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We’ve got a brand new Missha sunscreen review for you! Find out why we think the Missha Waterproof Sun Milk will turn sunscreen haters into sunscreen believers.
Here’s the deal: You know you need to wear sunscreen every day. Your mom has told you, your dermatologist has told you, your dear pals here at The Klog have told you, but still, many people keep SPF on reserve for beach days. I get it. American sunscreens tend to come in two versions: thick, goopy, and greasy, or thin, chalky, and drying. After you’ve dedicated so much time and effort to perfecting your skin care routine, sweeping on a layer of either of those is the last thing you want. Which is why you need to stop looking to American sun protectors and start taking notes from some of the most dedicated UV dodgers around: Korean beauty fans.
What makes K-beauty sunscreens so different from their US counterparts? It all comes down to ingredients. See, in the US, sunscreens (unlike most other beauty products) have to meet certain FDA standards before they hit the market. Not a bad thing (you definitely want to be sure your sunscreen works!) but it means that in order to make it to shelves, sunscreens have to use UV protectors from a relatively small list of approved sunscreen ingredients. Getting new ingredients added to that list is a complicated process; so much so, in fact, that no new sun-filtering ingredients have been added to the SPF guest list since 1999.
Korean brands, on the other hand, have made names for themselves with skin care innovations, and sunscreen is no exception. Take, for example, my latest obsession. As a long-time beauty lover and lifelong pale person, I get more excited about sunscreen than is probably normal, but the Missha Waterproof Sun Milk is enough to pique the interest of even the most sunscreen-averse types. It uses some familiar ingredients (zinc oxide, titanium dioxide) as well as a few less familiar UV fighters (methylene bis-benzotriazolyl tetramethylbutylphenol, isoamyl p-methoxycinnamate) to fend off both UVA and UVB rays, but unlike most facial sunscreens I’ve used over the years, it goes on feather-light and completely invisible. In fact, if you applied it on the average skin care buff without telling them what it was, I suspect that no one would even guess it’s sunscreen.
Once applied, it takes literally seconds to soak in, leaving your skin feeling moisturized but not oily; ideal since one of the formula’s highlights is its ability to stand up against water, sweat, and humidity, making it a natural choice for all of your outdoor summer fun. Though “waterproof” might be a slight misnomer (no sunscreen is truly impervious to water) it does have enormous staying power, and even provides some sebum control to keep your forehead from going glossy midway through the day. I wore mine out jogging on a particularly steamy day last month, and despite my huffing and puffing my face still maintained a soft matte finish (and definitely no sunburn.)
As if that wasn’t enough to love, one of my favorite features of the Missha Waterproof Sun Milk is the lack of the usual sunscreen-y scent for a waterproof sunscreen. One of my biggest sunscreen pet peeves is that particular acrid plastic smell, especially for warm spots like my neck where the odor tends to linger and waft up around me throughout the day like perfume gone terribly wrong. Instead, the Missha SPF features an ultra-faint fruity scent that’s completely unobtrusive and almost lotion-like, AKA the kind of thing you can (and should) happily slather over your neck, chest, and hands: all of those exposed bits that don’t get the sun protection they so richly deserve.
The bottom line:
If complexion-spoiling textures, chalky residue, or stinky chemical smells have kept you from wearing sunscreen like you should, prepare to be converted. The Missha Waterproof Sun Milk will revolutionize your sunscreen game with an incredibly light, fresh-scented formula that goes on truly transparent and stays on, fighting off oil and makeup slippage through even the muggiest, most sweat-prone weather.
