Kelly Driscoll

I think it’s well established that searching for the perfect sunscreen will likely result in the feeling of wanting to rip your hair out…

But seriously, searching for the perfect sunscreen is a personal journey that will likely have many twists and turns. I personally struggled quite a bit when first looking for a sunscreen that suited my sensitive, dehydrated and often irritated skin. While I know that mineral sunscreens are generally deemed “better” (objective but not a rule) for sensitive skin, I could never find one that didn’t leave my skin dry and tight by the end of the day!

Which is why you can consider me a mostly chemical UV filters kind of girl; it just seems to fulfill my personal list of sunscreen needs best: no white cast, a hydrating finish, mild ingredients, easy spreadability, easy to layer, high coverage rating and does not irritate or dry out my skin!

So when the makers of one of my daily HG sunscreens, Purito Centella Green Level Safe Sun, approached me to test out their brand spanking new 100% mineral sunscreen, I jumped at the chance. This sunscreen sounded so promising and from a brand I had only good experiences with, I was ready to drop all biases against mineral sunscreen!

Purito Comfy Water Sunblock

UV Filters: 100% mineral filters Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide rated SPF 50+ PA++++. Both of these filters are considered to be some of the best UV filters used in sunscreens (both mineral and physical) due to their excellent photostability and broad spectrum protection.

Non-Nano Sunblock: Purito claims that the Comfy Water Sunblock is “Non-Nano.” What the heck does that even mean? One of the biggest controversies over mineral sunscreens is their use of nano particles. Mineral sunscreens are well known for being hard to spread and having a terrible white cast (ever heard of a paint color called Titanium white? It’s made from titanium dioxide!). One of the ways to improve this cosmetic inelegance is to shrink the normal sized particles into nano particles, thus creating a smoother and less white sunscreen. But the problem with nano particles is that it can penetrate deep into the skin, making the mineral filters more likely to irritate the skin. The question some people have is that it might enter the bloodstream and do all kinds of nasty things. However the short answer here is that this has not been proven in tests and so far we can assume that the nano particles are not being absorbed into the body (Source).

However, what we need to know here is that Purito has decided to avoid the nano particle issue altogether and this sunblock is non-nano.

Highlights: Similar to its Centella Green Level Safe Sun cousin, this sunblock uses a 70% water base to create a hydrating formula. This is mostly accomplished by glycerin. Often overlooked for sexier sounding ingredients (hyaluronic acid anyone?), glycerin is a superstar, skin-identical hydrator and is excellent for your barrier.

This also features centella which, along with all its other benefits, is also an excellent antioxidant. You want antioxidant protection in your sunscreens because they help protect the skin against oxidative damage associated with UV rays. It’s an added layer of protection.

This is free from drying alcohol, silicones and synthetic fragrance.

Iffy Ingredients: Essential oils. Orange peel, lavender and tea tree oils can be found in this sunblock.

Ingredient List: Water, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Dipropylene glycol, Zinc Oxide, Silica, Niacinamide, 1,2-Hexanediol, Polyglyceryl-3 methylglucose distearat, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Stearic Acid, Madecassoside, Asiaticoside, Madecassic acid, Asiatic acid, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil, Lauroyl lysine, Disodium EDTA, Acrylates/C10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, Melaleuca alternifolia leaf oil, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Adenosine, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer

Texture, White Cast, Scent and Observations:

Texture: Very impressive, watery and light texture! If you’ve tried the Centella Green Level Safe Sun, it’s totally similar in feeling. This has an amazing watery and refreshing feeling on the skin as you spread it too, likely due to the high glycerin content.

I’m totally floored over the spreadability of this sunscreen! Most mineral sunscreens are quite thick and pasty, making it hard to cover your skin in an even layer. Yet this just glides over the skin, with no concerns of having missed a spot. This was totally impressive to me.

I expect Purito to create light wearing sunscreens, and they have been able to get the Comfy Water Sun Block to be just as weightless on the skin as its famous Centella sunscreen. In addition to adding no weight to the face, this dries down super-fast so you can continue on with makeup or tone up creams pretty much immediately after application. Finish is semi-matte with hardly any shine midday.

Scent: This one is a mix between the orange peel oil and lavender. It actually smells just like fruity pebbles to me! This is a medium level scent that will disappear 30 seconds to 1 minute after application.

White Cast: Here is where I had the biggest expectations and where I was totally blown away by this sunscreen.

There is no white cast.

Nothing to see here folks, because this sun block is totally invisible!

I was totally blown away but curious to see how it compared to the one mineral sunscreen that so far was holding the #1 spot in my mind, Make P:rem Defense Me Blue Ray Sun Cream. I threw in a very traditional texture mineral sunscreen from Shero Science as a control:

Results speak for themselves, Purito is invisible, Make P:rem is minimal white cast and Shero is giving us some white cast vibes.

There really isn’t much more I can say in this category because you can see the results for yourself. But I will add that this texture and total lack of white cast is really innovative. How Purito did it, I have no idea, but I really feel this product is going to change the mineral sunscreen game in K-beauty over the next couple of years.

Observations: No sunscreen is perfect; here are some things I observed during testing:

• This will pill, especially if you use an emollient, oil-based moisturizer under it. Most likely due to the 70% water base (oil and water don’t mix!). I also tested using a facial oil with a water-based moisturizer over it and had no pilling on application, so this just applies to the layer directly under the sunscreen.
• I did experience minor pilling with reapplication, regardless of the moisturizer used. This is common for sunscreens and it was minor, so nothing I can fault, but wanted to mention it.
• One of the few benefits of traditional mineral sunscreen in my mind is that you usually don’t have to use a makeup primer. Very possibly due to the lack of silicones in this (you’ll find them more often than not in mineral sunscreens) this doesn’t really have that primer effect for me.
• This washes away very easily which isn’t always something I can say about traditional mineral sunscreens. This could be due to the lack of silicones (notoriously hard to remove from the face) or the non-nano technology, but this washes away cleanly! Because of this I won’t recommend this as a sweat-resistant sunscreen though, since it really doesn’t have that hardcore grip you might have experienced with other sunscreens. This is perfect for daily wear, nothing sporty about this one.

My Experience:

First of all I want to tell you that my experience with this was so up and down!

I had a lot of expectations from this one, I’ve never found a great mineral sunscreen that my skin can tolerate. Texture and white cast issues aside, I have always found mineral UV filters to be irritating to my dehydrated and sensitive skin. My skin always gets so uncomfortably dry and tight after using them, it’s impossible to wear them days in a row.

But Purito happens to be a brand that has impressed me time and time again with their fantastic products, and their Centella Green Level Safe Sun is my current daily sunscreen.

So expectations were high: could this be the mineral sunscreen to top all other mineral sunscreens? Would this be the one?

The first thing I did when I received the package was test that baby on the back of my hand! I was skeptical about the zero white cast claim, but what do you know, it was true! I was totally amazed!

Then I tried it on my face.

Let’s rewind a little so I can tell you that my skin is always susceptible to dehydration, but I had been struggling with a bout of sensitivity prior to using this sunscreen so my skin was a little more vulnerable than usual.

So I tried it for the first day and my skin got very dry and tight, uncomfortably so. Sigh.

I decided to put this away and just let my skin get stronger because that sensitivity could have been the culprit.

Once my skin was feeling strong again, I tried the sun block and was happy to note it didn’t dry my skin out as much.

I quickly realized this was just not going to work for my dehydrated skin, because the natural sebum-controlling properties of zinc oxide would never jive with my skin. Sebum control is great for oily skin types but when you’re deficient in natural oil (dry skin) or vulnerable to water loss (dehydrated skin), you just don’t have the extra oil to spare!

Through continued testing I found this was the most tolerable mineral sunscreen I’ve tried (de-throning the Make P:rem) and I can wear this a few days a week, but with continued use my dehydration gets worse.

What’s the Bottom Line?

So what’s the bottom line, here? Do I recommend this sunscreen?

I wholeheartedly do! To those with extra oil to spare! Normal, oily and combo/oily skin types will love this! Especially with the semi-matte finish, you’ll be pleased to notice your skin getting less shiny in the afternoon when using this. Additionally if you’re suffering from congested skin or acne this is a great choice because of its centella content and ability to wash away clean (no clogged pores).

If you have dehydrated, combo/dry or dry skin I wouldn’t recommend this one, and if you don’t need mineral sunscreen I’d suggest the Purito Centella Green Level Safe Sun!

I do think this is a great sunscreen and an amazing mineral sunscreen. Much in the way Cosrx Low pH Good Morning Cleanser changed the way the K-beauty industry thought about and communicated the pH levels of their skincare products, I believe Purito Comfy Water Sun Block will change the landscape of mineral sunscreen in K-beauty!

60ml Retails for $17 Buy on Amazon* | Yesstyle *

 

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