Writings about my vanity vices

There are many sunscreen products that are available in the market nowadays. Choosing the right sunscreen that will work for you can be an overwhelming task,  that is why it is important to remember that you should look for a full/broad spectrum when buying a sunscreen, and Armada is one of them.

What does this product offer? First, they claim that it is hypoallergenic coz it’s a VMV Hypoallergenics product. Second, it offers full (UVB and UVA) spectrum protection (for more details about full spectrum, view this post). Lastly, VMV claims that it can protect from visible lights and infrared light.

Upon using this product, I asked myself two questions, first was, what does it take for a product to have a full spectrum protection? the answer is, look at the ingredients. Armada contains 3 active ingredients namely:

Phenylbenzimidazole sulfonic acid (ensulizole) - this is a common sunscreen agent used primarily as UVB protection.
Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane (avobenzone) - this is an oil soluble ingredient used to absrob spectrum of UVA rays.

and indeed, my first question was answered.

then my second question was, how does it protect us from visible light like halogens (PFV) and Infrared Lights (PFI)? In fact, it’s a question I have submitted to theVMV Website, and the 3rd active ingredient was the answer, which is:

Titanium Dioxide, i will qoute below what they’ve said about it.

“Good, ol’ classic titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are actually very good at protecting against several light rays, including visible and infrared. Often, it’s not the newest or hottest ingredient that is responsible for dermatological or cosmetic breakthroughs, it’s understanding ingredients better, how they work, and how they can be maximized or used differently. While we do use several new ingredients, we always skew towards ingredients that are better studied, proven via evidence-based and published clinical studies to work (in other words, we’ve always been more about the “steak” than the “sizzle” at VMV).”

That being said, Armada has won my trust on the technical aspect of things.

Now let’s proceed on how my personal experience of using it went. But before saying anything yet, please know that I have a sensitive and combination type of skin and I don’t have discolorations (melasma) on my face.

I’ve been using it for over a month now, and what made me fell in love with it, is that it’s hypoallerginic, it never reacted to my sensitive skin.

It is very light, doesn’t feel that you have something on it when you apply it. It is not that oily as well. Just apply an ample amount all over your face and your good to go. It can serve as your moisturizer also and it is not as oily as most moisturizers are, just right for our humid weather.

Another thing I have noticed is that it is water resistant coz I apply this in the morning before I jog and when I sweat, I can feel that my face doesn’t absorb my sweat.

My personal review for this product is so far so great. There is just one question that I cannot prove yet, can it really lighten up skin discolorations? I am not sure yet but I am defenitely buying their statement that It can prevent melasma.

Value for money – the one that I am using (Armada Face Cover 30 – 30ml) is worth Php800 plus plus on beauty counters and VMV botiques, a little more expensive than other sunscreens but it is worth it because they have raised the bar by being hypoallergenic and having protection factors against visible light and infrared light, and indoor lights in particular. So you defenitely get the value of what you pay for.

Will I buy this again? hell yes!

Rating: 4 stars out of 5