Juice Beauty SPF 30 Tinted Moisturizer Review

There are three things you should know about me when it comes to sun and sunscreen:

I LOVE the sun
I’m totally OCD about sunscreen- I wear sunscreen all year, on any exposed skin, even when it’s cloudy
I’m always trying new natural and organic sunscreens to find the holy grail (kind of like jeans)

I avoid chemical sunscreen because I know my skin absorbs 60% of what I put on it, and most regular sunscreens have ingredients that mutate cells, are carcinogenic, toxic etc. But while I only buy oxybenzone free natural sunscreens, I really hate having white gooey mineral sunscreen on my skin that makes me even paler than I am and coats me in a zombie like doughy film.

I want to look dewy, not doughy. My skin is a pale yellowish porcelain olive tone, like a Bobbi Brown Sand (see below pic). So usually if its mineral sunscreen, it has to be micronized or nano particles not to look so white, which is not ideal, but I’ll be honest, I’d rather have that compromise than ghost white sunscreen. I want sunscreen to be safe, natural, feel and look good, apply smoothly and smell nice, reminding me of beach vacation when let’s face it, it’s another staycation and I’m running around in Manhattan pollution.

Seriously I have tried dozens of compatible sunscreens out there. I’ve spent dozens of hours online, reading reviews, combing through EWG’s database (a must for research-prone natural beauty product junkies like me), bought bottles of sprays, lotions, powders, everything. So yes, consider me LivLuna’s Natural Beauty Product Expert with a Master’s in Sunscreen.

So onto my review –Juice Beauty SPF 30 Tinted Mineral Moisturizer in Sand. I bought this product after I was asked to guest blog for Birchbox and realized it was an organic beauty brand they carried, but I had never tried. So one day at Whole Foods, I tried the tester thinking oh yeah let’s see how ghostly white this will make my skin, and was surprised that though totally organic, and mineral, and not nano particled, the tinted moisturizer was transparent, not pallor-inducing, and instead of some weird orange color, it gave my skin a fresh infusion of glow. I bought it on the spot, and have been using it every day since.

What I love about this tinted sunscreen is that the tint does not give me a weird unnatural or mismatched color, but rather boosts and freshens my own skin tone. It gives me an amazing dewy glow – seriously it makes my skin look pretty awesome, and the sheer coverage it does give has the effect of evening out my skin tone and imperfections, so I can use much less concealer. PERFECT, as I like to keep my makeup simple, especially in the summer, but at the same time have imperfections like thin skin, broken capillaries, scars, dark undereyes etc that I want to smooth out. Plus the tint is light enough that I could use this in the winter when I’m even paler. (—> for reference, here’s a close up pic of my pale skintone without self tanner).

The smell is delicious, like some fresh apple juice, yet it’s natural, not a chemical fragrance. And it’s UVA and UVB protection, which you need. Plus it has the perfect amount of hydration, and a super consistency- not too thick and greasy you have to rub it in, and not too light. It says on the tube that you need to shake and knead it to make sure there’s no seperation- no problem whatsoever. I smooth this on after washing, toning, and face oil, and I’m set for the day – unless I forget my hat and am in the sun, in which case I reapply.

Now I just need to find the perfect *natural* sunscreen for my body, and for running etc (my current faves rank 5 out of 10 on EWG’s sunscreen list, so not ideal). Also I need lip balm that is clear or tinted with natural sunscreen, rather than chemical nastiness – hate white lip balm, so uncool 🙁