Top 5 Must-Have Sunscreens Before US Launch You guys probably heard the exciting news that Olive Young is indeed coming to the States. They’re opening up the stores and they’re also partnering up with Sephora this May.
Now, while that’s fantastic and yay, hurrah, here’s the legal reality. The fact is that in the US sunscreens are treated as OTC drugs, meaning that they have to be approved by the government, the FDA rules and whatnot. And unfortunately, a lot of the sunscreen filters that we use in the Korean K-beauty SPFs, they’re not approved by the FDA, meaning that it will be actually illegal for all of y’all to sell these K-beauty SPFs that they carry in the United States.
So, I do believe that the spring sale that they’re having this March may be your last opportunity to get your hands on some of these amazing K-beauty SPFs. I know it’s so sad. I’ve been in the industry for 10 years and I still feel like the sunscreen game in K-beauty is so strong.
You know, I’ve used all sorts of products from Australia, US, European, Japanese, whatnot. But I feel like when it comes to sunscreens, Korea still got game. We have such good qualities, such great formulations, and such good deals. So, think of this as a public service. I am going to tell you guys my top five best SPFs that you need to get your hands on before it will be rather impossible.
1. Round Lab Birch Juice Moisturizing Sunscreen – The National Favorite
First off, I have to start off with this. It is the national’s favorite. Everyone in Korea loves this sunscreen. It is the Round Lab Birch Juice Moisturizing Sunscreen. This is SPF 50+ PA++++. This is a sunscreen based on chemical UV filters and it is such a classic and I feel like this is a sunscreen where I’m very comfortable that I can just recommend to anyone regardless of their skin type.
Of course, there are cases where very few instances where people say this kind of irritates their eyes and whatnot, but compared to the other sunscreens that I’ve recommended, I feel like this has the least amount of complaints or least amount of negative reviews. So, I feel like this is like kind of like a safe one that I can just recommend to anyone like grandmas, granddads, dads. Whenever you step into Olive Young, this is always at like the top counter. And it’s because people are buying them all the time. And I’m talking about even the locals. We love this to bits.
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This sunscreen uses chemical filters such as Uvinul A+ and Uvinul T150. And the formulation is just so beautiful. It’s like a nice lotiony type that you can double up as skincare. And so, on lazy days, I just plop this on and I’m good to go throughout the day. And I feel like I don’t really need to do anything else for my skin.
What’s extra special about this sunscreen is that they put in birch juice sap which is very hydrating and also glycerin and multiple hyaluronic acids as well as niacinamide. All sorts of great ingredients to really fortify and hydrate and moisturize your skin. So you can’t go wrong with this.
Round Lab has such a great collection of SPFs that you can check out, including their Chamomile line sun serum. This is more of a lighter version that’s kind of more runny. So, if you are more into cosmetics and you want something a bit more suitable to wear under your makeup, you can definitely check this out.
And of course, the sun cushion. Yes, I actually carry this around with me. This is their lovely sun cushion. Now, I don’t think sun cushions have the most elegant formulations like these chemical SPFs do, but I feel like they’re the best options to reach out for when you want to apply it throughout the day because let’s be honest, if you’re rubbing this in on top of your makeup, after a couple of hours, you’re definitely going to muck up your makeup. But with this cushion, what’s great is that you just dab on the content. So, you don’t really have to muck it up. You just gently patch it on top.
2. Laneige Water Bank UV Barrier Sunscreen – My Current Favorite
Oh my goodness, this next one. This one is my latest obsession. It’s my new favorite SPF. It is the Laneige Water Bank UV Barrier Sunscreen. It also has SPF 50+ PA++++.
So, this one is more of your sun essence or sun serum type as opposed to sun cream. So, it’s a lot more runnier. It’s a bit more elegant. It spreads out a lot nicely. It’s easier to deal with.
I actually discovered this by accident. I was just randomly trying out SPFs in my collection and this one caught my attention and my hands just kept reaching out for it to the point that I actually emptied out one instantly. This is my second tub and I’m just like wow this is good.
Like its name suggests, Water Bank. It is just splashes of hydration. It’s very hydrating, but I don’t really get a sense of that gunk. So, it’s very easy to work with. And it has a lot of ingredients to once again help strengthen the barrier. So, lots of hyaluronic acid, glycerin, butylene glycol. So, lots of great ingredients.
And this also has been tested to cool down your skin instantly as to help with aging that comes from heat and inflammation. It also has panthenol and tocopherol. The ingredient list is great, the formulation is great, the packaging is cute, and I love Laneige.
A lot of people in Korea have been raving about this as the perfect sunscreen to apply underneath your makeup. In Korea, we have the term which basically literally translates to products that help your face eat up the makeup well or roughly translated like settled well onto your skin. And this is one of the products that really really does help with that.
It feels very similar to the Dr. Ceuracle Hex one, which you guys know I love. So, if you guys love that one, you’re definitely going to fall in love with this one as well. It’s my current favorite nowadays. This is what I’ve been using non-stop.
3. Taiba Waterfall Essence Sunscreen – Premium Feel
The next product I got to talk about is another classic that Koreans love and is the Taiba Waterfall Essence Sunscreen.
Now, Taiba, like I said, is another brand that is really, really popular within Korea. Not only for the mist, but their amazing range of sunscreens and there’s quite a variety of them, too. Not only the waterfall essence one, but also the tone up one, the vit one, the pink one, the green one. They have a lot, but I feel like it’s this waterfall essence one, the basic type that gets the best feedback.
This is also a chemical SPF that uses filters such as homosalate, octocrylene, octinoxate. So a bit more of like the OG filters that you usually saw for sure. And I do want to say it also carries fragrance. So if you are a bit more sensitive type and you’re a bit more picky with scents or non-scented ones, I’d say check out the other options.
It’s not that expensive, but I feel like as a brand in itself, Taiba does kind of offer you that more premium feels. And so that’s one of the reasons why I like using the brand. And you’ll also get that when using this product as well.
The formulation is very reminiscent of the products that I’ve showed you prior, but this one is a bit more close. It leans a bit more closer to the Round Lab one. But I do want to add that this one kind of has a bit of that glazed feel for the finish. So whereas the Round Lab one just kind of it seems to sink in. This one kind of leaves that nice glint on top. So if you like more of that kind of slight bit more of that dewiness on your skin, this is also one to check out as well.
It sits right between a sunscreen and a sun serum, so it’s a bit more runny, but it’s not to a point where it’s dripping. It has minimal white cast. It sits really comfortably on top.
4. From Rear Vegan EGF Cica Water Sun Ampoule – Best Under Makeup
The next sunscreen I have here is the From Rear Vegan EGF Cica Water Sun Ampoule with SPF 50+ PA++++.
Now if I were to recommend one single sunscreen to put underneath your makeup, it will be this. This is actually a sunscreen that became popular because of the fact that it was the perfect product to apply to use before you went on with your makeup.
It is really, really good. And right off the bat, you can see like the formulation is very runny. With this one, you barely get any of that. You know, when you use sunscreens, there is that kind of certain tackiness to it and there’s a bit of that finish left that you can definitely feel. I feel like this product has the minimum amount of that. You will feel less of that with this product.
And so this really glides on easily. It doesn’t feel destructive to my makeup and it feels very hydrating. And this product is actually what put the brand on the radar.
As the name suggests, it uses Cica EGF to really calm and hydrate the skin. As an SPF, it works fine. It works perfectly.
5. Purito Calming Water Sunscreen – Great for Oily Skin
Last but definitely not least, I do have the Purito Calming Water Sunscreen.
Now, whereas all the products that I mentioned before prior was a bit more catered to if you had like maybe combo to dry skin and you like that dewy look, I feel like this is one of the very few products that I would actually also recommend if you have skin type that leans a bit more closer to oily skin types. I feel like the finish of this isn’t as dewy and glossy as the other ones.
This is also a chemical SPF. It uses filters such as Snorb S, Uvinul A+, and it’s not as runny, but it’s not as dense as the Round Lab one. When you squeeze out the Round Lab one, it does have a bit of volume to it. It’s not to that extent, but it is not as runny. So, it kind of also sits right in the middle and it glides on so nicely. Almost feels like skincare, but it’s the finish that’s a bit more subtle that kind of sets itself different compared to the other products.
Another point that really differentiates this product from the rest is the makeup ingredient list. It has a high percentage of licorice root extract as well as centella asiatica and houttuynia cordata which are really great calming ingredients for your skin.
Like the rest of the products, this leaves minimal white cast, spreads really nicely, feels very hydrating on the skin, but like I mentioned, it leaves a minimal kind of that tackiness, stickiness afterwards. So, if you are someone who doesn’t like dealing with that, definitely this is one of the sunscreens I think would be a great fit for you.
A lot of the K-beauty SPFs, especially the chemical ones, do feel similar. It’s just the little twitches here and there that I feel like are worth checking out. Like, are they runny? Are they more like sun essences? Or are they just like the regular OG ones like the Round Lab ones? So, it’s kind of like those subtle differences that you want to check out. But on the whole, they’re great. They’re just really, really great.
If you guys live in the rest of the world, you guys are good. Don’t worry about it. But if you’re in the US and Canada, I want to say maybe definitely you guys want to check out the sales before it closes down officially.
