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REVIEW | Klairs Mid-day Blue Sun Lotion SPF40 / PA++

Hey Mochi Beauties!

I have been blessed by Wishtrend to review another product for you all! It is the long awaited Klairs Mid-day Blue Sun Lotion SPF 40 / PA++. This product arrived* in the mail while I was coincidentally in South Korea. I couldn’t wait to try it when I got home! Aside from it being a blue sun lotion, this new product strongly emphasizes how it has UV protection AND heat protection. The latter I’ve never heard of in a sunscreen, let alone having a blue hue from an ingredient. This had me intrigued, and Googling for  more.

*I solemnly swear to give an honest review, no matter the product hype. Any sent product I test out for at least a month to give as detailed of a review as possible, good or bad!

Why the “Blue” in Blue Sun Lotion

The featured ingredient, Guaiazulene, is a plant-based component extract from chamomile oil . It’s first state is a violet colour, but turns into a light blue after it has gone through the blending process.  This ingredient has been used in Japanese clinical trials to prove its effectiveness in calming inflammation of damaged skin tissue and the regeneration of skin cells. It’s been tested on various skin conditions such as sunburns, eczema, and ulcerative skin diseases. The ingredient is also commonly used in ointments.*

I looked on EWG.org/skindeep to see what they have to say about the ingredient, but all they had is:
Safety range between 1-4 (low to almost moderate hazard rating)
commonly used as a blue dye in products
Limited information on ingredient**

For the scientifically inclined, or for those who just like looking extra complicated stuff up, I did manage to also find an Abstract on PubMed.gov on how they tested the effectiveness of guaiazulene on babies with Recalcitrant Diaper Dermatitis (RDD). What they found in their results is that the RDD improved within the first and third days of application of a 0.05g Guaiazulene / 100g pomade mix.***

*Information from Wishtrend website.
** Guaiazulene on EWGSkinDeep
***Guaiazulene: a new treatment option for recalcitrant diaper dermatitis in NICU patients.

 Screening the Claims

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+ Maintains moisture and clears skin with heat protection.
+ Soothes damaged skin from sun and external heat.
+ The peaceful blue color helps your skin to be light skin toned.
+ Moisturizes without stickiness.

What standards do you have for your everyday sunscreen?
KLAIRS Mid-day Blue Sun lotion is made to protect your skin from harsh UV rays
as well as providing protection from direct heat
to guard your sensitive skin from those miserable heatwaves.

Light application x spotless absorption
The Mid-day Blue Sun lotion is a refreshing cream filled with hydration, and has a light, weightless finish without the oily feeling. When applied, it has a subtle glow that transforms into a feathery finish you won’t want to miss out on. 

Tone out the redness with H2O
The Mid-day Blue Sun lotion in formulated with guaiazulene like the Blue cream to calm irritated skin as well as tone down the redness from harsh UV rays for the effortless, flawless skin tone everyone will be jealous of.


Usage

1) Apply 15 minutes before going out in the sun.
2) At the last step of your skin care routine, apply an ample amount onto the face, ears, and neck.
3) When active outdoors, reapply every 2 hours as needed.


Does it Work?

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Left: No makeup or moisturizer, Right: just the Blue Sun Lotion
  • Helps your skin to be light skin toned – I definitely noticed my skin looked lighter, coming from someone who was walking in the sun for 2 weeks and developed a slight tan while on holiday.
  • Protect your skin from harsh UV rays – It’s hard to tell how effective a sunscreen is in the fall in Toronto, Canada. What I can say though, is that Titanium Oxide and Zinc Oxide as the SPF are the best for sunscreens; I always search for those ingredients in an SPF of about 30 so I can’t imagine this product doesn’t protect!
  • Providing protection from direct heat – I walked outside in the wind and the peak of the sun with a friend one afternoon, and my skin still looked cool and collected by the time I got home.
  • Refreshing cream filled with hydration/moisturizes without stickiness – I love the cooling sensation that comes from this product! It really is a lovely feeling. When I did check-ups on my face, it always looked nicely hydrated and bright. When applying the product, I never feel like I need to run to the sink to wash my hands from it being too heavy or sticky.
  • A light, weightless finish without the oily feeling – I love the texture of this product; it’s a cross between a mousse-cream texture, like what you’d find as a light filling in a pastry! There was no oily feeling to it, although using it did give my face quite the glow.
  • Calm irritated skin – I have to agree with this. When I got home at the end of the day after using this sun lotion, my breakouts were not inflamed and my face still looked even tone. Even once I removed my makeup, my skin did not look hot and bothered from a day of walking in windy and sunny weather.
  • Tone down the redness from harsh UV rays/Soothes damaged skin from sun and external heat – I immediately noticed the change in the quality of my skin after I applied it and let it sit. Redness diminished, and any slight tightness I was feeling from being too dry disappeared.
  • Flawless skin tone – Flawless blue tone is more like! But it’s true, it looked like my skin issues disappeared because of how this product sits on the skin.


Extras:

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Right side shows with flash

 

  • I like the packaging. The white and blue are nice, soft colours together. It is in a non-aluminum squeeze tube, and a travel-friendly size for a carry-on.
  • The product spreads nicely but if collected in a certain area the white-blue of it will be prominent so you must blend it out properly.
  • The blue face. You will have a blue face initially and it is quite unavoidable, and it does make your skin colour look lighter.
  • It will look naturalish, especially with light application. But if you use too much it’s a noticeable change in your undertone if you wear it on its own.
  • Never triggered a breakout on my face. This is always an A++ in my books for a product.
  • There is a patchy blue cast if you use flash and have not applied an all-over base; If you do use a base, the blue cast will not be noticeable at all.

If your base shade is darker than “light”:

img_20161024_214254
Left: no product, Middle: with product, Right: with flash. There is a noticeable glow looking from left to right. Look closely and you’ll see the change in undertone from the left arm to the middle. It doesn’t look like much, but my friend’s skin has a strong undertone and it was very easy to point out where the sunscreen was applied, even after waiting 15 minutes.

Be weary when using this. If you’re putting makeup over you will be fine, otherwise you’ll notice a change in your undertone (especially if you use a lot of the product).

I tested the product on the arm of one of my friends. The first thing she noticed is her skin looked a tad lighter with a glow. The fact that it lightened her skin and with the blue, it would definitely be something that would bother her if she applied it to her face. But if wearing a pigmented base over, it would be fine.

The blue undertone was more noticeable on her than my skin, and it has to do with this products “brightening” aspect for skin. We concluded the darker your skin tone, the more noticeable the cast will be.

If you’re lighter skinned it may not be as noticeable, but someone with more melanin will pick up the whiteness – or in this case, the light blueness in the product right away. Proper blending is needed.


Overall Opinion

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Right is with Klairs BB Cream

I really like this product. The formulation is wonderful as the last step in skincare routine, and as as someone who’s willing to spend $50+ on a sunscreen, $20 (USD) is not looking too shabby. However, the blueness, being from the key ingredient, is the problem in the cast, and it’s very noticeable on first application. If you have a darker complexion than light, you will notice your face will be lighter than the rest of your body; They don’t advertise this as a whitening sunscreen, so I don’t think that’s the issue. You can work around it by applying a well-pigmented base over to quickly cancel the blue, otherwise I’d look elsewhere for an SPF to wear on its own.

Overall, I do recommend this product. It was great at adding extra hydration to my skin, while calming a bit of the redness I have on my face, and not aggravating breakouts. It’s good for those with lighter skin tones for it to sit on its own, or for those who become fairer as fall/winter comes around (this product may prove to be tricky once the warmer weather comes around!)

Hope this review helped those considering this product!

xo, M.


Klairs Mid-day Blue Sun Lotion SPF 40/PA++

Natural and Fresh Makeup Kit $39.99


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Review: I’M FROM Honey Mask

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