L’Oreal UV Perfect Aqua Essence SPF30 PA+++ – This Sunscreen Is My Summer Superstar

I got back from my holiday and have been extremely busy with the unpacking etc. But before I write more about the holiday, I thought I’d write about the one product that I used EVERYDAY of my holiday and that has kept my skin quite well-protected against the blazing tropical sun while island-hopping and beach-bumming. It is the L’Oreal UV Perfect Aqua Essence SPF 30 PA+++ sunscreen. If you follow me on Instagram, you must have seen me put up this pic from Phi Phi Island…

Here’s what L’Oreal has to say about this sunscreen:

Our Most Complete UV Shield:

Anti-UV: formulated specifically for Asian skin, the advanced Mexoryl XL Filter provides broad-spectrum UVA/UVB protection for 12H.

Anti-Oxidant: with Vitamin E, which reinforces skin to fight against free radicals and slow down skin aging. 

Anti-Aging: enriched with Adenosin, a renowned anti-aging ingredient which helps to strengthen premature skin aging.   

Encapsulated in an ultra-light watery essence which melts on skin and is quickly absorbed for a light refreshing effect. It lets the skin breathe and makes it suppler and smoother. Non-sticky, non-greasy, it leaves a velvet and invisible finish.. 

This sunscreen is truly wonderful! I wore it daily and when we got back home, my mom-in-law remarked that I was the only one who hadn’t tanned as much as hubby and kids! And my skin is the kind that tans in seconds. A combination of sun and water (beach / pool) for just half an hour is enough to turn my skin into a rich chocolate brown even when I am wearing sunscreen. Don’t believe me? Check out these pics…

This pic was taken on the second day of our holiday. I’m wearing the Etude House Precious Mineral BB Cream (which I had disliked initially when I had bought it, but really love it now).

This pic was taken on Phi Phi beach, on the 7th day of the holiday, just after I took the pic of the sunscreen. And it was taken in the afternoon after we had already been out in the sun for almost 4 hours. Again here, I have layered the Etude House BB cream over the sunscreen. See any tanning? I feel I should have used this all over my body instead of the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Fine Mist that I used. Now my body and face don’t match :p

While this sunscreen doesn’t give a matte look to the skin, I really love the soft, radiant glow-y look it gives. The texture isn’t “watery” as they claim but it is definitely lighter than most other sunscreens I have used, Neutrogena and Shiseido included. It is easy to blend in and gets absorbed relatively faster than other sunscreens. Also, it didn’t give a whitish/greyish cast to my skintone and while I felt SPF 30 might not be adequate, I was clearly wrong. I intended to reapply it after swimming/splashing in the water, but managed to do it just one day, and yet, it gave me good protection.

I didn’t have time to take other pics of the sunscreen (packaging, product texture etc) but for the efficacy, you have the pictures in front of you to show you how well the UV Perfect Aqua Essence works.

Priced at Rs. 475 for 30ml, I feel this is really a superstar sunscreen. It is definitely my Holy Grail this summer. What about you? Have you tried it?

PS – PR Sample. Honest opinion based on my experience with the product.