Nivea Super Water Gel Sunscreen: Review

My holy grail sunscreen is definitely the Nivea Sun Protect Super Water Gel in 50SPF, and it's because this sunscreen is everything that I always hated when wearing sunscreen! 

I was originally introduced to this by a friend from Sydney who travelled to Japan and asked me to buy another back up for him because it was the only sunscreen that didn't give him any sunburn (as he has typical pale Caucasian skin, this is a pretty big deal.) After buying one for him, I decided to get one for myself to test, because I had to find out what the fuss was about - and it is genuinely perfect. 

For a review on Nivea's Sun Zero Feeling UV sunscreen, click here! 

For me, sun protection is so important - not just in beauty or additional skin care, but it can prevent so many things, such as sagging skin, discolouration, wrinkles and most importantly, from skin cancer.

However, as I'm sure a lot of people can relate - a lot of sunscreens that are available to people can often be really unpleasant to wear - which is a big reason why I didn't wear sunscreen a lot when I was younger too. Sunscreens can often be really thick, gluggy and also have an awful white cast on the face, especially for people of color- which makes the face look extremely ashy. With inorganic/physical sunscreens, the white cast is typically due to the presence of either zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, and those are usually the most popular types of sunscreen found in Australia (especially those made by the Cancer Council, or even the Brightening UV Shield from L'occitane.) 

On the left, is an example of the white cast from the titanium dioxide in the L'occitane UV shield, and the right is the organic/chemical sunscreen from Kose, which has very little white cast. 

The good thing about the Nivea Water Gel sunscreen? Because it's an organic/chemical sunscreen, the formulation of this leaves almost no white cast and is also lighter and less tacky. 

As I've mentioned before, the more popular types of sunscreen often contain zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, and in the picture is a good example of the comparison of color between the two. The Kose UV Perfect gel is very similar in performance to the Nivea, and so I've taken a picture of the two side by side. The Brightening UV Shield from L'occitane is also more sticky, and dewy, whereas the Kose just absorbs straight into the skin with a slight tackiness - and the Nivea performs much the same but less of the tackiness due to the presence of alcohol in the formula of the sunscreen. 

The formula itself is a very watery gel, if you've ever tried the InnisFree balancing lotion, it's the same sort of slightly moisturising, gelly like consistency, it's just viscous enough for you to apply on the face but easy to apply.  It dries extremely quickly (it has some alcohol in it) but it's also marketed as a base product before makeup, but can be used all over the body. 

I typically squeeze out about an Australian two dollar's worth, or the diameter of 2cm and liberally apply this all over my face, and then use the remaining bits that haven't absorbed and apply this to the tops of my hands (because it's better to apply more than less!) 

I do this before makeup and i've never had any problems with it interfering with my makeup (which is more than I can say about a lot of other sunscreens!) 

It comes in two sizes, 80g and 140g and sometimes is also sold in a tiny little extra bottle with big purchases. 

Personally, I prefer the 80g because of the packaging and the no pump top, but obviously the 140g is a much better deal (in terms of prices) A lot of the times - as seen in the picture - the 140g is a similar price to the 80g as well, but it is not so travel friendly.  For this reason, I tend to reach for the 80g, but obviously you can pick whichever one you like.

These retail for around 789JYP plus tax, which is 805 JYP, or 10 AUD. 

If you'd like to buy it, most Japanese drug stores will stock this, or a quick perusal on Google may lead you to some good stockists. (e.g. https://dokodemo.world/en/es/products/215495/)

Additionally, some resell shops in Sydney and Hong Kong also sell it at a marked up price, so definitely check those out! 

Why I ultimately would recommend this sunscreen, especially for those who wear a lot of make up and think typical sunscreens look bad with their skin tone, or clog pores: This is such a good base product. With the alcohol base, it dries really quickly without being too drying, and doesn't leave any sort of shiny and tacky on your skin. This means you can just apply foundation like you normally do and you don't have to be afraid of layering on too much product or worrying about how the foundation sits on top of the sunscreen. 

Additionally, a common conception about foundation with SPF is that you can use foundation as sunscreen, and that really doesn't work too well in the long run. As quoted from labmuffin, 

SPF scales linearly with the amount you apply, and applying small amounts means you’re likely to get patchy protection due to skin’s ridgey texture.

The amount used in the sunscreen studies to determine SPF is 2 milligrams of sunscreen per centimetre of skin (2 mg/cm²).  It translates to 1/4 teaspoon for your face alone, and 35 mL for a full adult body, which is about half of a small tube of sunscreen (more than half a tube of Biore Watery Essence, for example). 

Much like her advice, unless there's some magical laying foundation where you're able to slather on without caking it on, sunscreens (or primers) will be the most effective. As this sunscreen is super lighweight, waterproof, suitable for body and face and not ashy at all, I just find myself reaching for this all the time! 

A definite 10/10 and highly recommended to anyone who doesn't like typical sunscreens or is looking to try a new one! 

Here's an ingredient list for the most recent formulation of the sunscreen!

If you're interested in breaking down different ingredients and other aspects of organic/inorganic sunscreens and the science behind this, check out these links! They're super helpful in understanding how sunscreen works and different types. 

https://labmuffin.com/zinc-sunscreen-review-white-cast-comparison-neutrogena-invisible-zinc-sunsense/

https://kindofstephen.com/physical-vs-chemical-sunscreens-myths/

https://labmuffin.com/chemical-vs-physical-sunscreens-the-science-with-video/

https://labmuffin.com/spf-changes-how-much-sunscreen-use/

If you are concerned about the presence of alcohol in the ingredients list, LabMuffin also has a piece here on how harmful alcohol is in skincare. To quote the blog:

The evidence seems to point towards alcohol not being much of a concern skincare, given how small the impact is with far more extreme conditions in alcohol hand rub studies. 

I would suggest those who have any allergies or sensitivities towards alcohol on the skin to stay away from this sunscreen, but otherwise, the science doesn't suggest any other harmful issues!