When I went to Korea last month, I told myself, “It’s now or never”. To get Liah’s KraveBeauty products I mean. Since it doesn’t ship internationally yet, I got it when I was in Korea!
The products aren’t sold in stores so to make an offline purchase, I had to DM the @kravebeauty_kr Instagram account to let them know what I wanted to get and make an appointment.
You can also buy it online while you’re in Korea, but the site is in Korean (though they have instructions in their Instagram highlights on how to buy) and they might not support overseas credit/debit card or something. Not too sure exactly but I didn’t get pass that part while trying to purchase online so I decided to DM them! You can do it comfortably in English 🙂 or Korean as well!
Now that I’ve got that down, let’s get the review started.
What: KraveBeauty Beet the Sun SPF 47 PA++++
Price: 20,000 won from KraveBeauty offline purchase (in Korea)
Weight: 50 ml
Period-After-Opening: 12 months
Couldn’t find the full ingredients list in English so…
Ingredients were copied word for word from Skincarisma.com (face palm) – https://www.skincarisma.com/products/krave-beauty/beet-the-sun/ingredient_list#info-section
Also, if you were wondering what each ingredients do for you, you may check this site out – https://incidecoder.com/products/krave-beauty-beet-the-sun
It was a very informative post!
Instead of typing it out, I translated this picture from the KraveBeauty website so you guys can know a little more about it!
Read my previous review: Review | Innisfree Apple Seed Cleansing Cream
Some notes before we continue:
Chemical Sunscreens (CS) Vs. Physical Sunscreens (PS)
- CS usually adheres to the skin really well (so you can layer it on) whereas PS do not adhere as well.
- CS has to be applied 30 minutes before you go out, whereas PS work the moment they are applied.
- CS absorbs the sun’s rays whereas PS reflects them.
- CS has more ingredients needed to stabilise the product and work the broad spectrum and hence, might be allergic to some people.
- CS usually has no white cast whereas PS might have them due to the Titanium Dioxide or Zinc Oxide.
- CS penetrate your epidermis and dermis before absorbing the sun’s rays whereas PS stays on top like a barrier.
Honestly, I typed these from what I remember when researching the differences in the past so if you find that it’s wrong… Please LET ME KNOW!
If you’d like to know more about how antioxidants work alongside sunscreens, please watch Liah’s video below! Super duper informative.
(There’s English subtitles)
Look & Feel
It is sealed in a small matte plastic (?) package with instructions. You can even write to who it’s for if you’re gifting it to someone, which I thought was pretty cute.
This is the actual product and it’s really small! It’s probably smaller than my innisfree sunscreens!
Here it is in my palms and my hands are considered small haha. But this means it’s great for bringing it around if you ever need to reapply throughout the day.
Application
(Please excuse the veiny hands, I cannot help it lol)
It comes out light yellow and settles pretty fast and nicely. The end result after is a dewy finish that almost looks slightly oily on my skin. Not sure if it’s because my skin is a little textured in some areas but wearing it alone, I wouldn’t really prefer.
Have tried putting powder on top of it whenever I’m wearing it alone, but after a while, it can still look glowly/oily depending on your skin type.
The product, however, was very easy to spread, it looks like it would be the texture of the Biore Watery Essence UV Sunscreens (that I’ve tried YEARS back – but stopped due to the alcohol that made me feel a little dry overtime) but it is slightly thicker than you’d expect.
Once you start spreading though, it blends like a cream (and also a dream haha).
There’s also no white cast as compared to a physical sunscreen, so no need to worry if you didn’t blend it well.
There isn’t a particular smell in this product too, if you really want me to pinpoint, there was a slight hint of chemical LOL.
But it wasn’t off-putting whatsoever. I don’t even smell it until I tried to.
Although I don’t really like wearing this alone, I think I’ve found the sunscreen that works well under my makeup!
When Liah said that this was a great base for foundation, my expectations went up because I’ve been looking for one that works great under makeup and I think this is one!
I haven’t been using chemical sunscreens since about 7 years ago because of the many ingredients inside that I was doubtful of.
And when Liah, along with the people at KraveBeauty, launched a chemical sunscreen, I was also skeptical but I wanted to try because it’s Liah haha.
I was in Korea when it was waiting to launch and I was so afraid the launch would delay until my trip was over. Thankfully, it launched during the time I was there and I managed to get it!
Related post: Review | KraveBeauty Matcha Hemp Hydrating Cleanser
Yes
- Great under makeup
- Moisturising
- Easy to blend
- No white cast
- No breakouts / purging
- None of the typical physical sunscreen smell
- Antioxidants in the sunscreen!
- Easy to remove
- Portable (not bulky to carry around)
No
- Not that good wearing it alone on my combination oily skin
- Difficult to purchase as it’s not shipped internationally yet (but I’ll be patient if I need to restock)
Am I Repurchasing?
I think I would. It is priced at 20,000 won in Korea, which is about S$24-25 after currency conversion for a 50ml sunscreen.
It may seem a little expensive compared to Korean sunscreens in general, but if I consider the fact that this brand wasn’t by a huge company, I’m willing to pay this amount for the quality I’m getting.
After all, I probably would only wear this under my makeup.
On days where I don’t wear makeup, I’ll be using my physical sunscreens that don’t look as dewy.
Hopefully I don’t finish this too quickly when I start working! 🙁
Overall Rating:
0.5 removed is only for the fact that I can’t use it alone on my skin as a last step – but I’m not too bummed out about that.
If you have a more normal to dry skin, this could be fine for you!
Have you tried KraveBeauty before? If you did, has any of the products work out for you? I’m about to start testing the other 2 products to review for you guys soon! 🙂
You can follow me on Instagram or Twitter to get updates!
With ????,
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What physical sunscreen do you recommend?
Hi Elena, it depends on what kind of finish you like. But a physical sunscreen I like that doesn’t dry matte and has no white cast + it’s great under makeup is the innisfree’s daily UV protection cream in mild with an SPF of 35, I’ve reviewed that if you’re interested!
For physical sunscreens that dry slightly matte and you’re using it as a last step – no foundation on top, innisfree’s Oat mild moisture sun cream (also reviewed) might be okay for you (slight white cast after it settles down) if you don’t have dry skin. Though you need to remove it thoroughly from your skin at the end of the day or you’ll still see some on your skin.
Hope that helps! ????