Liquid GOOOOOOOOOLD!!!

Do you see this picture? Do you see my skin? It's not so bad, right? In fact, it's lookin' kinda nice! Man, it's a wonder what makeup can do for a person.

Now look a little harder. Notice anything? Maybe a bit of eyeliner smudged on my eyelid, or some dark circles peeking through my concealer? That's because I took this picture over 7 hours after I applied my makeup.

That's right, folks. The eyeliner smeared, the lipstick needed reapplied, but that face stayed flawless. And it's all because of that little blue bottle of Biore UV Perfect Milk.

If you know anything about Perfect Milk and its reputation, you're probably a bit confused as to why I've been using it. "But I thought your skin was combination-dry! You always talk about having cheeks like the Sahara!" Ok, yes, that's totally true: for most of the year, 90% of my face is dry, tight, and flaky, though I've managed to keep it under control with a proper diet and effective skincare. But I never refer to my skin as dry-and-dry-only because I do have some sebum production going on--hence, combination-dry. My eyelids are absolute oil slicks; thankfully, they respond well to eye primers. In the summer, my chin and the very center of my forehead are ever-so-slightly-shiny. And year round, my nose is the bane of my existence.

The nose. THE NOSE!!! How often have I wrangled with beautiful foundations that worked wonderfully on the dry parts of my face, only to be foiled by my ridiculously oily nose? I mean, it kinda comes in handy when I'm trying to see how a foundation would work on dry and oily skin. But when I'm just trying to go about my day? GAHD! You would not believe how many primers I've tried and how much matte powder I've pressed on to my shnoz, all to no avail.

But the Perfect Milk--recommended by the helpful folks at MakeupAlley.com--has completely changed that. An incredibly thin liquid with a vaguely powdery feel to it, Biore Perfect Milk spreads easily over my eyelids, nose, and the center of my chin without leaving a visible white cast. And it holds back the oil for hours. After about 4-5 hours, I have just the tiniest bit of shine on my nose, which is easily remedied with a dab of blotting powder.

Am I still blotting? Yes. Is my nose still shiny? Yes. But is my nose a disgusting oil slick that needs powdered every hour on the hour? Not anymore! Refer back to the picture at the top of this post: I applied my makeup at 10am, blotted at about 2:30pm, and took pictures at 5:30pm. GENIUS.

So it controls my oilies. But how does it play with the dry parts of my face?

Eh, not terribly. I certainly wouldn't recommend smearing this stuff all over your face if you're predominantly dry, but I have accidentally applied it to my temples and the inner parts of my cheeks--the driest portions of my face--on a few occasions with no ill effects. On a day-to-day basis, I apply the Biore UV Perfect Milk all over my nose and across my eyelids, then coat the rest of my face, neck, and hands with my beloved Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion. And gaddammit, my skin looks and feels like satin for ages.

I also find that the Biore Perfect Milk:

1. doesn't flash back in photos,
2. feels super-comfortable and weightless,
3. doesn't break me out or dehydrate my skin, and
4. mixes perfectly with the Shi sunscreen and my MAC Face & Body foundation for an almost airbrushed look in flash photography--see above photo.

"There's got to be a catch!" you say. Well, of course there's a catch: it's sold in Asia and isn't readily available in American stores. But it's not expensive or difficult to get; I ordered mine from AlphaBeautyUK on Ebay and received it by the end of the week. You can't run out to Walgreens and grab a bottle for $5, but trust me, this stuff performs better than any American sunscreen I've tried at a comparable price.

Mega-oily people may also want to take a pass on this product. It's not that it won't do anything for you guys, but I'm pretty sure it won't do enough. If you're very, very oily, you should probably try the Biore UV Perfect Face Milk instead, which is sold in a white bottle and is reputably ten times stronger than the blue bottle version. (Hence why mostly-dry-me steers clear of it!)

I've been using this Biore sunscreen alongside my Shiseido for about a month now, and I don't think I could live without it. It's freakin' liquid gold.

(And if you don't get that reference, you should probably watch this video clip. Just sayin'.)