Monday, July 7, 2014

Review: Etude House Face Conditioning Cream Light SPF25 PA++


It's been awhile since I've posted this many reviews in 2 days. This is what happens after you disappear from civilization for one month to study for exams. But it's all good, now I've got summer holidays to catch up on everything. This is the third and last free sample that I got from my order of Etude House Goodbye Pore Ever Pore Primer Essence.

Description (from cosmetic-love.com):
  • This is a quick and easy makeup boosting cream that smoothly conditions skin with its light and soft texture for a makeup-ready complexion
  • Contains skin moist balancing formula. Skin whitening. Anti-Wrinkle. Balancing skin tone.
  • After applying toner, spread a certain amount of Face Conditioning Cream evenly onto face.
My impression:

As you can read from the description, it's basically a primer with SPF. I quite like the texture of this primer/sunscreen. It's probably my favorite texture thus far. Let's just say it blows its sister, Etude House Be Clear Moisturizer SPF30 PA++ out of the water. Innisfree Eco Safety Aqua Sun Gel and Missha Mild Essence Sun Milk are my current sunscreens and both give a very light weight consistency so you don't get that thick, suffocating feeling on your face. But after putting the Innisfree or Missha on my face, I don't get a matte finish so it is quite shiny and still retains that greasy feeling slightly (though much less than drug store sunscreens). For that reason, I always have to finish with Etude House Goodbye Pore Ever Pore Primer Essence regardless of whether I'm putting on makeup or not, just because it's way too shiny on my face. This one, however, gave me a matte finish and didn't leave any greasy feeling. And the matte finish was just right, unlike the Skinfood Gold Kiwi No Sebum Sun Matte, which felt like putting white powder on my face. So I don't need to put on primer after this!

According to this NY Times article (and there are many other sources stating the same facts if you google), SPF 30 deflects 96.7% of UVB rays whereas SPF 50 deflects 98% of UVB rays. However, one important thing is that sunscreens should contain active ingredients that protect us from both UVB and UVA rays. SPF tells us how it protects us from UVB rays while PA tells us how much it protects us from UVA rays. UVA rays are actually the ones responsible for aging skin and are here year round. According to this website, avobenzone and zinc oxide provide the best UVA protection. 

The ingredients of this sunscreen (as seen from cosdna.com) show that it contains titanium dioxide, which has "considerable" UVA protection. Cosdna.com also shows that titanium dioxide gives 50% most Korean sunscreens don't have UVA protection ingredients, not bad. 

I know it's also supposed to whiten your skin, be anti-wrinkle, and balance skin tone, but quite frankly I think Korean creams with SPF just say that because 1) by being a sunscreen it will prevent your skin from darkening thus "whiten" your skin, 2) by having SPF they are decreasing your exposure to UV radiation thus anti-wrinkle, and 3) since it is a primer it will give you a more balanced skin tone. But according to Cosdna.com it does contain arbutin, which is a whitening ingredient, so they deserve credit for that. 

I really like this primer/sunscreen. It's my favorite texture of all the sunscreens that I've tried, and that's probably because it doesn't feel like a sunscreen when applying. I think it's great for people with oily/combination skin who think even the light weight sunscreens like Missha Mild Essence Sun Milk are a bit greasy or shiny. 

The only problem is that it is SPF 25. While SPF 30 deflects 97% of UVB, I've heard that we don't put close enough the amount of sunscreen to actually give us SPF 30; it's more like SPF 15. If only the SPF was higher, then it could be my go-to sunscreen for everything including outdoor activities. 

Summary:

My favorite sunscreen texture so far
Matte finish, no greasy feeling, doesn't feel like a sunscreen really
Contains titanium oxide, which has considerable UVA protection (a lot of Korean sunscreens don't have adequate UVA protection)
Two-in-one step for those who use primers (which I do)
$15 for 75g

Grade: 4/5 because it contains titanium oxide which has considerable UVA protection and provides a great finish for those with oily/combination skin like me..just wish SPF would be higher

Value: 5/5 because $15 for 75g will last me forever and I save on the primer

Repurchase? Yes, I think I'll be buying this one unless I find another light-weight sunscreen that has better UVA protection

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