Quick Summary:
Date Tested: 01/29/2022
In this review, I test the Precious Mineral Etude House SPF30 PA++ sunscreen using my UV testing station. This specific formulation has good viscosity which is neither too runny or too thick, it applies easily and evenly. It is a BB cream which stands for beauty balm, but could also mean blemish balm, or blemish base. Whatever term you prefer, it is a foundation alternative which provides some form of SPF protection. The Precious Mineral Etude House I tested is a hybrid based formula which aims to provide sun protection by utilizing titanium dioxide and Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate. It looks like this sunscreen has been discontinued by the manufacturer as I cannot find any real information about its ingredients and specific formula.
Unfortunately, I cannot really tell the specific % volume for either of the active ingredients as I cannot read the packaging or find any real information on the internet. Despite this, the product did reduce the UV Index by 89.33%, UVA irradiance by 89.46%, and the UVB irradiance by 87.24%. Just for its UV protection, I found it quite effective!
Precious Mineral Etude House SPF30 PA++ ingredients
While I cant find much specific info on this particular bottle. I did find information on the SPF50/PA+++ product. I list the ingredients for it below:
Active ingredients: Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide
Inactive ingredients: WATER / AQUA / EAU, TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891), PHENYL TRIMETHICONE, ZINC OXIDE (CI 77947), BUTYLENE GLYCOL, DIMETHICONE, BUTYLENE GLYCOL DICAPRYLATE/DICAPRATE, CYCLOPENTASILOXANE, DIPROPYLENE GLYCOL, TITANIUM DIOXIDE (NANO), BUTYLOCTYL SALICYLATE, CETYL PEG/PPG-10/1 DIMETHICONE, METHYL TRIMETHICONE, GLYCERIN, NIACINAMIDE, SODIUM CHLORIDE, ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE, IRON OXIDES (CI 77492), STEARIC ACID, DISTEARDIMONIUM HECTORITE, BEESWAX / CERA ALBA / CIRE D’ABEILLE, SORBITAN ISOSTEARATE, POLYGLYCERYL-4 ISOSTEARATE, DIMETHICONE/VINYL DIMETHICONE CROSSPOLYMER, HEXYL LAURATE, CETYL DIMETHICONE, BIS-DIGLYCERYL POLYACYLADIPATE-2, WATER / AQUA / EAU (MINERAL WATER), PANTHENOL, POLYMETHYLSILSESQUIOXANE, TRIETHOXYCAPRYLYLSILANE, TRIETHYL CITRATE, IRON OXIDES (CI 77491), SODIUM BENZOATE, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, DIISOSTEARYL MALATE, VINYL DIMETHICONE/METHICONE SILSESQUIOXANE CROSSPOLYMER, SILICA, FRAGRANCE / PARFUM, POLYHYDROXYSTEARIC ACID, PORTULACA OLERACEA EXTRACT, POTASSIUM SORBATE, DISODIUM EDTA, HYDROXYETHYLCELLULOSE, IRON OXIDES (CI 77499), ADENOSINE, ISOPROPYL PALMITATE, ETHYLHEXYL PALMITATE, ISOSTEARIC ACID, LECITHIN, POLYGLYCERYL-3 POLYRICINOLEATE, ZINC GLUCONATE, PEARL POWDER, MOTHER OF PEARL, PEARL EXTRACT, PENTYLENE GLYCOL, 1,2-HEXANEDIOL, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL
Manufacturers Website: www.etude.com
Etude House BB cream SPF30/PA++ characteristics at a glance:
- Broad Spectrum (has SPF30 and PA++ ratings)
- Utilizes both Physical and Chemical sunscreens
- BB Cream
- Comes in a variety of colors
- Used as a makeup foundation and also acts as a sunscreen and moisturizer
Prepared slide ready for testing
The viscosity of the sunscreen is good. However, the dispersion and coverage of the titanium dioxide is pretty terrible. In the prepared slide you can actually see how badly the physical blocking particles clump together without dispersing evenly. This means that most of the UV blocking effectiveness of this test is going to come from the chemical active ingredient.
Below are the results from 2 hours of testing in my UV testing station.
Precious Mineral Etude House B.B. Cream Blooming Fit UV blocking test results
Ultraviolet light quick reference:
UVA: The Ultraviolet wavelength from 315nm – 400nm. The “Aging UV light” – Causes wrinkles.
UVB: The Ultraviolet wavelength from 280nm – 315nm. The “Bad UV light” – Causes skin cancer.
UVI: The global sun UV index. The more a sunscreen can reduce the level of UVI, the better.
Etude house BB cream SPF30 PA++ sunscreen test results:
Ultraviolet sensor readings:
| Before Sunscreen | After Sunscreen | % UV Blocked | |
| TEMP | 77.45 | 77.10 | |
| UVA | 25672 | 2705.5 | 89.46% |
| UVB | 1314.5 | 167.75 | 87.24% |
| UVI | 15.06 | 1.61 | 89.33% |
Want to know more about how I test sunscreen? Head here to read about the details.
Testing notes:
The item seems to be discontinued, which is not surprising given the poor dispersion of the physical UV blocking active ingredient (Titanium Dioxide). All the heavy lifting for UV protection seems consistent with chemical based sunscreens. As such I can see why Etude House would discontinue the product and replace it with an SPF50 PA+++ version. Despite the bad dispersion of the physical active ingredient, this BB cream actually provides decent sun protection. In fact, it blocked almost 90% of the UV irradiance during testing. I’m actually pretty surprised given my bad first impressions when creating the sunscreen test sample.
I am interested in getting a hold of the newer product offering from Etude House which states a SPF50/PA+++ rating to see whether or not it does better than this SPF30/PA++ product.