I have heard stories before about Asian sunscreens being superior to European ones, but I have not really paid attention before since in my country tanning is popular and staying white is lame. Although the awareness of risks of being exposed to Sun has been increasing for the past decade, I would still say European countries are not so Sun-o-phobic as East Asian ones.
Drugstore sunscreens in my country (Croatia) range from as low SPF as 6-8 (for improved tanning) to 30, although there are some 50+ ones too, but they are generally more expensive. I find the increased price per SPF number ridiculous! Furthermore, even those with 50+ factor are based on chemical filters (avobezone) – Zinc Oxide ones are basically non-existant, while there are some children sunscreens based on mineral filters such as Titanium Dioxide, but since they lack Zinc Oxide the UVA protection is low (I will write a review on the one I bought later) and they are basically useless because of their inability to blend and white cast they leave. So, finding a right sunscreen even for beach here is difficult, let alone one that can serve as make-up primer. Since most of my make-up contains mineral UV filters, 99% of drugstore face UV creams available in Croatia are of no use since mineral filters and avobenzone don’t go together.
Knowing that Asian sunscreens are more versatile, both in terms of protection (high SPF) and make-up base, that’s why I decided to find cheap Korean version. Etude House is one of my most favourite Korean brands so I opted for their Sun Prise line released this spring/summer.
Sun Prise line consists of 3 sunscreen categories: those intended for everyday use, those intended for beach and sports (water and sand resistant) and those that serve as make-up base. Obviously, the Natural Corrector version is intended to serve as a primer – it is called Natural Corrector since it is of slightly pinkish tone which helps to conceal redness (not as powerful as a real concealer though).
(you see the pinkish tone on my hand?)
As you can see, my skin color is quite light (I wear Revlon Colorstay shade Ivory for oily/combination skin, which I think is equivalent to NW15 in MAC. My hair is naturally dark brown though so I do not burn easily. However, since I do not like tanning and want to keep my skin natural color, I like to use sunscreens/bb creams with SPF of at least 30.
Etude House Sun Prise Natural Corrector comes with a very good SPF of 42 and the average PA++. I’d like it to have greater PA protection, but since I intend to use it in fall also I don’t really care that much.
Price was OK, 9 USD online which is almost the same as price in Korea (8500 won).
Active ingredients are Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide, which goes well with almost all BB creams and mineral make-up in general. Zinc Oxide offers full UVA protection – however I have no idea how much percentage they put in this one. Other ingredients are Niacinamide which has anti-inflammatory properties, and lotus, mango, aloe, eucalyptus extracts. You can find full ingredient list here: http://cosdna.com/eng/cosmetic_1bae82787.html
My skin type is combination/oily in summer and combination/dry in winter and acne prone. This product didn’t broke me out. It also doesn’t feel greasy and it is just enough moisturizing, so it is suitable for high temperatures. It absorbs quickly and leaves matte finish. Since it has silicones it serves very well as a primer and it is indeed much easier to blend BB cream/foundation with it. Most Western sunscreens are very greasy and they peel off of skin – this one doesn’t and that’s why I like it.
As you can see on the photo, it blends easily and doesn’t leave a white cast but it brightens the skin just as it advertises (although, my skin is light enough already so it is not really noticable on my hand).
Packaging looks a bit cheap – it could be better but I don’t really care since the price was really good for a sunscreen. I suppose they had to leave something out.
It comes in a 50ml bottle which is OK. I’ve seen less but considering I also apply it to my neck, shoulders and arms/hands, I don’t think it will last too long.
The product is scented but it disappears after a while. It smells like mango, which reminds me of beaches and sea 🙂
Overall rating: 4/5
Everything about this product is great except they could be more generous and make it PA+++. But I think for normal skin PA++ is enough even in summer.
Would I buy this again? Definitely, although I wish to try other Sun Prise products as well (especially the make up base line)
Beauty Gazette 
Zvuči super! 🙂 Za sad sam samo probala Garnier BB kremu i Misshu PC. Moj problem sa BB kremama je moj čudna put, imam dojam da se čak mijenja iz dana u dan, recimo jutros sam si bila blijeda, popodne sam imala osjećaj da sam sva crna, a te kreme su obično dosta svijetle i rozog tona.
Hej, hvala na prvom komentaru 🙂 Zapravo, boja kože pri kraju dana obično malo potamni što zbog oksidacije proizvoda, što zbog toga što se koža “izmori” tijekom dana pa onda potamni. Tako da je normalno da si ujutro nešto bljeđa nego navečer. Što se tamnijih BB krema tiče, osim Misshe imaš nove Etude house Bright Fit u Honey Beige i Sand Beige – to su jedne od najtamnijih. Onda imaš Elishacoy Always Nuddy koja je isto nešto tamnija al kako ima slabije prekrivanje stopi se sa skoro svačijom kožom. Japanske BB kreme znaju biti dosta žute i tamnije od korejskih pa možda da probaš gledati njihove marke? Meni je prijateljica iz Japana rekla kako su i za njih korejske kreme presvijetle. Ako si baš tamna, probaj potražiti južnoazijske (malezijske, indonezijske, indijske) verzije BB kremi – znam da zvuči kao žnj kategorija, ali ne mora biti, i cure iz tih krajeva su opsjednute make-upom.
Hi there thanks for the review, i have been thinking about buying this one. where did you get yours?
Hey, thanks for commenting. I bought mine through Ebay… hm I can’t remember the seller but this same product is available this year too, so no problems in tracking it 🙂
Hi! Thanks for the informative post on this product. I’ve been using it for about a week roughly and will be reviewing it pretty soon. Since your review, have you repurchased this product? Just wondering because I’m loving it and I’m already considering a second purchase. I actually got one for free with my purchase but I gave it to my boyfriend he spends a lot of time in the sun.