreens for about two to four weeks on average; in this way, I can thoroughly examine a product, but it wasn’t possible in this case.

From the very first application, the sunscreen aggravated my skin. In some sections, it’d turned raspberry pink, which it usually does after strong acids, and I’d felt a mild burning sensation, but the irritation went away within fifteen minutes. On days one and two of using the sunscreen, I didn’t spend much time outside, as I didn’t have much to do out those days, so besides the initial eruptions, I didn’t get any adverse reactions from the sunscreen. On the third day, however, I spent more time outside, more than an hour, as I’d had some errands to run that day. As I returned home, I saw that my face was slightly red, but I assumed that it was the usual irritation produced by the sunscreen. I left the sunscreen on my skin for the rest of the day, as I tend to wash my face in the evenings, and a few hours later, my face became bright red and felt warm to the touch, as if I’d spent hours sunbathing that day. I don’t know what caused the inflammation, but this sunscreen isn’t meant for me. That day, as I usually do, I applied about 2.5g of the product. I have been using sunscreen regularly for nearly 13 years now, so I am sure I know how to apply sunscreen. I don’t know what went wrong that day, but there’s something off about the product.

Another thing that I didn’t like about this sunscreen is its texture. Unpromisingly, it doesn’t feel like anything on the skin, so I don’t think it even forms a proper film – it is too liquidish to create a substantial coating on the skin. While applying, I can’t keep it in my palms as it runs through my fingers; I can only apply it by dabbing the product with a finger from a measuring spoon. Moreover, as many Japanese sunscreens, it contains zinc oxide, which leaves a perceptible white overlay on the skin – it won’t suit everyone. And the zinc oxide mixed with an abundant amount of alcohol and potassium aluminium sulphate dries out my skin; it makes every single patch of dry skin quite noticeable, which isn’t a flattering look. 

The only positive thing is that it works as an antiperspirant. Antiperspirants for the face are rare; there aren’t many, I have tried one, but it hasn’t brought any desirable results. In my case, this sunscreen delays the production of sweat on my face, but I sweat anyway. Despite the poor anti-UV performance, I continue to use the product but only in the strategic zones that need sweat-prevention the most, sort of like a primer, before applying my regular sunscreen. Unfortunately, based on my experience, I cannot recommend the Suncut Pro Defense Multi-Block Sunscreen UV Milk to anyone. 

Ingredients: ratzillacosme.com