Unboxing Beauty

Disclaimer:  All products were purchased by me. 

For those who read my blog, they will notice that even though I advocate for wearing sunscreen and have horror stories about my own lack-0f-wearing sunscreen in my yute and now am suffering the hyper-pigmentation consequences, I still loathe wearing sunscreen.  Granted, formulas have come a long way, even in the last decade ~ but finding the sunscreen that doesn’t clog pores, doesn’t make my face look like a beacon of light, doesn’t leave a white cast and doesn’t cause blemishes is still a challenge.  I have tried a lot of sunscreens and only two so far have made the cut to use on my face ~ Club Clio Ice Jelly Sun SPF 30/PA++ and IPKN Pore Apple Sun Cream SPF 40+   However, it looks like Club Clio has discontinued Ice Jelly Sunscreen, so having one left makes me nervous.   I also wanted to have a higher SPF and PA rating

What does PA stand for?  The other month, when I received another sunscreen in a sub box, I decided to find out what that meant and I will repeat my original blog post here:  I am very familiar with SPF (sun protection factor) and that it ranks based on protection from UVB :: ultraviolet B (shortwave) rays.  But the PA rating is something newish to me, and I really notice it on Asian sunscreens, not so much American brands.    PA is the amount of protection the sunscreen offers from UVA :: ultraviolet A (long-wave) rays.   PA ranks with + signs and the higher the + signs, the more protection you will get from UVA rays.  

image credit

UVB is what causes sunburns and reddened skin and has direct links to cancer.  UVA is what causes us to tan, and age ~ wrinkles and deep lines are caused by UVA exposure.  A really fantastic article about ultraviolet rays and how they affect our skin can be found here at the Skin Cancer website  and I highly recommend reading it.   One thing I have learned is that a broad spectrum sunscreen is the proper choice as it will help deflect the UV rays and not allow them to penetrate into your skin layers.

image credit

 

 

 

Okay, so I am looking for a higher SPF and higher PA rating, one that is matte, won’t clog my pores or cause blemishes.  Cue PrimaryRaw Plain Sun DoYou Sunscreen ~ I am a huge fan of PrimaryRaw products and have reviewed several items (and have more on deck!!)   Doyou means soy milk (두유) in Korean and PrimaryRaw Doyou line is made with soy milk (soybeans).   I received several sample packets of this product, both in “white” and “beige” and based on my results with the samples, I decided to get the full sized ones at Cupidrop.com.

 

 

image credit

image credit

image credit

image credit

PrimaryRaw Plain Sun DoYou theWhite SPF25/PA++   Now, you might be asking why I went with a lower SPF rating here since I was looking for a higher one.  I actually like this sunscreen and felt this is good to have on hand.  It also is a good for for those who cannot use theBeige sunscreen, as despite its horrible name, theWhite does not leave a white cast and it disappears into your skin when you apply it.  I wish it was a higher SPF, but this is a good sunscreen for those who cannot use theBeige sunscreen, because their skin tone is too light or dark.   This sunscreen is hypoallergenic and can be used on most skin types, including sensitive skin types.    I like this sunscreen as it is very lightweight, moisturizing and doesn’t feel sticky on my face.  It also doesn’t leave my face shiny as it has a satin/semi-matte finish.  I also love the ingredients list, as it has fermented soybeans, which I think are fantastic for my oily, but aging skin.   My skin really does love fermented soybeans as I have not had a bad experience yet with this ingredient and it is a fantastic anti-aging ingredient, full of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties

• Soybean Ferment adds moisture and flexibility to the skin and will protect your skin from environment damage.  It is an antioxidant and has anti-inflammatory benefits as well.  Isoflavones, a plant compound, is found in soybeans and they help stimulate collagen production to help support the skin’s structure, increasing elasticity, thickness and firmness.   There is also research that has primary results that show fermented soybeans have the capability of slowing the matrix metalloproteinases (MMP), which are enzymes that break down and recycle down that support your skin layer.  You still want MMP  to occur, but if you have older skin, you want to slow down the cycle ~  The older we get, the less collagen and elastin we have.   Topically applied fermented soy does not have any hormonal effects nor does it cause cancer.

• Salix Alba (Willow) Bark  is a BHA (beta hydroxy acid) which helps exfoliate skin by removing dead skin cells, contains salicylic acid, to help combat acne. It is also high in anti-oxidants, which tone and reduce inflammation as well as being an astringent, to control oil.  Salicylic acid is fat soluble, so it can really get to the oil that is inside your pores.

• Vitamin E (tocopheryl acetate)  is a powerful antioxidant ~ prevents free radical formation, protects the upper skin layer from initial harmful UV radiation and prevents the deterioration of fats in your cell membranes.  Vitamin E will also nourish your skin, leaving it soft and silky 

• Glycine Soja (Soybean) Phytoplacenta helps reduce wrinkles and evens out your skin tone.  It is also identical biologicially to human placenta, which is known to have anti-aging and repairing benefits.   Phytoplacenta is full of proteins, peptides, mineral salts and animo acids and will help build collagen type III, which helps our skin contract and expand without sagging or loss of firmness.  You can read more about plant placenta here

This sunscreen comes with a beautiful cream canvas pouch with a tan interior.  The pouch can be secured with cream colored silky tassels and brown ties.  I think the pouch might be a special edition, but I am not sure.   Full Size 40 mL RV $44.00

Ingredients: Water, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Butylene Glycol, Titanium Dioxide, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Stearic Acid, Polysorbate 60, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Viscum Album (Mistletoe) Leaf  Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Origanum Vulgare (Oregano) Leaf Extract, Chamaecyparis Obtusa (hinoki cypress) Leaf Extract,  Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract, Lactobacillus/Soybean Ferment Extract, Cinnamomum Cassia Bark Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Phytoplacenta Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Cardiospermum Halicacabum Flower/Leaf/Vine Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil Unsaponifiables, Pisum Sativum (Pea) Extract, PEG-100 Stearate, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Aluminum Hydroxide, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, Squalane, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylyl Glycol, Octyldodecanol, Xanthan Gum, Allanton, Disodium EDTA, Echium Plantagineum Seed Oil, Fragrance  cosDNA.com analysis

 

 

image credit from cupidrop.com

image credit from cupidrop.com

 

PrimaryRaw Plain Sun DoYou theBeige SPF50+/PA+++  Sooo, I am not a huge fan of tinted sunscreens, as I find them to be very fake and unnatural, plus greasy.   I did not go in with any expectations that this product would be any different.  WOW.  Was I wrong!!  theBeige is amazing ~ yes, I will gush now.  I cannot believe how well this works for me as a sunscreen and also with the tint.  When I first used it, I was struck how ultra smooth and silky this sunscreen is and how it actually acts like a facial primer for my base foundation.   This isn’t surprising as when I looked at the ingredient list, it does include a silicone based polymer ~  dimethicone ~ which is a prime ingredient for facial makeup primers.   It had the effect of filling and smoothing my face texture and my base makeup (Jouer Moisturizing Matte Tint) lasted longer too. 

This not only has the fermented soybean extract, soybean phyoplacenta extract and willow bark extracts, but some ingredients that I really love to see in my skin care products.

• Niacinamide  is a powerful antioxidant that acts as an anti-inflammatory, improves your skin elasticity, enhance the skin barrier function and also it helps to even out skin tone and reduce post-inflammatory hyper-pigmentation.
• Sodium Hyaluronate  is an intensive moisturizing ingredient which bonds water to keep skin hydrated. It is a natural substance found in the human body and it made up of amino and uronic acids, and helps retain 100 to 1,000 times its own water weight in our skin cells.
• Adenosine helps prevents wrinkles, improves skin tone and firmness due to its anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.  This ingredient is derived from yeast and it communicates with your skin cells to promote healthy cellular activity.
  

Now, this does have talc in it, so if you are sensitive to that or dimenthicone, you might want to try theWhite version, which does not include those items.   If you are very pale or darker skin toned, again, I would steer you to theWhite version, as this is a tinted sunscreen and it only comes in one shade.

I loved how this feels on my face ~ non-sticky, light weight and a semi-matte finish.  I thought that I couldn’t wear this on its own without my base makeup, but one day I was in a hurry and forgot to put on my Jouer.  I had this plus Innisfree No-Sebum Blur powder and it was fine!   I still felt I could have used more coverage, but it did blur and evened out my skin tone.  If you have great skin, you don’t even need a BB cream or base makeup  ~ just toss this on and you are good to go!  I am so thrilled that this is an SPF 50 with a triple PA rating as well ~ I normally have a hard time incorporating sunscreen in my skincare routine, as I feel once I get to the base makeup stage, my face has a lot of product already.   PrimaryRaw Plan Sun DoYou theBeige is so light weight and glides on effortlessly, that it I do not feel that I have added a heavy product ~ it absorbs quickly and is not tacky, so I can quickly add my base makeup right after that.  I love that it acts like a face primer as well, as I always have a hard time justifying those products too ~ this gives me three benefits in one ~ sunscreen, facial primer and a tint. 

Just like theWhite, theBeige comes in a nice tube with a nozzle that lets you control how much product you want.  I really love the packaging with the brushed silver-tone cap as well.  This is a classy looking sunscreen tube.   This also seems to be a limited edition, as it currently comes with a faux leather chocolate brown pouch with a faux suede interior.  It also has chocolate brown ties and tassels as well.  Full Size 40 mL RV $42.00

 

Ingredients: Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Dipropylene Glycol, PEG-10 Dimenthicone, Niacinamide, Butylene Glycol, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Caprylyl Methicone, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Viscum Album (Mistletoe) Leaf Extract, Centella Asistica Extract, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybeam) Seed Extract, Lactobacillus/Soybean Ferment Extract, Cinnamomum Cassi Bark Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Phytoplacenta Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Pisum Sativum (Pea) Extract, Dimenticone, Magnesium Sulfate, Talc, Methicone, Polymythylsilsesquioxane, Glyceryl Caprylate, Caprylyl Glycol, Aluminum Hydroxide, Mica, Dimenthicone/Vinyl Dimenthicone Crosspolymer, Stearic Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Polyglyceryl-6 Polyricinoleate, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Adenosine, Cellulose Gum, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Aminopropyl Dimenthicone, Fragrance, Iron Oxides (CI77492), Iron Oxides (CI77491), Iron Oxides (CI77499)  cosDNA.com analysis

 image from cupidrop.com

 image from cupidrop.com

SWATCHES

The top row has both theWhite and theBeige sunscreens ~ swatch (top), blended out (lower).   As you can see, the white does not leave a white cast.  It is hard to see the color with the beige, so I decided to take some crappy photos of the side of my face.

The swatches on my face are with theBeige with flash.   You acn see that it does even out my skin tone a bit, blurs the hyper-pigmentation.   In the lower right hand corner, you can see that theBeige is tinted, as there is part of my skin where I did not apply this (same with the upper left hand corner too). It is a bit pink looking with the flash, but without flash, it is not noticeable.   For the record, I have light/medium skin that is warm based but also ruddy. 

 

Final Thoughts

I am totally sold on theBeige sunscreen by PrimaryRaw.  I feel that I have found my HG for sunscreens and since this also works as a primer, I have two products in one.   I also love that I feel comfortable enough to just use this as my base makeup if I choose to do so, as the tint seems to cover enough of my facial hyper-pigmentation.   These sunscreens only have a very slight scent, but that quickly disappears.    I also love that both of these products have a patented 7 herbal complex that is not only moisturizing, but also is anti-bacterial and can help heal and reduce blemishes.  I will be back to purchase more of theBeige.  theWhite is a great alternative for those who cannot use theBeige, either due to the tint or allergic and/or sensitivity issues.   I cannot stress the importance of wearing sunscreen ~ it is your best defense against wrinkles and aging as well as preventing sun damage, such as hyper-pigmentation.   There are so many more options now than when I was younger and abusing my skin!   

Yaass.. these are expensive.   However, Cupidrop does have promos and coupons quite a bit so follow them on Instagram or sign up for their newsletter to know when they are released.   They also have free shipping in the USA for orders over $50.00 and I love that they have a nice selection of PrimaryRaw products, as well as A-True, Scinic, cosRX and Tosowoong.  Plus Cupidrop has fantastic Customer Service and they give a lot of free samples as well ~ which is how I managed to try this sunscreen out first before committing to a larger purchase. 

What do you think?  Are you interested in trying these sunscreens from PrimaryRaw?  It is amazing that I actually am excited to blog about a sunscreen, considering I have a love-hate relationship with them!   

This blog post is part of the The Asian Beauty Link Party. This week hosted by Leavesofyves

Join Here

 

[ all products purchased by me.  all opinions are unbiased and are my own ]