| | | | | | | You know you’re that person who shows up to Sunday dinner with a tray and a camera because the lighting is perfect for photos. #bloggerfriendproblems |
It’s only fitting that the combined enabling powers of the HolyFan duo from The Snailcast are behind this unexpected turn of events. During our first-ever live snail meetup in NYC, we gathered at Fanserviced-b‘s headquarters with travel-friendly samples and decants.
After using this sunscreen on my neck and chest without any issues, I decided to take a chance. Fueled by a spirit of YOLO (or perhaps the White Girl Rosé), I patch-tested it on my face, bracing for the usual burning and itching. Nothing bad happened—unless you count our decision to freeze the leftover wine in an adult novelty mold. Which I don’t. 😉
In this post
- Product details
- Ingredients & UV filters
- My theories on why this isn’t destroying my face
- Swatches
- Final thoughts, wear time, and how it plays with makeup
On the last day, I boldly wore this sunscreen all over my face, determined to test it as thoroughly as possible with the time we had left. To my shock, my skin didn’t react, and I made it through to my evening routine without any problems.
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?! A chemical sunscreen! On my face! I have a few guesses about what’s going on, and after talking to others who share the same sunscreen struggles, there might be hope for us yet. Quick reminder: this blog uses both affiliate and non-affiliate links. If you click the former before shopping, your purchase may help support this blog. Full details at the end of this post! #receipts
Full product name: Make P:rem UV Defense Me Capsule Sun Gel SPF50+ PA+++. Purpose: A full-spectrum sunscreen with chemical UV filters to block both UVB and UVA radiation. Scent: Lightly floral—noticeable but not as strong as the Goodal sunscreen I like. Texture: A very moisturizing, rich gel that spreads easily. White cast: None. At all. Quantity: 75ml Rating: 4.5/5, because it’s very moisturizing and summer heat makes me melty. Where to get it: Amazon | eBay | Bisou Beauty Bar (currently sold out)
Note: I bought both Make Pr:em sunscreens in a 2-pack for $36 on Amazon because it was a better deal. You can buy the Make P:rem UV Defense Me Capsule Sun Gel from other shops, but it’s $$$$. Repurchase: Yes. I know, crazy—a chemical sunscreen. But it’s the first one my skin can handle, and that’s exciting enough to make me want to run naked through the streets. Except that would require a lot of sunscreen, and this is too expensive for that.
Plus, there’s the whole getting arrested thing. Check out the neat little “opened date” on the side of the bottle, so you can write in the date and know your sunscreen is within the 12-month window. Not that it would last you that long.
| | | | | | | Nice feature, though I wish they’d included translated ingredients too. |
Chemical Love: Make P:rem Capsule Sun Gel Review
Ingredients & UV filters
Sadly, the package didn’t have translated ingredients, so I’m relying on the Cosdna list:
Water, Homosalate, Butylene Glycol, Octocrylene, Ethylhexyl salicylate, Behenyl Alcohol, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Glycerin, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Niacinamide, Betula Alba Juice, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein/ PVP Crosspolymer, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract, Chamaecyparis Obtusa Water, Thermus Thermophillus Ferment, Ascophyllum Nodosum Powder, Asparagus Officinalis Stem Extract, Hedera Helix Leaf/ stem Extract, Sunflower Seed Extract, Leuconostoc/ Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Moringa Pterygosperma Seed Extract, Methyl methacrylate crosspolymer, Neopentyl glycol diheptanoate, Pentylene Glycol, Hydroxyacetophenone, Caprylyl Glycol, Tromethamine, Ethylhexylglycerin, Adenosine, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium chloride, EDTA, Propanediol, Polyglyceryl-10 oleate, Lecithin, Sodium Dilauramidoglutamide Lysine, Hydrogenated lecithin, Lysolecithin, Phytosterols, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Sodium Polyacrylate, PEG-8, PPG-1-PEG-9 LAURYL GLYCOL ETHER, Phytic acid, Calcium gluconate, Gluconolactone, Hyaluronic Acid, Maltodextrin, Citric Acid, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate, Carbomer, Alcohol, Disodium EDTA, Potassium Sorbate, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Benzoate, Fragrance
As you can see, this sunscreen contains plenty of fancy extracts. Like any Korean ingredient list, I can’t rely on the order to know if there’s enough of a given extract to be effective, but if they are, it’s a bonus. There is alcohol, but it’s almost at the very end, and I don’t detect any noticeable alcohol smell. Some extracts require alcohol as a solvent for extraction.
There are many hydrating ingredients here, like Glycerin and several types of Hyaluronic acid, plus emollients like Lecithin and Dicaprylyl Carbonate (which I had to look up). It also contains star ingredients like Niacinamide (brightening) and Adenosine (anti-aging), but since it doesn’t follow USFDA listing regulations, I assume the amounts are negligible until proven otherwise.
The key players are the UV filters: Homosalate (UVB), Octocrylene (UVB), and Ethylhexyl salicylate (UVA). The latter two also partially filter the other UV type, but I’ve listed them by their primary function. This matters because it’s a full-spectrum sunscreen with protection from both types. What’s not on this list: Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate. No Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate!!!
| | | | | | | NO ETHYLHEXYL METHOXYCINNAMATE, BABY!!! [source] |
Not sure what Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate is? It’s the chemical (also known as organic) UV filter found in everything. It’s even in the Blue Ray version of this sunscreen, which means that’s a hard pass for me. EM (that name is too long) is the reason I thought I could never wear sunscreen. Then I thought I couldn’t wear chemical sunscreens. Nope, it’s just EM being Extra Mean. I’m pretty sure it’s refined in hell and distilled from the acrid sweat of Satan’s ballsack.
My theories on why this isn’t destroying my face
It could be a few things, but the most likely answer is that it doesn’t contain Beelzebub’s nut juice (aka Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate), and that specific, extremely common filter is my skin trigger. I’m talking angry inflammatory breakouts, mottled red patches, and welts—sometimes within 20 minutes—plus a burning, itching sensation that makes me want to claw my skin off.
When I checked the Cosdna ingredients list, I didn’t recognize any of the filters at all. That means none of them appeared in the many products I cross-referenced to identify common culprits for my skin reactions. I do notice a very slight irritation if I leave it unblended on the back of my hand, and wearing it daily for over a week started causing a few small breakouts here and there. It’s possible those were due to daily double cleansing with an actual cleansing oil, since my skin doesn’t like oils.
However, when I use it just occasionally (a few times a week when I’m going out and don’t want to risk a white cast), my skin tolerates it perfectly. That means I’ve added a zero-white-cast sunscreen to my arsenal. I can get away with a bit of white cast since I’m a Mac NC10 in base makeup, and sometimes I use it as a correcting primer for too-dark foundation, but that’s limited in usefulness.
My other theory is that I’ve strengthened my acid mantle and moisture barrier, reducing my skin’s sensitivity to ingredient triggers. How? By following Kerry of Skin & Tonics‘s footsteps, the OG proponent of the low pH life. Her post The Importance of Fatty Acids, pH & the Moisture Barrier: How I Eliminated my Acne & Decreased my Skin Sensitivity sent me down a research rabbit hole, where I hoped to find a loophole to keep using my favorite high pH cleanser. Unfortunately, my deep dive concluded the opposite, as you can read here: Why the pH of Your Cleanser Matters.
I’ve been living the low pH cleanser life ever since, and while it’s just one piece of the puzzle, I’m no longer stressing my skin with alkaline cleansers, so it makes sense that it’s more resilient.
Swatches
No swatches from Dr. Mr. the Pear, because there’s no white cast to demonstrate. It’s invisible on the skin.
| | | | | | | The recommended 1/4 teaspoon dose is easy to apply. This is 3 pumps of product. |
It has an odd texture—looks a bit like a poorly emulsified formulation with separation between ingredients—but I suspect that’s the “capsules” of … something (sunscreen? moisturizer? who knows) suspended in the product.
It applies and blends beautifully, with no white cast.
| | | | | | | Absolutely no white cast, mmm. |
Fantastic. My only worry is whether I’ve applied enough (despite using a 1/4 teaspoon) because I … can’t see it.
Final thoughts, wear time, and how it plays with makeup
So obviously the lack of white cast and the high full-spectrum protection are major wins for this sunscreen, plus the whole doesn’t-immediately-destroy-my-face thing. That doesn’t mean it’s a perfect HG and I’ll never wear anything else; I did have what might have been a small reaction after daily use for an extended time, it’s a bit pricey, and most importantly, it’s really moisturizing.
Like, really moisturizing. Yes, the bottle says that, but the fact is, I don’t need my sunscreen to be a moisturizer, and the time of year when you need to be extra vigilant about sunscreen is summer. It’s hot. It’s humid. I’m sweaty. My face is oily. I’m sure this sunscreen will be amazing in winter when my skin is driest, but right now I have to powder down my t-zone or my makeup will melt off.
| | | | | | | If you notice the drink level seems higher in this photo, that’s because I was actually drinking from it while taking these pictures. It wasn’t even a prop—just my drink. |
Thankfully, I just wear a cushion with a bit of concealer, so it’s not a complete disaster (I just roll with my zits blurred, screw it), but that’s a big limitation for people who 1. have oily skin, 2. sweat a lot or live in a humid climate, or 3. wear full-coverage makeup. Fortunately, because this is a chemical sunscreen that feels like a lotion, it’s easy to reapply; I just dab it on top of my makeup and pat it with my cushion puff.
It also takes a while to dry down enough for makeup, so I like to give myself a good 15–30 minutes to let it settle before applying makeup. That won’t be practical for everyone. That said, I didn’t have any issues with pilling or it causing problems under makeup, but again, I don’t wear full-coverage foundation. It doesn’t feel like sunscreen—it just feels like lotion—and despite the excessive moisture for a summer sunscreen, that’s pretty damn good in my book. I’ll definitely repurchase it, and I’m sending some to my mom.
I’ll buy mine off Amazon or eBay, and although it’s currently sold out at Bisou Beauty Bar, that’s where I’ll get hers because they’re already located in Canada, and it’s currently hell trying to get cosmetics across the border.
Note: Yes, this sunscreen is available in other shops, but it’s twice the price, so they can miss me.
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**Disclaimer: All products mentioned in this post were purchased with my own money. This blog contains both affiliate and non-affiliate links, and clicking the former before you shop means this blog may receive a small commission to help support itself. Please see my Contact Info & Disclaimer policy for more information.
