The Korean Sunscreen Sticks I Keep In Every Bag
I, famously, lived in LA for years and had a Birkenstock tan that only disappeared when I moved to the Pacific Northwest. Truly, that’s the only thing that did it. Now I apply sunscreen to my feet anytime I’m going out with sandals on, because I am SCARRED. But slathering on sunscreen, then waiting for it to dry, hoping the dog doesn’t lick it off or I wipe it away by putting on my shoes or clothes too soon, was obnoxious. It made it hard to care that I was avoiding the tanlines that shamed me for YEARS. So I got a sunscreen stick. It worked great for a summer, but it wasn’t perfect. I still had to rub it in, because it went on white, and it was less expensive than, say, the Supergoop Glow Stick, but it was still kinda pricey for a tiny stick of sunscreen. I liked it, but I knew I could do better. This year, I went with Korean stick sunscreen, and it’s infinitely better.
In the early spring I placed a big Stylevana order to stock my sunscreen for the summer and beyond. Since it takes a month for Stylevana orders to get to the US, I usually order a lot, and throw in some things that look appealing or I want to try. I got four tubes of Beauty of Joseon sunscreen, plus two mini stick sunscreens: Scinic Enjoy Super Active Airy Sun Stick, and Farm Stay Daily UV Protect Sun Stick. I chose them becuase they were cheap and I didn’t know if I’d like them, but now that I’ve used them for a few months I am obsessed, and might splurge for the Beauty of Joseon sun stick next time.
They go on like nothing, but have the super duper sun protection that you can only get from an East Asian sunscreen. I was going to do a side by side comparison, but you cannot see these sunscreens on you skin. Immediately they absorb and are basically GONE. No scent, no white cast, nothing to rub in or accidentally off. I carry one in my bag now, in case I find myself out and about and have forgotten to ‘screen. I think I may become one of those pulled together people who puts sunscreen on the backs of their hands, these sticks make sun protection so, so easy.
