Sun, Sun, Sun!

So. We live in the Philippines and so I find it ironic that I've seen more beauty vloggers from the U.K. and the States that talk about SPF than those living in the Asia Pacific. I have a feeling that it might be because we're so used to the weather and so a lot of the time we just go "well, I'm not sunburned yet" or "I've gone this long not using SPF, what's the biggie?" Well. Skin cancer and premature aging are biggies. Big biggies!!!

Now, I understand the hesitation toward SPF-laden products: they usually smell like burnt rubber, are extremely heavy on the skin and are usually more expensive than your average moisturizer. BUT BUT BUT BUT BUT this is why sometimes it's okay to be impulsive and walk around drugstores for no apparent reason: things are changing as we speak.

Last week, I ran out of my Belo Sun Protect samples and so I went out to go and buy a full-sized bottle. One of the things I hate about Mercury Drug is that they never seem to have the prices on the labels so I just picked up the bottle and went to the counter--it was a 50 mL bottle--assuming it'd be around P100-150, judging from its size. But holy kamote, turns out that a mid-sized bottle of that stuff is almost 400 bucks! So I hastily cancelled that purchase and decided to go take a look at what was available in PCX. And lo and behold there this was: Myra's Daily Sun Protect Facial Moisturizer with UVA/UVB SPF 15 in all its 50-ml, bright orange, 139-peso glory!

And wow. This is pretty much a perfect dupe for the Belo one! The formula is similar--it's very, very light and while it smells faintly of sunblock the scent fades as it dries so you only have to put up with that beachy-in-a-bad-way smell for a little bit. Plus, it dries really well and goes really well with the B.B. Cream that I've been using; it dries very invisibly and doesn't get oily at all. If you have oily skin, then this is the way to go! So. Yes. :) Yay for sun protection at a price that doesn't break the bank!