sunscreen reviews

So my first entry is about sunscreen products.
I've been wearing sunscreen on my face and neck religiously every day since I was 15.  What made me start wearing separate sunscreen was when I went to church one day and saw an "unni" that was her in mid-late 20s not wearing any makeup and her skin looked completely different from what I originally knew it to be. She had so many dark spots and freckles on her face it scared me to think that's what my skin would eventually look like if I didn't guard my face from the evil sun rays.

I have semi-sensitive combination skin (really oily t-zone and extremely dry elsewhere) so it's really hard to find the right sunscreen especially because they don't come in a variety targeted towards special skin types.  I've tried many american brands but for 2 main reasons I just can't stand them.
1. STRONG sunscreen smell-I have what koreans call a "dog's nose" and so any lingering scent in skincare or makeup products will trigger me to have an everlasting headache until I wash it off.
2. CAN'T control oil, instead they tend to make me break out even more.
So I've learn to use mostly asian sunscreen products particulary korean because they are on the lighter side and importantly don't make me smell like the banana boat.

Lets get started.


ETUDE HOUSE - Sun Powder Cotton Touch (spf 50 pa +++) *primer base*

This is the sunscreen I'm currently using at the moment.  I was living in Korea for the past 6 months and I had gotten my face IPL lasered for my moles/birthmark/freckles.  At the dermatologist they recommend you to stay out of the sun as much as possible and always wear spf 50 pa +++ at all times for the first couple weeks after treatment. So I ended up picking this up to try out.  

 

The texture is somewhat rough.  When I tested this on my hand before purchasing I was a little freaked out because it felt like microbeads were literally scrubbing the back on my hand. Once you rub it in though it turns into a silky soft velvet like finish. It's pretty cool.  
As u can see it also has a purple tint to it so this helps brighten up your face especially if you have yellow undertones.  When I'm in a hurry or go out to the store I only apply this and go because it does slightly lessen the appearance of pores and red spots like most primer bases do.  It's also very light and does not cause oiliness of any sort throughout the whole day.  It actually helps cut the oily T-zone issue I struggle with after mid-day. Overall I think this is a good sunscreen for younger skin types that suffer from acne due to oil.  Especially because most spf 50 sunscreens are ridiculously heavy and thick. The only downfall to this is the microbead type capsules that u feel in the process of rubbing it in.  If you have extremely sensitive skin this may irritate or may even be uncomfortable while applying so please beware.  




Skinfood- Tomato Wrinkle Sun Cream (spf 36 pa ++)

 This is another one of my go to sunscreens I have been using on and off throughout these past few years.  Now there is another skinfood tomato sunscreen that does not have wrinkle care in it and it is geared more towards younger oily skin types just as a heads up.
The consistency of this sunscreen is the typical slightly thicker than cream/lotion type. It does have a slight white cast to it after you apply but I personally like it because it brightens up your complexion and serves as a good primer base.  It is a drier and thicker formula and it will help if you have combination skin. It may be a bit thick for oily skin and it may be a bit pulling if you have very dry skin because it has no moisture properties to it.

One thing I noticed was when I washed my face at night I did notice my skin looking brighter and refreshed looking to some extent afterwards.  It's proof that the sunscreen did its job and protected my skin from the sun throughout the day.













Iope- Whitegen suncream (spf 45 pa+++)

This sunscreen has a consistency of a very light lotion and it leaves a slight white cast after application.  It has 3 functions: wrinkle corrector, whitening and sun protection.  It contains proretinol which is the main ingredient that helps with wrinkle correction.  This is of the the more expensive sunscreens and is targeted more towards older skin types.  It is a fairly small tube of only 10ml of product so I ran through it pretty quickly.  I honestly didn't see much of a difference in my skin after using it because I felt like I ran out before I could start seeing results.  An upside to this sunscreen is that its light and moisturizing enough to be worn by all skin types. 

L'oreal - UV Perfect Long Lasting Icy UV protector moisture fresh (spf 30 uvb/uva pa +++)

This is also an asia exclusive product even though it is made by the company L'oreal.  It has a greenish tint to it and has a menthol refreshed type of feel when applied.  It has a light mousse/lotion type formula and contains hyaluronic acid.  It is non-sticky and non-greasy.  During the intial application it feels great its moisturizing, refreshing, light and non-greasy.  It doesn't help with skin tone correction but a plus to that is that it doesn't leave a white cast.  After a couple hours though I did notice that my t-zone would become more on the oily side. I would say this is a sunscreen suited more towards dry skin types.  

Skinfood- Goldkiwi suncream (spf 36 pa++)

This is also a good sun cream for the winter it has a thicker than lotion type consistency and is slightly moisturizing without the sticky finish.  One thing I don't like about this sunscreen is the initial smell that it has. It smells like overly ripe bananas.  The smell does eventually evaporate out leaving the usual korean cosmetic skincare smell.  If u apply this generously it does leave a slight white cast but its barely noticeable. It's a pretty generic sunscreen that doesn't have any extra functions and is used solely for sun protection.  It's quite nice for oily/combination skin types but it may be a bit drying for dry skin types. 


Well I hope this helps! have a beautiful day. =)