Review: Allie Gel UV EX SPF 50+ PA++++ (Face & Body) on My Oily Skin

Allie is a household brand in Japan for sunscreen products. It is under Kao’s subsidiary, Kanebo — which is a really popular beauty brand in Asia. I was looking for a touch-up sunscreen that I can put in my bag for both my face and body. As I noticed that my hands have been looking more tanned than the entire face.

In this post, I will discuss how Allie Gel UV EX performed on my oily, acne-prone skin.

Claims

1. High UV Protection: Provides SPF 50+ PA++++, which provides great protection against the UV.
2. Beach-friendly: It is designed to be environmentally friendly with a water environment risk assessment.
3. Friction, sweat, and water resistant: Provides great adherence to the skin and won’t rub off easily, even when you sweat.
4. Removable with cleanser: easy to take it off at the end of the day.
5. Contains skincare benefits: Includes moisturising ingredients to take care of your skin.

My Experience

I do feel this product stays true to their claims, especially being moisturising and providing great adherence to the skin. For example, I can still feel it after exercising or after I wet my face before Salat prayer. While this is a great experience for my neck, arms, and legs, I feel like this sunscreen is too oily for my face. For added context, I use the recommended amount of sunscreen (1/4 tablespoon or two fingers long), and my other favourite sunscreens are still more comfortable on my face with the same measurement.

Of course I can just add mattifying powder on top of it to get the feeling, but sometimes I prefer to not do the extra work of adding another product on top of it, especially when I am about to go exercising.

How It Compares to Other Allie Lines?

To be honest, I thought it was going to feel like my Allie Chrono Beauty Color Tuning UV (I have it in 02 Sunny Apricot), which I adore and use as a tone-up base before makeup. It feels more matte yet cushiony. Might I say it feels lighter as compared to Allie Gel UV EX.

I bought another sunscreen from Allie, which turns out to be the ‘for FACE’ version of the original one. It is called Allie Chrono Beauty Facial UV Gel EX SPF 50+ PA++++. I think the version is way more suitable for me, and the finish is more similar to the Allie Chrono Beauty Color Tuning UV that I just mentioned above.

With the same claims as the original, this one prevents oily shine and is more mattifying on my face (N.B. I live in Singapore, so anything that can help my very oily skin under the heat and humidity here is appreciated). It also works great as a makeup primer and extends the longevity of my makeup.

Final Verdict

Would I recommend it?

For body – Yes.

For face – No.

As for now, I can only use it as my body sunscreen. While I think the finish is quite lovely, I don’t think I will repurchase this. The reason being that I prefer a sunscreen that could work for both my face and body (well, mainly arms) when I am on the go.

Would I repurchase it?

No. But I will repurchase the ‘for Face’ version.