In this post I’ll review Odacité’s SPF50 Mineral Drops Sunscreen in the ‘sheer’ shade.
This year I’ve had my old favourite sunscreen discontinued, much to my disappointment. Unfortunately I’ve also been dealing with perioral dermatitis and, following advice from my dermatologist, sticking to all-mineral sunscreens as they’re less likely to irritate the perioral dermatitis.
She also advised that mineral sunscreens are generally better for those who are acne prone. The real challenge I’ve come up against is finding a mineral sunscreen that:
a) Is *actually* mineral – most ‘mineral’ sunscreens contain a hidden, unofficial chemical filter known as butyloctyl salicylate that can also irritate skin. Because it unofficial, most brands either don’t know it’s there or don’t have to report it.
b) Doesn’t look, feel and smell absolutely awful!
c) Doesn’t break me out
If you’re reading this post I’m sure you are already familiar with B and C! After receiving the sheer shade and a few of the lighter shades from the brand directly (gifted) I was quite excited by some of the good reviews online and decided to try the product out.
UV filters
This SPF uses 12% zinc oxide and no chemical filters, thankfully. No sneaky butyloctyl salicylate!
Shade selection
For a tinted mineral SPF, I feel that Odacité have done quite a good job with their shade selection. Usually the brand will claim their lightest shade “disappears” into darker skin tones, but in reality they just haven’t been considered at all and it’s chalky as ever.
Odacité have created several shades, including a few deep tones. This is rare for a mineral SPF from what I’ve seen.
As for the lighter shades, I tried 01 and 02 on the back of my hand. 01 seemed far too light whereas 02 seemed very orangey. I would be somewhere in the middle and don’t want to get into the business of mixing the two together, so I went for the sheer. Personally I prefer invisible formulas anyway.
They say that the shade should ‘flex’ to your skin tone, but personally I couldn’t see that happening at all when I tested it on the back of my hand. It looked very unappealing if I’m honest, maybe I should give the 01 another go!
White cast and finish
I tried the SPF about three times in the space of a few weeks, and by the third time I had decided that I definitely did not like the finish. The first time I tried it I quite liked it, but for some reason the next two times it just did not sit nicely on my skin for the following reasons:
- Obvious white cast. For a very pale person I usually don’t mind a white cast, but this was very noticeable on me.
- The SPF didn’t play nicely with my moisturiser, which I’m not willing to ditch or change. On application it was flaking and pilling.
- I would dab some concealer over the top and by the end of the day it looked very obvious and …crusty. My skin was quite hydrated so I believe this was the SPF.
By now you’re probably beginning to understand what my end conclusions are for this SPF.
The overall finish is definitely dewy and glowy. It feels oilier during application than it does when it’s on your skin for the day, but if you’re looking for a matte or satin finish, this definitely isn’t for you.
Acne and rosacea suitability
The main thing that attracted me to trying this SPF was the INCI list and its potential, based on the formula. It’s free from all of the things I usually avoid in an SPF:
- Alcohol free
- Essential oil free
- Fragrance free
- Silicone free
I didn’t see any obvious breakouts when I used this product, but I did notice that the left side of my face (where I tested the product) overall had slightly worse texture after a few days of use. When I stopped using it, the texture cleared up somewhat.
Even though I don’t think this SPF is right for me, it still didn’t outright break me out, which is rare! Therefore, I could be tempted to try out the light shades as a foundation for a wedding abroad, for example, just for a day.
We also know that what breaks us out is unique to everyone, so if you do like a dewy finish and want to try this product I’d encourage others to try it out by patching testing it like I did.
Other active ingredients
The Odacité SPF50 Mineral Drops do also contain a few ingredients you might want to be aware of:
- Niacinamide
- Green tea extract
I personally like niacinamide but I know its not everyone’s favourite. Green tea extract has a similar effect as niacinamide, in theory it can control sebum production and also acts as an antioxidant.
Final conclusions
Overall I decided that the Odacité SPF50 Mineral Drops are not for me. If I don’t enjoy the way it looks on my skin, I don’t really want to keep on using it. I do wonder if the tinted shades pill less on the skin, perhaps, but I’m not really curious to try! I will probably save them for a special occasion to see if they work better for that wedding abroad.. maybe.
I am impressed by the shade selection, but really that’s about it! In conclusion, these were a miss from me.
This was a review of the Odacité SPF50 Mineral Drops. You may also like: