My derm had put me on another round of Oratane (oral medicine for acne which controls oil thus causing skin to be on the dry side) and this time, a Retin A cream which would make my skin more sensitive to the sun. I asked for a sunblock that could protect as well as moisturise the dry patches and was given a sample of this.
Previously i have used Japanese brands Biore and Sofina with great results because they have a very thin consistency and no white cast, and have always steered away from European ones because they are thicker and make it look like you have a white mask on your face. Hence this Bioderm is my first European sunscreen. I was skeptical but gave it a shot and i ended up finising the tiny sample tube and travelling a long distance to my derm's office just to buy a full-sized tube.
What this does for me that Biore and Sofina don't is that it has moisturising ingredients in the formula so that you don't have to apply a separate moisturiser before your sunscreen, which may dilute your sunscreen hence making it less effective. My skin feels hydrated throughout the day (at least for 6 hours since i work in an air-conditioned environment all day long) as compared to when i put on my regular Avene moisturiser (which i already deem as a very good product). The best part - it leaves my complexion with this incredible glow which i never had or i've never had from even the most expensive foundation or excercising. It's glow and not greasiness, and i recommend this to women who have dry skin and patches and dull skin or those who don't get enough sleep like me. It really hides my dryness and dullness.
Looking glowy and dewy aside, i found out that this product as very high PPD (38!) as compared to 8-10+ for many other off-the-shelf suncreens like Biore. PPD is the measurement of protection against UVA rays which causes (gasp) premature aging. Not common knowledge, at least for me and my circle of girlfriends, but something every woman oughta know.
Lastly i have very troublesome and acne-prone, whitehead-prone skin but this doesn't clog me up or break me out in any way.
p.s Not recommended for oily women, though!

I really wanted to like this, but unfortunately it did not work for me. The first time I used it my skin felt a little uncomfortable at first, but after the second time I developed irritation around the eyes which took a few weeks to heal. I am not sure what the irritating ingredient was, as I have been using LRP Anthelios Fluide Extreme for several weeks with absolutely no problems, either irritation or breakouts. Although I found the finish more cosmetically elegant than the LRP worn alone, my powder looked a little 'muddy' after a few hours, whereas although I couldn't wear the LRP without powder, it does work well with powder if I blot after several hours and the powder doesn't 'move around' over it or start to look 'muddy'. I will be sticking with my Anthelios.

I sooo desperately wanted this to work for me. I've been relying on Blue Lizard which is terribly thick and greasy (and lower PPD than I'd like). I've been wanting to try this for a good while and decided to order a sample (along with a sample of Avene Emulsion). The very first day I applied this, I started to feel skin irritation. I tried to tell myself it was just my imagination and persisted. That was two days ago and having finished up the product today, I definitely have sensitized skin (around my eyes, especially). I hate, hate, hate that I'm having this issue. I truly hoped that this would be my hg summer sunscreen. It was so nice to wear a more "cosmetically elegant" sunscreen, not to mention one that I felt protected me in the harsh sun. I don't know if it's the tinosorb giving me problems or some other ingredient. I hope it's the latter, as tinosorb's UVA protection can't be beat. Even more disappointing is the fact that this broke me out (especially along my chin area). I've had issues with chemical screens causing serious irritation in the past, so I'm crossing my fingers that I'll find a combo that works. Alas, the search continues.

I have acne prone dehydrated(differin & bp) oily skin. I have only been using this for a week but I really like it thus far. No breakout problems and no white cast once it sinks in for a few minutes. I use a 1/4 tsp measuring spoon from the dollar store to get the correct amount of liquid each day. Finding room to get a full 1/4 tsp on my face before starting to massage in is difficult. The first time I applied this I didn’t think it would possibly work but this sinks in very quickly and leaves a nice glow after about 5 minutes.

Since it leaves a glow(shine but not grease) someone looking for something with a matte finish would definitely not be happy. If you don’t mind I glow I actually think my skin looks better with it on than without.

The package is 40ml so 1.35oz

It’s alcohol denat free, paraben free and doesn't require an oil cleanser

1 MONTH UPDATE: Upgrading from 4 to 5 Stars, No acne problems & ordered a second tube continued >>

The new 2009 formula was w/o alcohol denat which I liked in theory and PPD 38 instead of 35.
Its texture wasn't as liquidy and, well, fluid, as the PPD 35 formula with alcohol. It left enough of a white cast that my DH said I looked like a clown. I didn't think it was as bad as some others I'd tried some time ago and ruled out, but I could see the whiteness all day and it wasn't all that subtle.
Also, when I was in direct sunlight, like in the car, my face was quite shiny (not alien shiny but definitely more than a healthy glow).
Finally, I got several small zits along my hairline initially which I thought was b/c i didn't wash it off thoroughly enough; then I got a minor zit on my cheek and a medium-red (not flaming but not as docile as the others) zit under my jawbone; for as white as this is (and I'm fair enough that I thought it might be brightening until my DH set me straight that I looked ridiculous) and the zits that continue to pop up, I think this might just not be lightweight enough to let my rosacean skin "breathe" so it's trapping heat in and causing rosacea zits, especially since they have taken a while to heal like my rosacean ones behave. continued >>