See how the My Skin Mentor Dr. G Brightening Up Sun not only offers superior UV ray protection but also helps brighten your skin.
Sunscreen is the most difficult category to shop for. Choose the wrong formula, and you end up either slick with grease within the first hour, covered in horrible white cast like a powdered donut, or worst case scenario, both.
Luckily, after years of brewing in sunscreen purgatory that is Neutrogena and Clinique, I have discovered Korean sunscreens that protect my skin while keeping it grease and white cast-free.
I’m always on the market for a sunscreen that delivers something beyond just hydration and sun protection, which is why the Dr. G Brightening Up Sun immediately caught my eye.
Coming from Korea, I can attest to the popularity of My Skin Mentor Dr. G. Their Brightening Peeling Gel is a godsend for sensitive skin, and you can always spot the iconic seafoam green bottle at mega beauty stores like Olive Young. The company’s Brightening Up Sun Screen is another gem that is not as well-known on the stateside but popular in my beauty-obsessed motherland. It’s a truly unique product that not only offers hefty sun protection of SPF 42 / PA+++ but also offers sebum control and get this: tone-up benefits.
What it does:
In case you’re not familiar, tone-up products are trending items in Korea that instantly brighten skin. Unlike most sunscreens out there that are white, the Dr. G Brightening Up Sun has a light peach color. It has a medium to thick consistency and goes on smoothly, making it completely different from sunscreens that are impossible to spread. The scent reminds me of baby powder with a hint of something sweet.
In terms of ingredients, it has all the soothing ones you can think of, from aloe and calendula to centella, witch hazel and green tea, among others. It’s also formulated with hyaluronic acid and grape seed oil to moisturize skin. But my favorite ingredient has to be tannin, which sucks in excess oil and sebum to keep that dreaded T-zone matte and soft throughout wear. All the ingredients in this sunscreen combined soothe skin, balance skin’s moisture level, and even protect skin from harmful pollutants.
How to apply:
Since this is a tone-up sunscreen, I try to minimize dragging it across the skin. Instead, I apply it by dotting it all around my face and neck and lightly patting to aid absorption, making sure to thoroughly blend:
In about 30 seconds, the sunscreen absorbs completely and leaves me with skin that is noticeably brighter and more even. On me, the tone-up effect lasts about 10 hours, long enough to last through a full day at work and into dinnertime. No blotting paper necessary.
In this picture, I’m wearing only the Dr. G Brightening Up Sun without any concealer or foundation. I don’t wear face makeup every day, so this is the perfect every day sunscreen to wear on its own. On days I choose to wear makeup, I find that it wears nicely underneath foundation as a brightening primer.
How I like to use it:
Usually, I have two to three sunscreens on rotation so I can pick and choose depending on my skin’s condition. Ever since I added the My Skin Mentor Dr. G Brightening Up Sun to my collection, I’ve fallen in love with what I’d call ‘multi-sunscreening’. Much like multi-masking, multi-sunscreening involves using two different sunscreens to mattify and moisturize different parts of my face.
Here’s what I do: First, I apply the Dr. G sunscreen in the areas I want to brighten and keep matte, such as my T-zone and the center of my face. Then, I apply a richer, more moisturizing sunscreen, like the Neogen Day-Light Protection Sun Screen or the Enature Plantlicious UV Sunscreen on the dry parts of my face, like the outlines of my face and my neck.
While I also like to wear Dr. G Brightening Up Sun on its own, multi-sunscreening ensures that my face looks more even, brighter, and more multi-dimensional without the help of foundation and powder.
No white cast on different skin tones:
At this point you might be wondering, but what if you don’t have a fair to medium skin tone? Would a tone-up sunscreen work for a deeper skin tone or will it disappoint like the others?
For reference, here’s how the Dr. G Brightening Up Sun looks on Sabrina, the Supply Chain Operations Manager (and football queen) at Soko Glam who has a medium to tan skin tone:
And here’s what it looks like on Sanjula, a member of the Business Development and Partnerships team (who is definitely not used to wearing makeup or tone-up products):
If you’re not used to using tone-up products, you will be initially shocked by how light it is when you first apply it. But once you pat it in, it magically settles into a color that matches your skin tone, except a quarter to half shade brighter. (I say “brighter” instead of “whiter” because since the sunscreen has a pink tint and actually blends into your skin and brightens it instead of making it look ashy and washed out, which is what a white cast would do by sitting on top of your skin.)
Bottom line:
The beauty of the My Skin Mentor Dr. G Brightening Up Sun is that the brightening effect is strong enough to make your skin noticeably more even. But the effect is subtle and natural enough that others won’t be able to put a finger on why that’s the case. The Dr. G Brightening Up Sun helps even out skin tone and keep skin matte without the need for heavy powder. For an everyday sunscreen, that’s a total win.
+ What do you think about the My Skin Mentor Dr. G Brightening Up Sun? Share with us in the comments!