Ishizawa Laboratory Shigaisen Youhou Chemical Free UV Cream

More goodie from the Sunscreen Land. I first discovered Shigaisen Youhou on my first Japan trip back in 2018 - I fell in love with the lovely texture, "zero" (feels like nothing) finish and natural citrus scent (they promptly got rid of it spring 2019) while wandering around Tokyu Hand. 

I waited until I finished (three tubes since last year, guess I kind of love them!) using them to give a final verdict. 
There are two versions of the UV creams (the brand also makes large bottle sunscreen and UV Gel) - Regular one and a medicated whitening version. 

My review might be a little confusing as it consists of whitening version made before spring  2019 (I am not sure if there is a reformulation, as I didn't like it enough to repurchase), the regular version before and after spring 2019. 
Ingredients of the whitening version - It has L-Ascorbic Acid and other vitamin c derivatives (What is 2-Glucote?). 

The whitening version seems scent free, has  a milky texture that's moisturizing but a little tacky on hotter days. It spreads well enough but I didn't like its relatively more noticeable white cast. It's not that bad but it's visible enough to bother me, as I first started using it later on the year. I am using right now it actually looks totally natural(I am at my palest early spring of each year and my tan peak around September). 

I didn't love it but I still managed to finish the (very small 40g tube) as it works at day time moisturizer.
Ishizawa Lab UV cream whitening and regular (after 2019 reformulation) You can tell from the picture how chalky white and whitening version is...Makes me wonder if that's what they aimed for. 

The regular version seems more jelly and less tacky on the face. 
(I took too many glamour shots just for the whitening one, as I was busy using the regular version).
Now here comes the regular version I love - It has a jelly texture that's moisturizing, comfortable but leaves negligible white cast. It's a great day time moisturizer with SPF50+ and PA++++, protecting against winter wind and UV while feeling completely weightless on the face - no oil, no tight film or icky residue. 

It sits so well on bare skin (it evens out skintone without looking white) and also works as a smoothing base for powder or liquid  foundation. When it comes to sunscreen, all I need is effectiveness (it's good enough for non-summer seasons), zero irritation and feeling non-icky on the skin. Everything about this was so pleasant that I was able to stick with it everyday. 

Actually, my favorite part was its  refreshingly natural scent that came from orange oil but that got sacked as of 2019. 
Ingredients for the regular version of the UV cream (before reformulation)  the new version just got rid of the orange oil. The UV  filters used are the usual Titanium Dioxidr and Zinc oxide, the ones in bold are skincare ingredients like hydrolyzed collagen, acerola fruit essence, aloe vera, argan, Chinese skullcap root (I googled that), camellia flower, grape and some other root...
Another glamour shot of the whitening one
It's also available at Teso (a drugstore in Flushing that's filled with mostly/90-95% Japanese beauty products)with 100% markup. I guess it's still cheaper than a round trip ticket to Japan? 

Speaking of which, they have gotten so incredibly expensive (for direct flight from New York to Tokyo) but I guess it doesn't matter since entry from US is banned anyway.

Comments

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. I have both the regular cream version as well as the milder gel in the pump bottle for my little guy. Can't wait to try them, especially the regular cream version that you like!

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    2. I think you will like it since the weather in CO is a bit drier...This must be well liked as I see it on Amazon and Teso.

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  2. Yay I love seeing reviews of sunscreens

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    1. I got more (well the American one I got from wholefood sucks though).

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