Battle of the chemical sunscreens!

I’ve been trying different chemical sunscreens over the past year or so, and here are my thoughts!

Bioré – UV Aqua Rich Watery Gel SPF 50+ PA++++

I bought this after seeing that it was a cult favorite on r/AsianBeauty. The texture is reminiscent of the Neutrogena Hydroboost Gel-Cream, except maybe a touch lighter. It’s a jelly-like gel cream and has that same occlusive feeling. It has a light sunscreen-y scent, but not as strong as drugstore sunscreens. This didn’t irritate my skin, but I didn’t like the occlusive feeling. It made me feel oily, especially during the winter when I wore this over heavier moisturizers. However, my boyfriend has dry skin and loves this product. I would recommend it for people with dry skin as I would definitely consider this a moisturizing sunscreen!

Supergoop! – Everyday Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 50 PA ++++

Supergoop is also a cult favorite for sunscreens and was recommended to me by my Curology provider. I really enjoyed this sunscreen! The texture is like a watery cream. It has a light scent (I’m not sure how to describe it? Vaguely floral?), but no synthetic fragrance. It’s water and sweat resistant—I’ve worn this sunscreen while hiking and skiing and had no problems with reapplication. The only downside for me was that it is quite dewy and the shine doesn’t really die down. Might be better suited for dry skin rather than oily or combo skin.

PURITO – Centella Green Level Unscented Sun SPF50+

I love this sunscreen! The texture is similar to Supergoop and is also a watery cream. It is scentless. The ingredients list is amazing and has soothing ingredients like glycerin, niacinamide, and madecassiside that you would normally find in a moisturizer. The finish is dewy, but unlike the Supergoop one, the dewiness does fade throughout the day. If I use a lot of hydrating layers before applying moisturizer and sunscreen, or reapply it throughout the day, this product can be a bit too dewy/occlusive for me, but overall I love this product and would repurchase!

Krave – The Beet Shield

This is my holy grail sunscreen! The texture is like a lotion-based serum—it’s watery and very light. This product is scentless and has antioxidants like beetroot extract and resveratrol to help fight free radicals from sun damage. What I love about this product is that it doesn’t feel like you’re using sunscreen, it feels more like an antioxidant serum. The finish is dewy, but it dries down pretty quickly and leaves you with a more natural-looking dewiness. Even after reapplying multiple layers throughout the day, I haven’t experienced any pilling. Liah Yoo, the founder of Krave Beauty, has said this sunscreen is not sweat-resistant since they wanted to make a lighter formula that people would be encouraged to use every day, but I don’t mind as this is so pleasant to apply for general daily use. Highly recommend this product!