Senka Mineral Water Face UV SPF41 PA++

3 Reviews

1. 

   superiorRelish3

   Reply

   I needed too much.

2. 

   cheerfulCaviar8

   Reply

   I’m NW15 in the MAC and the first time I use a BB Cream that has a very close color my: D (I’m a light color and it is slightly darker, but I think not enough to NW20). The undertone of it is neutral combining perfectly with mine! YAY!
   I’m so glad I bought this product I will make stock immediately!
   I would like to thank the girl who made the first review of this BB Cream here, because thanks to it I’m so happy today! And the MakeupAlley through space, of course!

   Pros: color, finish or matte or glossy, medium coverage, no pores or brand lines, has no smell, free of parabens, high solar protection, low, practical packaging, durable and beautiful.

   Cons: Transfer bit, but I always think it could transfer less. Throughout the day the coverage gets craquelada 🙁 but probably this happened because I did not prepare the skin (only applied on the skin hidrataa) and ran his fingers anyway. Next time use a beauty blender for this purpose stay more natural, unfortunately it lose a little coverage. Duration (6hrs on average)

   That’s it, I will use more times and then I update my opinion.
   xx

3. 

   troubledOwl1

   Reply

   From what I understand, Senka is a drugstore-tier sub-brand of Shiseido. On the Japanese equivalent to Makeup Alley, cosme.net, this BB cream held one of the highest ratings, even over both my BB cream favorites KATE Mineral Cover BB Gel Cream and Hada Labo BB Moist Emulsion. I happened to notice that AdamBeauty.com was selling this Senka BB for about US$13 when I was looking to resupply my sister with her favorite Hada Labo BB Moist Cream. It was by far the cheapest Japanese BB cream I had seen so far (most are typically US$18+), and at 45g of product (about 1.6oz) compared to most 30g BB products, this could be a great value, or perhaps not much of a loss if it didn’t work out.

   It was easy to see why it rated so high on cosme.net, though. In addition to the price-volume value, the actual product is impressive. The BB has a soft, light and creamy texture and is very well pigmented. I got the deeper of the two shades, Natural Beige, which didn’t quite match my skin at first, but it blended and oxidized to it well after a few minutes so that it looked natural and not pasty. There are only 2 shades, and as I imagine both lean yellow like a typical Japanese BB cream. However, I swatched the shade I got against the Hada Labo BB Moist Emulsion in Natural Ochre and KATE BB Gel Cream in OC-D, and Senka’s Natural Beige is actually a tiny bit pinker than both of these upon initial dispense. But the BB blends so well, it’s hardly noticeable.

   Two more aspects about this BB cream that I loved is that it has very high SPF (41), and it dries down to a matte (but not flattening) finish. Most BB creams leave a dewy finish, which I often try to avoid because my T-zone in particular is already very oily. But this BB cream dries to more matte finish than both my favorite Japanese BB creams, while still leaving a hint of radiance where applied. The BB does start to become more and more dewy throughout the day to where I feel the need to blot after the 5th or 6th hour, but coverage still holds up through the entire work day.

   Packaging wise, this BB is packaged in a standard plastic squeeze-tube, in an obnoxiously hot pink color. The typography on the tube is very simple, and looks and feels like a cheap product compared to other Japanese cosmetic products. But visuals aside, it is ergonomically packaged and product is easy to control and dispense from the tube, unlike the more watery Hada Labo products.

   My sister, who has drier skin -vs- me and my oily skin, also felt strongly about this BB cream as superior to her favorite Hada Labo BB Moist Cream, which I was surprised at because since this BB dries to a more matte finish, I thought this would dry her out. But she was able to wear it comfortably for two weekends when she forgot her BB at her college dorm, and it kept her face moisturized. I thought maybe this would be more of a BB for oilier skin types, but with it being fragrance-free, and working rather well on both dry and oily skin types, this might be a BB for anyone, possibly even those with sensitive skin and generally neutral undertones, who can fit a light to light-medium shade range.

   EDIT as of 05/19: I’ve been working on pregnancy-proofing my daily regimen, including using only physical sunscreens and paraben-free products. This product is a hybrid physical & chemical sunscreen (physical sunscreen agents titanium dioxide and zinc oxide as well as chemical agents octocrylene and ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate. There are also no parabens in it.