La Roche-Posay Tinted Mineral Sunscreen Review 2021 | Mineral, reef-friendly sunscreen
The Top Line: Not a buy. While the consistency is great (very lightweight) and it generally blends pretty well — the tinted nature of La Roche-Posay’s Tinted Mineral Sunscreen helps — it does have a bit of a “greyish” undertone. But what we really didn’t like — there’s a kind of chemical smell to it that we really didn’t like, and a number of ingredients that were flagged by EWG as less safe. Finally, there’s the price, it is pretty darn pricey as it is to be used for the face only. We’re pretty disappointed as this sunscreen is on many “top mineral sunscreen” lists in magazines!
The Breakdown:
Cost & Products: $33.50 for 1.7fl oz on Amazon
How ‘Clean’ Is This? The big thing here is the reef friendly, non-toxic ingredients. Chemicals commonly found in sunscreen cause permanent DNA damage to coral. Key here is to look for biologically toxic chemicals such as oxybenzone, paraben, phthalate, and avobenzone. However, there are a number of ingredients that we are concerned about based on what we found on EWG.org (more on this below).
Packaging: Unfortunately does come in a plastic container.
Purchasing & Shipping: I purchased on Amazon.
Good to know: Relatively easy to blend and lightweight for a mineral sunscreen!
The Experience
Context: As an expecting mom, I have been on the hunt for the best mineral sunscreen and have tried a few (more reviews to come!). Most of the “top recommended” mineral sunscreens I have been able to find online from other articles have been very disappointing - I had almost given up on finding a good mineral sunscreen!
Very blendable and light weight, though I felt there was a slight ‘greyish’ cast to it
It is technically unscented but I found it to smell a bit chemical
I have combination oily and dry skin on my face, and have not gotten any breakouts from using this sunscreen
Since it is tinted (and pricey) you would only use on your face and need a separate sunscreen for body
There are some questionable ingredients (per EWG): DIMETHICONE, DIMETHICONE PEG 10/ 15 CROSSPOLYMER, PEG-9 POLYDIMETHYLSILOXYETHYL DIMETHICONE and PHENOXYETHANOL
Overall, we’re happy that its not chalky and is blendable, but some of the other aspects of our experience gives us pause on this product.
The Cost
We compared La Roche-Posay’s Tinted Mineral Sunscreen with other Mineral SPFs on the market and found the price to be pretttty darn high.
We calculated the Annual Price by assuming 1/2 teaspoon for your face and neck daily, or 30.4oz over the course of a year. We did not take into account use of product on body.
Money Report: Ouch this is $$$$! 🤑🤑🤑
The Good:
✔ Blendable and lightweight
✔ Tinted mineral sunscreen
✔ No breakouts (even on combination oily and dry sensitive skin)
The Bad:
✗ Comes in a plastic bottle
✗ Smells slightly chemical
✗ Bit of a greyish cast (but generally blended out)
✗ Questionable ingredients (per EWG): DIMETHICONE, DIMETHICONE PEG 10/ 15 CROSSPOLYMER, PEG-9 POLYDIMETHYLSILOXYETHYL DIMETHICONE and PHENOXYETHANOL
✗ Pricey!!!
Our Recommendation:
Not a buy. While the consistency is great (very lightweight) and it generally blends pretty well — the tinted nature of La Roche-Posay’s Tinted Mineral Sunscreen helps — it does have a bit of a “greyish” undertone. But what we really didn’t like — there’s a kind of chemical smell to it that we really didn’t like, and a number of ingredients that were flagged by EWG as less safe. Finally, there’s the price, it is pretty darn pricey as it is to be used for the face only. We’re pretty disappointed as this sunscreen is on many “top mineral sunscreen” lists in magazines!
We're on a mission to reduce our personal carbon footprint with small, hopefully easy, changes in our home to fight against climate change. This means we're looking for products that may be all natural, ideally zero waste, reusable or compostable -- while still being affordable!
