Anessa Perfect Essence Sunscreen A+N SPF50+ PA++++

Having finished Anessa Perfect UV Sunscreen A+N, I moved on to my 25g tube of Anessa Perfect Essence Sunscreen A+N SPF50+ PA++++, which is a terrible idea because it's getting really humid. At the same time, I don't want to wait until the fall to use it. This product has also been discontinued and this review too is already outdated as it is. I just want to hurry up and use it.

On its own, it's exactly as expected, a little too thick and pasty for this weather. It's thicker and slightly heavier than the Allie Gel even, and it takes much longer to set, 5+ minutes. While it does set to a nice dewy matte, a few hours later my t-zone does get shiny. Honestly, I think using this in the winter wouldn't have made much difference. My skin didn't take to the lighter Allie gel either, so this Anessa essence neither surprises nor disappoints me.

I started experimenting with mixing. Right now, I have a half used bottle of Sunkiller Milk and a half used tube of Hada-Labo Koi-Gokujyun Gel. The Hada-Labo Gel is definitely not a choice, so I'm left with just Sunkiller.

I started out with 10 drops of Sunkiller plus 20 loops of Anessa Essence, which is worse an idea than using Anessa on its own LOL! I must have waited around for 20+ minutes and even then it still didn't set. In the end, I got a sticky and icky kabuki mask that just weighed down my whole face. A light dusting of sunscreen powder on top didn't help at all--the powder just shifted around in patches. Just a couple of hours in and my face became the site of an oil spill. It was pretty unsightly and I had to blot away the excess shine every hour for the rest of that day (using Boscia Blotting Linen).

I then reduced to 5 drops of Sunkiller and 25 loops of Anessa but got the same terrible result. At this point, I'm now stuck with 3 half used sunscreens, Sunkiller milk, Hada-Labo Gel, and this Anessa Essence that can't be mixed with each other. Urgh. =.="

Then I thought of a line of sunscreen milks I've been curious about but haven't dared to touch, because the whole lineup is notorious for being super drying: the Biore SaraSara UV Perfect milks, which comes with a Face Milk in a 30mL white bottle for face only, a Bright Milk in a 30mL pink bottle with very fine, micro shimmers for a pearly finish, again for face only, and a Milk in a 60mL bottle for face and body. Out of the 3 choices, the Face Milk and Bright Milk are very slightly thicker, and so I went straight for the Milk in the blue bottle in hopes it would thin out and matte-fy the Anessa essence.

Guess what, it works ^.^ I started with 10 drops of Biore Milk and 20 loops of Anessa essence, and have now built up to 20 drops of Biore Milk and 10 loops of Anessa essence. Will review the Biore Milk later if I ever dared to try it on its own.

By the way, if the Biore UV name rings a bell for you, that's because I've reviewed a sister line, the Aqua Rich with a Watery Essence and a Watery Gel, both of which my hubby just absolutely loves because they're completely weightless and undetectable on his skin.