Avene Mineral Cream SPF 50

I was complaining to my dermatologist about how greasy Vanicream SPF60 Sensitive Skin Sunscreen is and how I've suffered through more than one year of thick sunscreen that without which a good dusting of loose powder to save it, my face would be a grease and dirt ball by the end of the day. Vanicream is hands-down a very effective sun protection product and also one of the most delicately-formulated sunscreens in the market, but I simply can no longer stand the icky sticky feeling and the need to powder every day. She sighed, and prescribed me this: Avene Mineral Cream SPF 50, a physical sunblock (works by deflecting UV rays using only titanium dioxide or zinc, or combination of both) not for hypersensitive skin, but for intolerant skin (note: even fussier than hypersensitive). Ok, I get the picture. She tells me that my skin can only tolerate two sunscreens -- if not Vanicream, then the Avene Mineral Cream. We shall see about that!

The intolerant skin range of Avene sunblocks comes in white, where their regular line for sensitive skin is in orange boxes.

The description is very clear about this being chemical-free and fragrance-free, and that it is a high protection product for intolerant skin.

The product is housed in a tube with a flip-top cover. The packaging style and design is typical Avene - minimalist and of good quality. 

The back portion states it contains 50ml, which is quite generous. But if you see the product pamphlet and the amount it instructs to put on each body part, you'll be surprised and wonder whether the entire tube can even last a single application. For example, the entire face requires a strip as long as 3/4 of one's pointy finger. Now, that's quite a lot for sunblock on the face. The other parts of the body require twice or thrice as much product. 

Open Sesame!

The sunscreen is thick and creamy, but because it contains silicones, it dries down to a smooth finish. The texture is not as dry as most Japanese sunscreens, but it certainly feels more matte than greasy Vanicream. The first time I used this in humid Singapore, my skin soaked it up so beautifully I didn't even need to put powder on. The peachy tint settled into a white cast which immediately dissipated to provide a glowy coverage that is almost near my skin tone. An SA even stopped me to ask what I put on and she was surprised when she heard this was the only product. The horror came when I used this in Manila, where it is hot and dry. My skin did not like the moisture this provided; it only reacted in an oily mess. I tried to powder on top of it, which controlled the oil production for some time, but after two hours my entire face was a greaseball. I can say my powdered skin looked even oilier with Avene Mineral Cream SPF 50 than Vanicream SPF 60.

Here it is blended out. You can see the beautiful coverage it provides. It is very gentle on the skin (although I can feel the silicones indeed). When spread out, the product feels like a light cream, spreading easily. One thing to note is that after 1.5 months of using this, my pores around the cheeks were clogged. So, if you are prone to clogged pores, I don't advise this as an every day sunblock. Also, I wouldn't recommend this to very dark skin tones since this does leave a peachy pink cast. 

A closer look.

The ingredients list is listed above. Overall, this sunblock provides superb protection against sun's extreme rays while being gentle on the skin. However, this can only work for dry to very dry skin types or those who live in very humid or cold climates. Alternately, this can be used by any skin type for outdoor or swimming / beach activities as it is waterproof. Incidentally, Singapore is the cheapest place to buy Avene products, since it is the chief distributor of the brand in Asia. I got mine there for P600++ cheaper than I if I had bought it here in Manila. Shoutout to Avene fans: stock up when you visit the Lion City.