This Sunscreen Is So Good, I Bought 8 Bottles When I Was In Japan – Now You Can Buy The UK Version

The best aroundAs a Scottish girlie, if there’s one thing I have stashed in every handbag, tote and should bag, it’s a tube of SPF. I could sunburnt in a thunderstorm and now I’m in my 30s and obsessed with skincare, I ain’t taking any risks.Any beauty expert will tell you that Japan is home to the best SPFs you can buy and when I visited in October 2023, it was still hot enough to warrant buying. Little did I know that when I casually picked up an unassuming blue bottle in Don Quijote, I had inadvertently changed my skincare routine forever.The bottle of this so-called Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence featured a muddle of kanji and symbols I’d never seen before – but seeing ‘SPF50’ was good enough for me. Slicking a bit on as I wandered back into the streets of Tokyo, I was dumbfounded as... it just... vanished into my skin? Now, anyone who religiously uses SPF knows the hell that is finding a good formula. Too oily and your make up doesn’t sit right, or god forbid, you suddenly find yourself blinded as a mix of suncream and sweat seeps down into your eyes. Too dry and you’ll find yourself with the sunburn you were trying to avoid in the first place.This Biore UV hit different. It soaked into my skin as well as my favourite moisturiser with zero residue. Eight hours later – and despite some seriously strong sun – I wasn’t even tinged pink. The next day I tried make up over it and by the end of the day my foundation had held firm. I was in love. More than that actually, I was OBSESSED. Nothing I’d used in the UK rivalled this formula so as my three week holiday drew to an end I bought a whopping 8 bottles to bring home – four for myself, four to dish out to the gals.Fast forward to the end of 2024 and as I drained my second tube I began to panic about my stock levels (and cursed being a thoughtful pal).Can you imagine my utter relief, in that case, when I discovered that a UK version had been released? Biore kindly sent me a bottle and I put it to the test to see if it stood up to the OG Japanese SPF.Luckily for my skin (and bank account, because I was fully prepared to ship more SPF over from Japan) it did – and with the English translation I was able to understand just what made it so damn good. It contains Hyaluronic Acid, which helps restore moisture and hydration to the skin, which is why it soaked in so well and left my skin feeling so nice.And in even better news, Boots have Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence on sale right now and with the sun coming out for the first time properly in 2025, it’s a great time to stock up. Just maybe not 8 bottles.Related...I Tried The Skin Care Dua Lipa 'Can't Live Without' And It Cleared My Skin Up In A WeekSo... Is Banana Peel Actually Good For Your Skin?Here's How To Tell Regular Skin Picking From A More Serious Condition