Hail to sunblock

Summer is officially over here in Manila and rains are pouring again.  But whether it's sunny or rainy out here, I can't seem to go out without this sunblock. I just purchased another one yesterday though my old tube is still full, I'm afraid the shop in the mall near our place would again be out of stock. In fact, I think, if there's one reason I wouldn't want to immigrate to other country, it's having to leave this peace of gem. (hehe, i sound like a pathetic beauty junkie! actually you can order this product online). It's my little beauty secret, I think the reason why I look a bit younger for my age, hehe, is that I slather on sunblock every day whether I'll stay indoors or outdoors.

I started using "VMV Hypollergenics Armada Face and Body Shield  60" sunblock back in March 2007 or earlier when I was looking for a sunblock with the highest SPF.  Perhaps, I was just surveying the beauty counters until one saleslady egged me to buy this.  That sales girl probably put me on trance or something, hehe, I was surprised that I was convinced to buy an expensive sunblock like this (currently priced at P1,590 for an 85g tube, i can't remember the old price but about P1,000 too in 2007.)  There are cheaper and more tested brands out there. But perhaps, the reasons I had back then, are these:

High sun protection factor, SPF 60. The higher the sun protection factor (SPF) of a sunscreen, the longer you can stay under the sun before burning. For example, SPF 15 only allows you to stay for 150 minutes (15 minutes x 10)  or 2 hours and 30 minutes under the sun.
For face and body.  No need to purchase another sunblock for your face. Actually, the rule of thumb, in any beauty product, what you can put on your face, you can apply them on your body, shoulders, arms, legs, etc.  But vice versa, body lotions can't be put on your face, a no-no!
Makes you instantly "fairer."  Yeah, the moment you apply it! Credit that to the whiteness of the cream. When another sunblock manufacturer came out with a liquid transparent sunscreen, I switched to them and left my fave sunblock, convinced that your face can look ghostly with all its whiteness.  But in the end, I went back to using this sunblock because its whiteness actually makes you feel more protected. Why? Read next paragraph.
Won't be washed off in water.  Whether you're soaked in sea water or chlorine-based pool for hours, you will see that its whiteness won't be washed off easily, it may fade a bit but it sticks to your skin. So you feel kinda more protected from the sun with that "extra layer" of white coating on your skin.  But no worries, once you need to actually take 'em off, just take a bath, soap with water can take all of 'em.

However, there are a few cons to this product.  I am a bit disappointed that their new formula is more watery. Before, I didn't have to shake the product before using it, now I have to do so, otherwise, crystal-clear water would ooze out from the tube. The salesladies at their beauty counters explained they had to change the formula because others complained it's difficult to blend the product because of its thick cream. I had the same problem before, but I guess, I smartened up to it and used a creamier firming lotion first for my body before applying it. For my face, I always use a moisturizer before applying it. So I didn't have a hard time blending the product on my face and body.
One contradiction to this product is that even though it's SPF 60, you actually have to apply it every 1-2 hours when outdoors as its label suggests. Indoors, I think you can get away without reapplying it from time to time. But I guess, the reason why you need to reapply every hour or so is because, when you perspire heavily doing activities under the sun like swimming and strolling outdoors, the cream may come off easily on your skin.

But overall, I'd say I'll stick to this product until I'm old and gray. I forgot to mention that its product literature at the back of the product was actually the giveaway that convinced me to grab this product. It says: "comprehensive, intensive, opaque protection against skin darkening, skin cancer, photoaging, and melasma...helps lighten pigmentations and overall skin tone." Back then, it was my first time to read a skin product, which in a way, threatens you about skin cancer and melasma.  And obviously, the scare tactic worked and still works for me. :P

 By the way, if you want to try this product but decide to wait till the next sale period, don't wait. They never  put this product on sale now. And I don't think they will ever put it on sale. According to one shop, on average, they sell about 58 tubes per month. They can give up to 50% discount on all their other products but not this particular product. That's how popular it is, people would still buy it even though it's not on sale.  I'm just lucky that in 2007, they still put it on sale. But end of 2008 and last year, they never gave any discount on this product.