Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence for oily acne-prone skin
Average
- AverageOily Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- Low RiskSafety
Works for oily acne-prone skin; other sunscreens fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with oily acne-prone skin: shine, breakouts, blemishes, and enlarged pores. For scores and recommendations based on your full skin profile, including your 12D face scan results and any goals or preferences you have, please use the Lovi app.
Page built Nov 8, 2026How the Fit score works
Lovi Assistant explains
- Offers moderate suitability for your oily skin, as ethanol can help with seboregulation, but it lacks sufficient oil-controlling ingredients for optimal results. Glycerin and sodium hyaluronate provide general hydration, which is supportive but not targeted for your acne, blemishes, and breakouts.
- The formula provides excellent sun protection due to the presence of Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate and Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine, which are beneficial for overall skin health.
- The product is generally safe for your oily skin, though the presence of ethanol and fragrance carries some risk of irritation.
How to apply
- Use your moisturizing sunscreen every morning. Reapply throughout the day if you are outside.
- Apply this moisturizing sunscreen as the final step of your morning routine after your moisturizer.
- Gently smooth a nickel-sized amount over your face and neck, avoiding harsh rubbing to keep oily areas calm.
- Apply this moisturizing sunscreen on clean, dry skin to ensure even coverage and protection.
- Avoid getting the product into your eyes and do a patch test before your first use.
People Say
★4.7Overall rating based on 200+ reviewsThis sunscreen is widely celebrated for its lightweight, watery texture that absorbs quickly without leaving a white cast, making it ideal for daily wear under makeup. While it is highly effective for most skin types, particularly combination and dry skin due to its hydrating properties, users with very oily skin or sensitivity to alcohol may find the finish too dewy or the scent overpowering.
Highlights
Lightweight texture Mostly Mentioned
- “feels like nothing”
- “absorbs instantly”
- “not sticky”
- “spreads easily”
- “refreshing sensation”
No white cast Mostly Mentioned
- “completely transparent”
- “zero cast on dark skin”
- “invisible finish”
- “clear gel”
- “no ghostly residue”
Good makeup base Often Mentioned
- “primer-like finish”
- “makeup sits beautifully”
- “no pilling”
- “smooth canvas”
- “grips foundation”
Alcohol scent Often Mentioned
- “smells like vodka”
- “strong ethanol fumes”
- “scent lingers briefly”
- “overpowering at first”
- “chemical smell”
High protection Sometimes Noted
- “never burned”
- “SPF 50+ PA++++”
- “reliable for summer”
- “prevented tanning”
- “good for outdoors”
Hydrating Sometimes Noted
- “leaves skin soft”
- “dewy glow”
- “contains hyaluronic acid”
- “plumps skin”
- “good for dry patches”
Eye stinging Sometimes Noted
- “burns my eyes”
- “teared up”
- “stings if too close”
- “migrates into eyes”
- “irritating to eyelids”
Greasy finish Sometimes Noted
- “too dewy for oily skin”
- “looks greasy in humidity”
- “shiny forehead”
- “oil slick by noon”
- “needs powder”
Fake products Rarely Noted
- “bought a counterfeit”
- “packaging looked off”
- “watery consistency was wrong”
- “fake product warning”
- “check seller reputation”
Sources: lovi.care, influenster.com, reddit.com, youtube.com, target.com, refinery29.com, and more
Questions and answers
How well does Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence work for oily acne-prone skin?
This product works with moderate suitability for your oily skin, as ethanol helps manage oil, though it lacks strong oil-controlling ingredients for your breakouts. Glycerin and sodium hyaluronate provide general hydration, but a product of this type needs soothing and protective ingredients like zinc oxide, niacinamide, or centella asiatica to properly balance oil and care for acne.
Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017RSC Advances, 2020
Which ingredients make this sunscreen a good fit for oily acne-prone skin?
Ethanol helps control oil, while glycerin and sodium hyaluronate provide general hydration for your skin. To truly fit oily acne-prone skin, this type of product needs ingredients like zinc oxide, niacinamide, and centella asiatica to soothe breakouts, balance oil, and prevent irritation.
RSC Advances, 2020Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017
What does Hyaluronic Acid do for oily acne-prone skin?
Hyaluronic acid helps calm oily acne-prone skin by reducing sebum production and lipid synthesis in sebaceous glands. It also supports skin barrier function and improves hydration while helping deliver treatments without causing irritation.
The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2017Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2022
What does Royal Jelly Extract do for oily acne-prone skin?
Royal jelly extract helps bring moisture to dry areas without making oily, acne-prone skin greasy, though products of this type for this skin need lightweight, balancing ingredients to keep pores clear and calm.
Where does this sunscreen go in a skincare routine for oily acne-prone skin?
This sunscreen goes as the last step of your morning skincare routine, right after your moisturizer. Oily acne-prone skin needs a sunscreen that also provides targeted oil-controlling and blemish-clearing ingredients to work well.
Can I use this sunscreen with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this sunscreen in the morning after applying your retinol and moisturizer. It provides good sun protection, but oily acne-prone skin needs additional oil-controlling ingredients to manage breakouts effectively.
How often should I use this sunscreen?
You can use this sunscreen every morning as the final step of your daytime routine to protect your skin from the sun. While it offers good sun protection, oily and acne-prone skin needs lightweight, dedicated oil-controlling and blemish-clearing ingredients for optimal results.
Can this sunscreen clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for oily acne-prone skin?
This sunscreen is unlikely to directly clog pores or cause purging, but it may cause breakouts for oily acne-prone skin because it lacks sufficient oil-controlling ingredients to manage excess sebum effectively. A product for this skin type needs oil-absorbing or targeted blemish-clearing ingredients to keep pores clear.
Is this sunscreen fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It has no fragrance and contains drying alcohol (ethanol).
What the research says
A single application of a moisturizing fluid containing hyaluronic acid 1%, glycerin 5%, and Centella asiatica stem cells extract significantly increased skin hydration by 29% and reduced transepidermal water loss at 24 hours compared to baseline and an untreated control site in twenty healthy women.
Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017Ethanol enhances skin lipid bilayer permeability through the dual actions of lipid extraction and increasing lipid chain mobility, driven by its superior ability to form hydrogen bonds with lipid headgroups.
RSC Advances, 2020Liposomal encapsulation of octyl methoxycinnamate increases its safety, skin affinity, and in vivo solar photoprotection factor while slowing its release and enhancing retention in the stratum corneum compared to a conventional formulation.
International Journal of Nanomedicine, 2013Topical application of 0.1% hyaluronic acid formulations of different molecular weights led to significant improvements in skin hydration and elasticity, with low-molecular-weight formulations also significantly reducing wrinkle depth in seventy-six female subjects compared to a vehicle control.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2011Topical application of hyaluronic acid in conjunction with free gingival graft significantly reduced donor site postoperative pain until day 7 compared to normal saline, with no significant differences in graft dimensions or patient satisfaction.
Clinical Oral Investigations, 2022Treatment with a hyaluronic acid-containing mouth rinse or topical gel led to significant lesion reduction, pain relief, and normalization of lesion color in adult patients with minor recurrent aphthous stomatitis, with the gel formulation showing an earlier healing onset at 3 days.
BMC Oral Health, 2019Applying an essence containing royal jelly extract significantly increased the stratum corneum water content of the cheeks compared to placebo in healthy Japanese adults over 4 weeks.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2022A prototype body cream containing bee venom, propolis, honey, beeswax, and royal jelly demonstrated stability for 90 days, high antioxidant capacity of 85.45%, lack of cytotoxicity with over 70% cell viability, and no irritation or allergic reaction in dermatological analysis, while improving skin parameters in a panel test.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2022Royal jelly protects against epidermal stress caused by UVB and menadione through the upregulation of NQO1 expression by its active compound 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2021Replacing 20% of the chemical UV filter octyl methoxycinnamate with urucum oil in solid lipid nanoparticles maintained the skin protection factor without inducing toxic responses or significant skin penetration in human volunteers.
Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 2018Encapsulation of ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate and butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane in lipid microparticles significantly reduced their in vivo human skin penetration compared to nonencapsulated filters.
Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 2011The application of a sunscreen formulation containing ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, ethylhexyl salicylate, methyl anthranilate, and octocrylene does not significantly affect critical acne-related species such as Cutibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis, refuting the induction of facial dysbiosis in men.
Archives of Dermatological Research, 2024Wearing an N95 mask alone compared to using dimethicone cream or hydrocolloid dressing caused more adverse skin reactions among 73 military health care workers, with no significant differences in fit test failure rates between groups.
Military Medicine, 2024A dimethicone skin protectant lotion significantly decreased visual scoring and transepidermal water loss compared to vehicle control and SLS-only treated sites in 12 healthy humans exposed to sodium lauryl sulfate.
Skin Research and Technology, 2000Treatment with a moisturizer containing dimethicone and glycerine increased epidermal thickness by 0.019 mm, improved barrier function by decreasing transepidermal water loss by 13%, decreased melanin intensity, and induced keratins 6 and 16 in fifteen women with moderately photoaged forearms.
Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, 2007The emollient V0034CR significantly reduced TEWL compared to vehicle and vehicle plus glycerol, and significantly increased corneometry scores compared to vehicle and vehicle plus petrolatum in healthy volunteers with dry skin, demonstrating combined barrier function improvement from petrolatum and hydration improvement from glycerol.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Ten days of treatment with a cream containing 20% glycerin significantly increased skin hydration measured by corneometer values in 17 healthy volunteers compared to a placebo cream, but showed no influence on transepidermal water loss or skin sensitivity to an irritating surfactant.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2001Niacinamide/glycerin body moisturizers provided better rapid and prolonged improvement of cosmetic xerosis through functional improvement of stratum corneum barrier function compared to no treatment and conventional moisturizers in female subjects.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2012
Why other sunscreens fit oily acne-prone skin better
Co-delivery of paeonol and madecassoside via nanoemulsions improved transdermal delivery, promoted barrier repair proteins, inhibited inflammatory cytokine secretion in cellular and 3D models, and reduced transepidermal water loss and acne in human facial skin compared to free components.
Molecules, 2023
Ingredients
Water, Ethanol, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Ethylhexyl Triazone, Isopropyl Palmitate, Lauryl Methacrylate Sodium Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine, Dextrin Palmitate, Butylene Glycol, Xylitol, Acrylates C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Dimethicone, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Glycerin, Propanediol, Glyceryl Stearate, Glyceryl Behenate, Vinyl Dimethicone Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Potassium Hydroxide, Cetyl Alcohol, Agar, Sorbitan Distearate, Isoceteth-20, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Dimethicone Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Stearoyl Glutamic Acid, Arginine, Disodium Edta, Bht, Sodium Hydroxide, Tocopherol, Royal Jelly Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben
Behind this fit score
Lovi calculates every fit score from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.
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Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
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Co-founder, CEO and CTO
PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
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Medical Board
Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member
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Medical Board, Medical Advisor
Dermatology MD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
Medical Board
Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
-

Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
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