Unboxing Beauty

[ disclaimer: product received complementary for review purposes.  all opinions are my own ]

Benton is on a roll!  It looks like they will releasing three new items this summer, starting with the Cacao Moist And Mild Cream, this sun screen ~  Papaya-D Sun Cream SPF38  PA+++  and another sun screen that will be quite different from this one, according to their press release.   I do love my Benton products, especially their Aloe, Snail Bee and Fermentation lines ~  see my reviews  here.  I was very lucky to get into this Benton reviewer campaign and I knew it was a sun cream with papaya extracts.  This is the first sun screen that Benton has produced, so I am excited to talk to you about it.  I am giving an initial impression review, as I have only used this for a little over a week.

Skin Type/Concerns: Oily, blemish prone, aging concerns with fine lines/wrinkles and hyper-pigmentation

Just Fun Info:  Ever wonder how Benton came up with their name?  Well, according to their webside, it came from a movie

The name and definition of Benton took its motives from the movie ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ (also known as ‘Benjamin Button goes backwards in time’ in Korea) which had a warm touch on many people’s heart. In the movie, Benjamin is born as an old man and he becomes younger and younger as time goes by and ultimately dies as a new born baby. Benjamin happens to deeply fall in love with a woman named Daisy. However, as time goes by and as Benjamin becomes younger he has no choice but to leave Daisy. What if Daisy could have also turned back time on her physical appearance, wouldn’t she be happier? It may just be a fictional movie, but wouldn’t most people have the same desire to be young again? Benton’s desire is to turn back the time of your skin. Unlike the instant temporary effect created by the chemical ingredients, we hoped to improve skin care by using the natural ingredients in our products which will help regain your skin to its original healthy condition.  (source bentoncosmetics.com)

image from bentoncosmetics

Benton’s Papaya D-Sun Cream is Benton’s first ever suncream made up of physical & chemical sunscreen agents. Papaya D-Sun Cream is designed for daily use, to protect skin from everyday UV’s. Reputably called ‘the fruit of the angels’, Papaya contains various vitamins and nutrients that help keep skin moist and vibrant. Also, the suncream contains niacinamide and adenosine, which help to achieve a bright and smooth complexion.  Inorganic, organic blends with sunscreen ingredients. Effectively shielding ultraviolet rays from your skin and protecting your skin from external harmful environments

What is it?

According to Benton, Papaya-D Sun Cream is a light weight, moisturizing sunscreen with a minimal white cast.  It is both a chemical and physical sunscreen, so it will be interesting to see how white the cast is on my skin.  The star ingredient is payapa and Benton wasn’t joking that that this is a  PAPAYA sunscreen, as it contains 4 different types of papaya extracts   According to Benton, it is good for all skin types.  It will address the following needs and concerns

• Skin exposed to everyday UV rays
• Dull skin lacking suppleness
• Want a light, moist sunscreen
• Protection against UVA/UVB rays with a minimal white cast

Star Ingredients

As I just mentioned, the star ingredient is papaya ~ this contains 55% papaya fruit water, 5000 ppm of papaya seed oil, 750 ppm papaya fruit extract and 100 ppm of papain.  Papaya is an antioxidant, as it has vitamins A, C and E along with carotenoids and polyphenols, helping to reduce inflammation of your skin, as well as nourishing it.  Papaya seed oil will help make your skin smooth and supple, while retaining moisture in your skin. Papaya contains an enzyme called papain which has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial benefits. It will exfoliate your skin without irritation by gently loosening dead skin cells and removing them from your skin, making your skin smooth, vibrant and healthy. Papain solves a variety of skin issues, such as acne, dry skin and premature aging while providing pore and sebum care. 

image from bentoncosmetics

Now, this is a SPF38 PA+++, which if you are outside a lot or you burn easily, may not be enough protection for you.  However, for many people, their daily activities is home to work or school back to home, going out to eat or shop.  I know that I rarely go outside except at lunch, where I will add more sunscreen on with a sunscreen powder, but unless I am at the beach or outside for an extended period of time, this is an acceptable SPF rating for me.  Also, there is a misconception too that you might need a lesser SPF rating in the winter time.  Actually, if you live in an area where you get snow, a higher SPF rating would be warranted, because the sun and clouds reflect light off the snow and it bounces onto your skin.  I have had some nasty sunburns in the wintertime when I go skiing or just outside shoveling snow!

This sunscreen offers broad spectrum protection, which means is that it will deflect both types of UV rays ~ UVA and UVB ~ and will not allow them to penetrate into your skin layers.  SPF (sun protection factor) ranks based on protection from Ultraviolet B (UVB) shortwave ways.  PA is the amount of sunscreen offers from Ultraviolet A (UVA) long-wave rays.  The more plus signs after the PA rating, the more protection you will get from UVA rays.  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.  This contains four sunscreen ingredients:  Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate (Octinoxate), which protects against UVB rays, 1 physical blocker titanium dioxide (TiO2), which blocks UVA/UVB rays and provides that white cast and bis-ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine (Tinosorb S) absorbs UVA/UVB rays. Finally, isoamyl p-methoxycinnamate (Amiloxate) , a natural compound found in galangal plant in the ginger family and is an oil-soluble UVB blocker.

This also contains patented Aquaxyl, a hydrating compound made from ingredients derived from vegetable origin sugars ~ xylitylglucoside, anhydroxylitol, xylitol and glucose. Aquaxyl will also reinforce your skin barrier function, limiting water loss in your skin and preventing skin dehydration on a cellular level.  This product is not gluten free, as xylitylglucoside is derived from wheat sugars. This also has some nourishing and rich antioxidants in jojoba and sunflower seed oil and vitamin E.  Niacinamide is another 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, while yeast derived adenosine provides anti-wrinkle and anti-inflammatory benefits.

Please note that this does contain oils of juniper, lime and lemon, for those who might be sensitive to essential oils. Benton makes a point that the Papaya-D Sun Cream will provide the following skin care benefits:

• Provide sun protection, while improving your complexion
• Effectively protects skin from everyday UV rays and external stressors
• Light, moist texture
  

image from bentoncosmetics

Ingredients:  Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Water (55%), Titanium Dioxide, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Isoamyl p-Methoxycinnamate, Glycerin, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine, Pentylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Glyceryl Stearate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Aluminum Hydroxide, Panthenol, Carica Papaya Seed Oil(5000ppm), Glyceryl Caprylate, Stearic Acid, Water, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, Xanthan Gum, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract(750ppm), Tocopherol, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Xylitylglucoside, Anhydroxylitol, Xylitol, Papain(100ppm), Propanediol, Adenosine, Sodium Gluconate, Disodium Adenosine Triphosphate, Algin, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Bud Extract, Glucose, Juniperus Communis Fruit Oil, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Oil, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Fruit Oil  cosDNA analysis

This cream comes in a 50 gram flatted white tube with a lime green papaya on the with green and grey lettering.  Again, the new products from Benton are different from the past products, as they never did prints before on their products.  This has a bright silver toned rectangular cap and a blunt tip applicator.  This cream is thicker and it is WHITE.  It also has a lovely unisex scent of lime!  I am in love with this scent 🙂

This is a thicker sunscreen and it is very moist ~ you can see how white it is on my skin (Mac NW20) in the middle photo ~ the lower part of my hand does have a white cast to it where I started to massage it in.  However, after I patted and massaged the cream into my skin, I didn’t notice a white cast, but my skin tone did look “brighter”.   However, I will note that I have seen my fellow bloggers with darker skin tones have problems with a white cast on their skin, so please keep that in mind. My skin also felt soft, smooth and hydrated, without feeling greasy or oily and no sticky residue.

The initial moisture/oil readings also were a pleasant surprise too ~ My moisture level increased by 15% where as oil decreased by 46%

However, when I noticed that my skin was getting oily and greasy, I did another test ~ I took a reading before I applied the cream and then 1 minute after I applied the cream. Good results.  But then I did another reading 1 minute after that and my skin was registering as oily again, with the moisture/oil ratio below.

This is not an oil controlling sunscreen at all.  I even applied just a little bit on my skin and my skin was very oily looking as within a short time.  I then decided to use this on my neck, décolletage, arms and hands.  MUCH BETTER!!  It is so funny, but the rest of my skin is quite normal and in some cases, like my hands, quite dry.  This cream moisturized those areas nicely, leaving a nice moist but not greasy feeling.  For me, this sunscreen is better suited on body parts other than my face and since I neglect my neck and décolletage, this is a great use for this sunscreen.  I love the scent so much that I really wanted to find a good use for it and I did. 

Final Thoughts

This is a great body sunscreen product for me and it might even be really nice on my face if I am in a dry, arid area or in the cold, frigid winter months, where there isn’t a lot of moisture in the air.  If you have dry and fair skin, this cream will be pretty good for you, I think.  It just is too much for my oily skin right now in the hot, humid summer months ~ my oily skin normally gets oilier in the summer and I am looking for products to dampen down the shine, not enhance it.  I hope to get into the second sunscreen campaign, as that one is supposed to be quite different from this one ~ maybe that one is an oil controlling sunscreen!  Have you tried Benton Papaya-D Sun Cream?  Did you like it?  Or are interested in purchasing it?  Let me know in the comments below! 

Disclaimer: Benton requested that a review be made within 7 days, so that is why you might see a lot of these reviews around.  They also will give $50.00 worth of skincare goodies to reviews they deem the best one.  I do not know how they will chose their best review ~ if it is based on the content or just a glowing review.

Where to Purchase

This was just released, so right now, I only found it on a few sites. Benton is very popular,  however, so it is a matter of time before it will be more wildly available.  Check out my Promo/Referral (click here) page for coupons and referral discounts at some of these stores before purchasing ~ you might save some money.  This is a 50 gram tube and you should be able to purchase this for $20.00 USD and under.

• Style Korean
• W2Beauty
• Benton

[ disclaimer: product received for review purposes.  all opinions are my own ]