Itโs La Roche-Posayโs Anthelios Shaka Fluid SPF50+ย that I want to talk about today, notable for its PPD46 UVA protection.ย Most reviews online of it have been unblemished and so, I was expecting to be blown away by it. But I wasnโt. In fact, I was so completely underwhelmed by it.
I can tell you that Iโve now tried the sunscreenย with a light moisturiser beneath it, on bare skin, in ultra-hot and unbearably humid Japanese summer, and in pleasantly warm weather. Each time Iโve come to the same conclusion:ย Shaka Fluid and I do not quiteย see eye to eye.
The facial sunscreen boasts the โhighest UVA protection achieved on an Anthelios productโ. In theory, itโs a โnon-greasy creamโ with an โinvisible, light-weight textureโ that โdoes not leave white marks and does not migrateโ.
But this isnโt what happened on my (relatively normal) skin at all.ย In Japanese summer weather, it didnโt sink in at all โ it was so off-putting that I had to wash it off. I tried it again in aย much milder climate. While it was significantly more pleasant, it left aย greasy, filmy residue that transferred onto everything my skin touched. It wasnโt possible to apply makeup over it without wrecking the protective layer underneath. The texture was light and fluid, but the appearance was shiny โ and not in a glowing or dewy way. Its distinct sunscreen-y odour didnโt dissipate with time.
Itโs worth pointing out that Shaka Fluidโs purported PPD46 is not actually on the packaging. I find this odd considering the sunscreen is heavily marketed around it. La Roche-Posay is boasting that Shaka Fluid has the highest UVA protection ever achieved in the lineup, so why isnโt its impressive PPD on the packaging for everyone to see? It couldnโt be due to E.U.โs labelling regulations. There are, after all, French sunscreens with PPD printed on the box (e.g. Bioderma) in Europe. Iโm inclined to think the reason is that the PPD46 rating has not been tested according to international standards to be true.
(I never got the hype with Mexoryl. They arenโt as great as the rumours suggest, especially Mexoryl SX. LโOreal is secretive about their proprietaryย Mexoryl filters and data on them is scarce because neither is as good as they sound. The veil of secrecy both blurs their inadequacies and helps the hype going. Theyโd sell them if they were that great, so thereโs another conspiracy theory for you.)
Regardless, superior UVA protection is a bit of a moot point if the sunscreen doesnโt agree with your skin or you simply canโt stand it. It also needs to stay put on the skin in order to be protective. Shaka Fluidย claims to be resistant toย water, sweat and sand, but on my skin, the only thing it is resistant to is splashes of tap water. Itย comes off far too easily for me to feel confident that it will protect my skin.
So why did I persevere with Shaka Fluid? Firstly, as Iโve explained, mostย reviews online have been glowing, which made me question my own results. Secondly, it is still a lot less greasy and shiny than any French sunscreens Iโve ever tried. So itโs not as though Iย hateย this sunscreen. I just do not want to use it again given the myriad of better and cheaper options I have available.
La Roche-Posay Anthelios Shaka Fluid SPF50+, 50ml,ย is sold in drugstores across Europe for about โฌ15.70. You can find it online for US$21.90+ย here.
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SUMMARY
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1.9
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Best sunscreen Iโve ever tried in my entire existence. I apply 1/2 tsp of it religiously every two hours on bare skin and by the end of the day thereโs a very heavy layer of sunscreen that is very difficult to cleanse off my face, which proves it is a water/sweat resistant product. Maybe youโve tried the older version? They newest version is pure perfection.
As far as Iโm aware, there has always been just this one sunscreen with this name. Its previous version has a completely different product name โ Ultra-Light Fluid. The Shaka Fluid has now been replaced by something called Invisible Fluid.
I only tried the Shaka Fluid, not its older version or its current replacement.
I have no idea what PPD is and have never seen such thing advertised in Australian market.
I got my hand on a few free samples some time ago, and Iโm glad I tried it without paying for a full size. It was indeed terrible. At first, I was quite surprised with its light, non grassy texture (compare to most EU sunscreens). However, once itโs on your skin, very soon it will start to ball up without touching. It doesnโt matter if you use it on top of a day cream or on bare skin. So I was quite shocked when it became so popular (BUT, if you have read any reviews from the asian market, such as Taobao, itโs night & day, so many people dislike it and mentioned the โball-upโ!).
I recently came across POLAโs BA light selector sunscreen with rather interesting claim, I wonder whatโs you opinion about it? Does such product really does a better job than Anessa (I recently started using Anessa BB and love it! It โs better than both Lancome BB and La Roche-Posay XL BB)? I do like the fact it goes after toner so would save sometime in the moring.
Polaโs BA Light Selector is a super-charged daily facial moisturiser with SPF so not really comparable to Anessa. Itโs quite lovely but itโs also ยฅ11,000.
I wonder if it could be used as a suncream under makeup, or needs another suncream on top (for outdoor & driving)?
If it requires another product on top, I donโt think it worth the $$$.
Itโs most definitely not suitable for prolonged sun exposure.
surprised you dont like it โ i absolultely love this one and the PPD is super high vs other japanese sunscreens.
I have emptied one bottle of this sunscreen alreadyโฆ.It works for me. I live in a tropical climate, and tbh I have never found any sunscreen, Asian or European, that dries down completely on me, so Iโve just learnt to use those that dry down to a tolerable level then powder over. I canโt comment on the PPD protection since Iโm not knowledgeable enough in that area, but texture-wise this is ok for me. Itโs one of my favourite actually.
Thanks for your review. I was also expecting to be blown away by it, especially as I am a huge fan of their body and their kids sunblocks. I thought I had finally found a perfect sunscreen that would suit my skin, but instead it broke me out in rough bumpy skin almost immediately, and I had to stop using it after a few days. Just ordered the Klairs UV Essence and Iโll try the newly released Anessa too!
Shows how subjective sunscreen is. This is my holy grail. Is it as light and weightless as your typical Japanese sunscreen? No. But the most flattering Japanese sunscreens are usually not water resistant at all. And even though they contain better filters than the stone age US sunscreens, their PA/PPD rating doesnโt come close to what LRP has achieved with their Shaka Fluid. On my normal skin the Shaka Fluid does sink in, it leaves an almost matte and comfortable finish and I can apply it again and again without balling or any other issues. And in contrast to the previous formulation this doesnโt leave a white cast, no matter how often and how much of it you apply. Itโs as close to a perfect sunscreen as it gets, in my opinion and the UVA rating canโt be beat. Also, very happy this doesnโt contain octinoxate, which is in practically every Japanese sunscreen. It stings my eyes and is overall not the best sunscreen filter..
I had the same experience unfortunately. There were so many reviews raving about how weightless and unnoticeable this sunscreen was with excellent protection, so I was excited to try it out. When I did, I found that it left a very unpleasant film on my face that felt very greasy and never sank in. Maybe it is because some people donโt apply the proper amount?
Anyway, I guess the search for the perfect sunscreen continuesโฆ
I actually love this but being in the UK we really donโt have the range of facial sunscreens like in Japan. Unfortunately suncream seems to be something people only wear when they go abroad, it makes it almost impossible to buy suncream from a shop in the winter months!
This is the first facial suncream I have found in the UK that I can actually apply makeup over without it looking tacky and heavy. So, whilst some of the Asian products are much better, this is definitely the best option in the UK.
I feel that French sunscreens, in general, are formulated for occasional use only (i.e. the beach) during hot, but very dry summers. In high humidity and heat, it was simply unusable since it didnโt absorb into the skin at all.
Thank you for this review; as someone who usually uses Anessa sunscreens I was also unimpressed with this supposedly superior European one. While it certainly is less heavy than most European ones and much more pleasant than the Anthelios light fluid, it never seemed to fully set on me and felt like it slid off in high heat and humidity.
I think that your review is a bit biased against European cosmetics in favor of probably Asian cosmetics which makes perfect sense as the site was created for them.
Please allow me to express my points.
The European Union does not require that sunscreen manufacturers reveal the PPD value and La Roche Posay is not a niche brand aimed at skincare enthusiasts. They are the bestselling pharmacy brand in Europe and they aim their products to millions of users that have barely heard about UVA rays. Adding the PPD on a very busy packaging that must by law include so much information is not something they think is very important to do just so that they can be appealing to a few thousand people that might get attracted by that and who will read about it online anyway. If their method of testing was not accurate, they would not do it. Why bother? Why put it online so that it can be questioned? It makes no sense.
In terms of the water resistance, La Roche Posay claims it is very water resistance and you are saying that a splash of water removes it. Are we supposed to believe that they have done such a terrible job? That they have created a beach sunscreen that a splash of water removes it? Have you tested it? Did you use a UV camera to know that there is no protection left behind? What is your argument? That you feel it is not there anymore?
Now regarding the cosmetic elegance, yes of course it is not as cosmetically elegant as a sunscreen that contains a small amount of filters just because it does not have to have a PPD value much higher than 16 in order to get โthe highest UVA protection of PA++++โ, so I do not understand what is the myriad of better and cheaper options available. The only better product would be a product with PPD 46 that is more elegant, and I think that there is not a myriad of them, not even a few of them, there is basically none.
Thank you for taking the time to comment. Iโll address each of your points.
Just because I dislike this sunscreen and find its claims questionable, doesnโt mean Iโm somehow biased against European cosmetics in general. Over the past decade, Iโve written very favourably on plenty of Western skincare products here on this site, including La Roche-Posay other products!
Itโs worth remembering that LโOreal, the largest, most profitable cosmetic company in the world, has a tremendous amount of power and influence. Over the years, they had lost or settled countless lawsuits against them, from patent infringements to deceptive advertisements to false claims. Theyโre not above conducting unsavoury business activities. Letโs not forget that they have been sued by Johnson & Johnson over a decade ago over blatant lies about PPD.
Youโre right that the EU doesnโt require companies to disclose PPD value. But like I pointed out in my review, LโOreal has heavily marketed Shaka Fluid around its UVA protection and PPD in the UK and Asia โ it isnโt a trivial detail brought to attention by some enthusiasts online. One would expect it to be on there because the brand is the one loudly boasting it! If thereโs room for โanti-oxydantโ and that โshake shakeโ picture on the packaging, thereโs certainly space there for โPPD46โ. And if they chose to omit it out of fear that it will confuse the average consumers, then why have it large and bold in the advertisements?
I wasnโt saying a splash of water removed it, in fact, quite the opposite! I said that on my skin, the only thing it seemed to be resistant to was water. It transferred onto everything that came in contact with in everyday life. There was very clear, visible reference, much like hand creams that leave greasy fingerprints, foundations that smudge and transfer to clothes, or self-tanners that get all over the bedding. If Iโm hot and sweaty, I can literally wipe the sunscreen almost entirely off my skin.
Whatโs considered โbetterโ is entirely subjective. For me, it isnโt just about the PPD. Itโs vital that it stays in place. Cosmetic elegance isnโt a trivial element either. Judging by the oily, filmy residue that comes off onto my fingers and phone, and the stains it leaves on clothes, this sunscreen isnโt staying put well enough to protect my skin. As far as Iโm concerned, any sunscreen that I can apply generously without it sliding around on my skin or slipping off would be far better.
Consider a large number of European sunscreens do not reveal PPD whatsoever, there could be plenty of others that match or even surpass Shaka Fluidโs purported value. We just have absolutely no way of knowing.โ You seem quite dismissive of the PA++++ label, but itโs no different from Europeโs standardised UVA circle logo in practice. Minimum of 1/3 of SPF50 is PPD16, which is the same as PA++++.