This post will be reviewing the Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun SPF 50.
Beauty of Joseon is one of my go-to Korean Skincare brands for simple, straightforward skincare. So far, I’ve used the Beauty of Joseon Repair Serum and the Dynasty Cream. I got the Glow Deep Serum with Rice + Arbutin and the Glow Serum with Propolis + Niacinamide during Black Friday, and I’ll be using them later this year.
Naturally, I’ve been impressed with their products so far. When they announced the release of their much-awaited sunscreen, I was estatic. First, I waited for the first batch of reviews from people who bought and used it. They were pretty promising that I was immediately convinced to get one for myself. There were a couple key points I was looking out for, especially since I was looking to replace my winter sunscreen;
- Chemical sunscreen with no white cast.
- Hydrating but feels like a moisturizer.
Well, I recently bought and tried it, and I’m happy to share my reviews and experiences with you.
First Impressions of the Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun
According to Beauty of Joseon:
Relief Sun : Rice + Probiotics SPF50+ PA++++ is Our new chemical sunscreen that applies gently on the skin and by also including skin calming and brightening ingredients, it allows sensitive skin types to use it with ease as well
Key features
Lightweight cream forumla : The moist cream formula allows for fresh absorption without pilling or white cast.
Rice extract 30% + Grain probiotics complex : It contains grain fermenting lysate ingredients, which helps nourish the skin’s natural strength.
SPF 50 certified from 2 separate labs in Korea and Spain.
Simple and straight to the point!
Ingredient List & Sunscreen Filters
Before exploring the sunscreen filters used in this product, let’s take a look at the formula first. It is formulated with;
- 30% Rice Extract
- Niacinamide
- Green Tea
- Ginseng Root Extract
- Vitamin E
- Adenosine
- and a few Probiotics which are basically fermented ingredients.
If you have used Beauty of Joseon products in the past, you’ll be familiar with this formula because it is similar to what they have in other products.
As for the Sunscreen Filters, it is a chemical sunscreen with four filters. They include:
- Uvinul A Plus – for UVA protection
- Uvinul T 150 – for UVB protection
- Tinosorb M: a hydrid filter that has both physical and chemical agents which provide both UVA and UVB protection.
- Uvasorb HEB – both UVA and UVB protection.
If you’re from the US, these filters will not be familiar to you because they’re yet to be approved by the FDA. As a result of the 2020 Korean Sunscreen scandal, which saw some brands pass off fake SPF ratings, Beauty of Joseon claims this sunscreen has been tested by two labs in Korea and Spain. The result has come out to show that this sunscreen is indeed SPF 50+.
Texture & Consistency
This has a smooth, lightweight texture that immediately glides over your skin on application. It has been formulated so that all skin types can use this sunscreen, including people with sensitive skin. It is non-greasy and immediately disappears into your skin on application.
Some people say it feels like a moisturizer. My dry, dehydrated skin honestly doesn’t think so, except you have oily to combination skin. Then it will be a dream to apply. As someone who is knee-deep into Korean Skincare, there’s nothing special about this sunscreen. It is like every other product in the Korean market.
Price and Avaliabilty
For a 50ml product, it currently retails for about $13-15. If you manage to find it on sale, you can get it as low as $10. As always, try to shop around for the best deals. Thankfully, it’s available at most Asian retailers.
Review: Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun SPF 50+
So, I used this sunscreen a few times, and I immediately didn’t like it. Like my dry, dehydrated skin said, ‘immediately no!’ and I had no choice but to listen.
Performance
There are two areas where this sunscreen fell short for me:
- It is hydrating but not moisturizing. Hence why your skin immediately feels hydrated on application but dries down and disappears completely into your skin. Again, for some skin types, this is perfect for them. But unfortunately for me, it is not enough and I don’t want to expand my morning routine by adding a moisturizer. I want a two-in-one moisturizer-susncreen combo similar to what I already use. Goes without saying that this sunscreen left my skin dry.
- It has a tiny bit of white cast on dark skin tones. It wasn’t until I was researching the sunscreen filters that I noticed that one of them is an hydrid. This means that it has both physical and chemical agents. I knew I wasn’t seeing things when I had to blend this sunscreen a couple of more times before it looked fine. I mean I have used suncreens that disappear into my skin in five seconds. So when I have to blend a bit, I know there’s a physical filter mixed somewhere. Again, this wouldn’t have been a deal breaker, I honestly wouldn’t have minded it. But the fact that the susncreen is not moisturizing enough made me give it up.
Asides from these two points, this sunscreen is perfect for anyone with sensitive, oily or combination skin. It is non-greasy; also semi-matte, won’t sting your eyes and is easy to layer under makeup. While it didn’t work for me, I believe many more people will enjoy using it.
Finally,
I’m honestly sad that the Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun didn’t work for me. I mean I haven’t had any issues whatsoever with the rest of their products so this is honestly just a shame for me. Thankfully, there are other options on the market.
John M. Arnaud says
Hi! Appreciated your review! What other Korean sunscreens do you prefer using? Always like to know others’ favorites.
ebunoluwole says
I have a bunch of them on the blog already.