The Sunscreen Project, Part 21

My next sunscreen in line to be reviewed is Origins A Perfect World SPF 25 Age-Defense Moisturizer with White Tea (1.7oz).

Source: I received two bottles of this at Sephora and Origins (separate shop) on Earth Day last year. There was a special promotion where you could recycle a bottle of one of your used-up beauty products (including shampoo, haircare, etc) and receive a 1.7 oz of either this or another moisturizer. I decided to go for two products with spf due to my concerns about Texas sun.

Ingredients (taken from NIH's DailyMed site):


Active ingredients Purpose
avobenzone 3.00% Sunscreen
octisalate 5.00% Sunscreen
octocrylene 2.70% Sunscreen

Inactive ingredients: 

water; citrus aurantium amara (bitter orange) flower water, anthemis nobilis (chamomile) flower water ∙ butyloctyl salicylate ∙ ethyl macadamiate ∙ methyl trimethicone jojoba esters ∙ butylene glycol ∙ lauryl peg-9 polydimethylsiloxyethyl dimethicone ∙ peg-100 stearate ∙ glyceryl stearate ∙ citrus aurantium bergamia (bergamot) fruit oil1, citrus medica limonum (lemon) peel oil1, citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) oil1, cinnamomum camphora (camphor) bark oil1, mentha viridis (spearmint) leaf oil1, magnolia acuminata flower extract, iris pallida (orris) root extract, rosa damascena (rose) extract, citral, linalool, limonene ∙ camellia sinensis (white tea) leaf extract ∙ pinus pinaster bark/bud extract ∙ arabidopsis thaliana extract ∙ ascorbyl tocopheryl maleate ∙ oryzanol ∙ ergothioneine ∙ triticum vulgare (wheat) germ extract ∙ hordeum vulgare (barley) extract ∙ cholesterol ∙ caffeine ∙ mangifera indica (mango) seed butter ∙ butyrospermum parkii (shea butter) ∙ potassium cetyl phosphate ∙ cetyl alcohol ∙ ethylhexylglycerin ∙ linoleic acid ∙ squalane ∙ sodium hyaluronate ∙ caprylyl glycol ∙ dehydroxanthan gum ∙ silica ∙ ammonium acryloyldimethyltaurate/vp copolymer ∙ citric acid ∙ sodium stearate ∙ sodium dehydroacetate ∙ phenoxyethanol ∙ mica <iln36381>



Seeing that Origins is a company that prides itself on using "natural" ingredients, the schlew of oils and other extracts is not surprising.

Once again, here are the qualifications I look for in a sunscreen:

• Preferably inorganic (derived from zinc oxide or titanium oxide)
• At least SPF30 coverage (following US FDA recommendations)
• Doesn't break me out or give me a rash
• Preferably does not give me a white cast
• Does not contain oxybenzone or retinyl palmitate (future article coming out soon)
• Is affordable

Now, let's see how this sunscreen did.

Pros:

• No white cast
• No oxybenzone or retinyl palmitate
• Provides both UVA and UVB ray coverage (active ingredients include avobenzone, octisalate, and octocrylene)
• Provides the highest level of avobenzone possible, as allowed by US FDA guidelines (3%)

Neutrals:

• Uses organic sunscreen ingredients (listed active ingredients)

Cons:

• "Comedogenic-ness": When I first tried out this sunscreen, I applied it directly to my face. Not surprisingly, with all of the essential oils and extracts, I broke out. However, afterward, I decided to apply it just to my neck, and it was fine - no more breakouts.
• Price: This product sells for $39.50 (1.7 oz) on Sephora.com. Definitely very very pricey.
• Lower SPF coverage (SPF 25)

Overall, while I am definitely very thankful for my two tubes of product, I do not think I will purchase the product. It is definitely very pricey and there definitely seem to be cons that in some ways outweigh the pros.

An additional shout-out: To my best friend (who also got the sunscreen from the same promotion): What is your opinion of it? Lemme know via the comments, Skype, in person, or something!

Source: 1