With the sun shining stronger and brighter than ever, you cannot imagine the amount of UV rays your skin can be exposed to if you step out in the sun or even sit near a window. Thank God we have sunscreen to take care of that. But it is important to have the right sunscreen. So, could the Urban Essence Mineral sunscreen be the one for you? Let’s take a look at the review
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Brand Claims and Ingredients
On paper, the Urban Essence mineral sunscreen is a dream-come-true for a UV-phobe like me and many other people. It’s a broad spectrum PA+++ SPF 50 physical sunscreen with 10% non-nano zinc oxide and 3% titanium dioxide; all the best of ingredients to keep your skin protected from the harshest sun rays.
But not just that. The sunscreen also has aloe vera, cucumber, cinnamon, and green tea (in case you are hungry and want a quick snack!). All of these secondary ingredients make the sunscreen watery, moisturizing, and easy to apply. It also has Kojic acid and panthenol (provitamin B5).
For the people who do not know, the reason the brand mentions it has non-nano zinc oxide as nano zinc oxide can get inside the skin and into the blood. You want sunscreen on your face, not in your blood. Here’s something important the brand claims; the sunscreen leaves no white cast.
If you have tried physical sunscreen, you know how bad they are at leaving a cast. So let’s see whether the Urban Essence sunscreen delivered what it promised.
Highlighting Features
- Vegan
- Cruelty Free
- Non Toxic
- Synthetic Fragrance Free
- Synthetic Colour Free
- Non-Comedogenic
- Paraben Free
- Mineral Oil Free
- Non GMO
- Ph Balanced
- Acne Free
- Unsafe Preservatives Free
- Photostable
- Benzophenone Free
- Oxybenzone Free
- Octocrylene Free
- Octylbenzene Free
- Avobenzone Free
- Homosalate Free
- Octinoxate Free
Physical Impression
The box in which the bottle came was decent. The sunscreen comes in a small, while pump-bottle. The quality of the bottle is decent, not great. The pump mechanism could have been better. It does not work properly all the time, especially when you are running low on sunscreen.
The sticker quality on the bottle was terrible. I could have printed a brand label and glued it to the bottle and that would have been better than what the brand did. But none of the matters if the product inside was good.
Coming to the physical impressions of the sunscreen, the Urban Essence mineral sunscreen is unlike every other mineral sunscreen I have tried. It does not feel like one! The consistency of the sunscreen is like thin yogurt; it is watery, lumpy, and exactly the opposite of physical sunscreen. That’s a compliment.
Now that we are done with the compliment, here is the big complaint; the smell of the sunscreen is UNBEARABLE. The sunscreen smells like a mix of garlic and rubber of balloons. Every time I applied the sunscreen, or the other reviews tried, we could not help but retch. The smell is so strong that even if you close your nose, it still gets in.
This could be the only rare instance where I am asking the brand to use fragrance in the skin care product because no one wants to put a thick paste of garlic and balloon.
Application Impression
With all the courage in our hearts, we applied this sunscreen every day for more than a month and while the smell was unbearable and made us want to quit using it, the application impression was not bad at all. Since this mineral sunscreen has a watery consistency, we did not have to rub on our skin to evenly spread the cream.
Watery consistency does not make it a chemical sunscreen that melts on your skin like butter on hot pan. This is still a mineral sunscreen and you can feel that while applying it. Despite rubbing a lot, the sunscreen takes some time to blend. The idea is that the aloe vera, green tea, etc all get absorbed while the zinc oxide and titanium dioxide remain on the skin.
The skin becomes sticky after application. There is a slight white cast that can be more pronounced if your skin shade is darker. The worst problem with the sunscreen was, how to describe it, “pilling.” After some time, the sunscreen on the skin “pills” or forms small pill-like lumps all over the face and it is horrible. More on that in the Cons section.
There was no skin irritation, allergic reaction, burning sensation, etc during our usage of the sunscreen for over a month. Let us give you the review and reviewers’ conditions.
Review Conditions
The reviewers live in a hot, humid area with average temperature while using the product was in the range of 30-35 degree celsius. The air quality index is also not great in the city. The reviewers who tested this product have variety of skin type, ranging from dry, combination, acne-prone, and oily type. None of the reviewers experienced any issue with the product.
We also used moisturizer along with the sunscreen.
Results and Review
Pros
After using the sunscreen for more than a month every day, we can certainly say that when it comes to sun protection, Urban Essence mineral sunscreen works like a charm. It protects your skin very well and the watery texture allows for a better application.
You can be without any worries while wearing this sunscreen. It also does not cause any irritation, allergies, or burning sensation during or after the application. While the skin becomes sticky after application, it also appears to be hydrated, which is the other added benefit.
It comes with other active ingredients as well, adding to the efficacy of the sunscreen in other aspects. Vitamin B5 provides moisturization. Kojic acid improves skin tone and reduces dark spots, while aloe vera, cinnamon, and cucumber soothe and moisturize the skin.
The texture is non-greasy and it mixes well with the skin. After application you will get a sensation of something sticky on your skin, the sensation goes away after a while. The sunscreen works really great. Apart from that, at the time of writing this article, there’s a BOGO sale live on Urban Essence’s website. You can get two sunscreen bottles at the price of one.
Cons
Coming to the cons, the first thing is the smell. We are not exaggerating about how bad the smell is. You can order one for yourself and there is a good chance you would stop using this sunscreen just because of the smell. But smell is not the only con here.
After the application process, there is a good chance that you’d notice pilling on your face with small, white pills all over your face. It can be really embarrassing when you are walking outside, unaware of your face and then a friend or colleague asks “what’s on your face?“
Price and Miscellaneous Information
The Urban Essence Mineral sunscreen costs ₹445 at the time of writing this article. The price is from their official website. On Amazon, you can get it for as low as ₹400. Remember, these prices can fluctuate, so here’s the link to both the website so that you can get the latest prices.
Buy on the Urban Essence Website
Buy on Amazon
Remember to wear sunscreen whenever you are exposed to sun rays and take care of your skin.
