As someone who has oily dark skin that develops breakouts and dark spots easily and who lives in a hot humid polluted city, it's been a huge challenge to find a non-greasy sunscreen that doesn't leave a white cast and doesn't break me out.

I started scouring MUA reviews and trying out all the top rated sunscreens one by one. It's no surprise that all the top rated sunscreens specialise in being non-oily. I first took a stab at the Japanese sunscreens, trying out both the Biore mousse and milk. You can read my reviews of both these products. In a nutshell, while they gave me a great non-oily finish, they also tended to block my pores because they contain silicones. They are however fairly cheap and can be used on areas like the forehead and nose where I don't break out as much.

After all these disappointments, I decided to splurge on Chanel. I bought a sample of UV Essentiel and found it to be amazing enough for me to splurge on a full size bottle. Again, you can read my separate review.

However, using Chanel on a forever basis is a bit beyond my budget. While I would continue using it if I had no other option, I decided to try this highly rated sunscreen a well. You do not get it where I live yet, but I managed to get it online. Firstly, it needs to be shaken THOROUGHLY. The first time I used it, I didn't shake it much and the effects were quite different from the time I shook it properly.

My initial impressions:

- Spreads easily
- Great truly silky finish and touch
- Really non-oily coverage. I went to a make-up counter and they actually refused to believe I have oily skin
- A nice glow without any white cast whatsoever (even on my NC 42 skin)
- A high SPF
- A lot of product in the bottle which should really last
- Sunscreen smell - but not too bad

The not so good news: I have very sensitive skin especially around my mouth and chin and I do feel it has become somewhat irritated since I started using it (3 days). Sigh! But I will continue using it for a while to be certain that it's the fault of the sunscreen and not the hyper stress I am going though these days.

For this reason, I have not rated this product as highly as I could have but look for another update in a couple of weeks. I am dying for this to work on me.

I confess that I have often avoiding sunscreen on just regular days (when not going to the beach or being outside for a long time), because I hate the pastiness it can have in photos (if a physical sunscreen) or the way it breaks me out or burns (if chemical).

Still, I was looking for a daily sunscreen. I thought my goal would be to find a sunscreen that was completely weightless and made no change to my skin. I was wrong- because now that I've found this HG sunscreen- it may be weightless, but it does a lot for my skin as well which I wouldn't expect from a sunscreen. One reviewer mentioned it goes on the skin a lot like a makeup primer would. Remarkably, I use this sunscreen as a makeup primer and it really makes my skin look better than it is. It goes on like its name suggests and the way make-up looks over it is just remarkable. I keep worrying that maybe it had a silicone type ingredient in it- but whatever ingredient it has that makes it like a makeup primer- it has not broken me out after 2 weeks. And that's saying a lot, for me.

When I first tried it- to warn you- it is pretty runny. Almost like water. So it seems odd at first, but the packaging is excellent and have not had any issues. The price is not too bad and the SPF of 50 is excellent. I will definitely buy this again, and I highly recommend.

Best chemical sunscreen I have ever used!

Pros: Light smoothing texture that blends in perfectly.
Does not irritate my eye area which is often a problem for me with chemical sunscreens.
No greasy look yet not drying.
Great price and almost the same formula as pricier L'Oreal owned brands like Kiehls and Lancome.
No white cast.

Cons: none so far.

This is absolutely, hands down, HG for me. I'm almost to the bottom of my first bottle, and bought two more for back-up when they were on rollback at Walmart. I used to use Eucerin's spf30 sensitive skin facial moisturizer, but this beats it hands down!
Pros:
- price (7-10 dollars a bottle)
- spf 50
- light, silky feel
- absorbs quickly
- very moisturizing, so I can skip a separate moisturizer most days until the harsh winter
- a little goes a long way (one bottle lasts a looong time)
- packaging is mess free and sanitary
- contains some silica, making it double as a light primer
- vitamin E & white grapeseed give it some anti-aging properties

Cons:
NONE!!!!!!!

I would recommend this to any woman who wants to have a good, high spf in her skincare routine!!

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I used to use Khiels Super Fluid UV Defense but found this and will never change back. I swear its practically the same thing, for a fraction of the cost. Sure, it is a but runny coming out, but once its rubbed in, it isn't oily at all on my skin. I'm super sensitive to scents and don't find this one to be bad at all. I also like that there's a little ball in the bottle to help mix up the product---which, if you forget to do, might be why some users find this to be oily: it isn't mixed!

Goes on oily but dries to a nice almost powdery finish. Cosmetically elegant, but made my face burn (not sunburn, just get red and hot before I even got outside.) I have quite sensitive skin, and I think it's the alcohol that's upsetting my skin.

I really like this for my face and the price is good too. This sunscreen leaves no white cast (so noticeable on my brown skin, ugh) and is smooth to apply on. It takes a little while to sink in, but it leaves my skin soft. I've been using it for a month and a half without breaking out or having any other bad reaction.
As for repurchasing, I've already bought my second bottle.

I usually wear this and every other sunscreen without moisturizer because I am a greasy mess by the end of the day if I've applied moisturizer + sunscreen.

I had high hopes for this product since there were such great reviews. I have pretty oily skin and have been on an endless search for a sunscreen that would not make me extra oily, not break me out and wear well under makeup. This product feels really nice going on to the skin, very smooth like a primer which should have told me something as I cannot wear most primers since high levels of silicone do not agree with my skin. Unfortunately this product did not control my oil at all, it practically pooled oil and makeup around my nose and in my t-zone. It also emphasized pores I didn't even know I had on my nose, and to top it off after 2 weeks of using this I believe it is clogging my pores :( If your skin is like mine and you cant use most silicone based primers because they don't control oil and they clog your pores, pass on this product.

I'm sorry to be one of the few to give this a negative review, but my experience using this product was less than impressive. The sunscreen made my combo/oily face even more oily. Furthermore, it also made me breakout on my forehead and nose. Idk why there are so many positive reviews for this product. I tried the Chanel UV sunscreen and that sunscreen was amazing. Kept my face free from oil. However, I returned it because I thought the L'oreal would work better at a cheaper price. I guess I'll be going back to Nordstrom.

Well, I hate to be the lone party-pooper, but this sunscreen on my 50+year old, oily-prone skin is awful! It looks like an oil slick immediately upon applying . . . and it gets worse after that. By all means, do not get it near your eyes! Burning and stinging and tearing . . . very difficult to remove and get rid of the irritation. I reallyl wanted to like this sunscreen. The only plus is that it has a nice silky feel, like the name says "liquid silk" but no way will I be buying it again. I'll continue my quest for an oil-free that doesn't make my skin break out. Are any cosmetic companies out there listening????