- Release Date
- 2020.2.20
- Size
- 60g
- Brand
- COUTUREUP
- Producer
- ISEHAN Co.
- Product Type
- Sunscreen
- Price
- ¥2,600
- SPF・PA
- SPF50+·PA++++
- UV Filter(s)
- Zinc Oxide & Titanium Dioxide.
The product has been replaced or discontinued as of February 2023.
COUTUREUP Essence Cream UV is a moisturising Japanese sunscreen cream.
The sunscreen has a rich cream formula that is specially formulated to protect sensitive, dry skin without the use of UV absorbers, fragrance, alcohol, mineral oil, parabens, or synthetic colourants. It is renewed to better moisturise skin than the previous original formula released in 2016. A blend of 3 types of hyaluronic acid, 2 types of collagen, plant-based ceramide, and 7 skin-soothing herbal extracts deeply replenishes skin’s moisture to prevent dryness.
Ideally suited for everyday activities, the sunscreen cream provides long-lasting protection against daily UV exposure while creating a smooth base for better makeup application.
- For the face and body.
- Resistant to water and sweat.
- Can be used as a makeup base.
- Removable with a face wash or body soap.
Ingredient(s): Alcohol-Free Collagen Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate Fragrance-Free Hyaluronic Acid Physical UV Filters Only
Skin Type(s): Dry Skin Sensitive Skin
UV Protection: Everyday Wear PA++++
Water,, cylopentasiloxane,, zinc oxide,, propylene glycol,, triethylhexanoin,, methyl methacrylate crosspolymer,, sodium chloride,, PEG-9 dimethicone,, titanium dioxide,, dimethicone,, dipotassium glycyrrhizate,, sodium acetylated hyaluronate,, sodium hyaluronate,, hydrolyzed collagen,, hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid,, coix lacryma-jobi ma-yuen seed extract,, soluble collagen,, glucosyl ceramide,, ratzillacosme.com do.not.copy,, chamomilla recutita (matricaria) flower extract,, hypericum perforatum flower/leaf/stem extract,, calendula officinalis flower extract,, tilia cordata flower extract,, centaurea cyanus flower extract,, anthemis nobilis flower extract,, disteardimonium hectorite,, hydrogen dimethicone,, PEG-9 polydimethylsiloxyethyl dimethicone,, aluminum hydroxide,, isotearic acid,, butylene glycol,, alpha-glucan.
「クチュールアップ エッセンスクリームUV M」の全成分：水、シクロペンタシロキサン、酸化亜鉛、ＰＧ、トリエチルヘキサノイン、メタクリル酸メチルクロスポリマー、塩化Ｎａ、ＰＥＧ－９ジメチコン、酸化チタン、ジメチコン、グリチルリチン酸２Ｋ、アセチルヒアルロン酸Ｎａ、ヒアルロン酸Ｎａ、加水分解コラーゲン、加水分解ヒアルロン酸、ハトムギ種子エキス、水溶性コラーゲン、グルコシルセラミド、カミツレ花エキス、セイヨウオトギリソウ花／葉／茎エキス、トウキンセンカ花エキス、フユボダイジュ花エキス、ヤグルマギク花エキス、ローマカミツレ花エキス、ジステアルジモニウムヘクトライト、ハイドロゲンジメチコン、ＰＥＧ－９ポリジメチルシロキシエチルジメチコン、水酸化Ａｌ、イソステアリン酸、ＢＧ、α－グルカン
I tried this product and it’s the best sunscreen I have ever tried! No white cast, blurs the imperfections and makes your skin bright even after washing due to licorice root. It’s good both for winter and summer and I think would be suitable for all skin types. The only negative is I can’t find in stores here in most of the stores here in Tokyo or online and I need to ride a long distance by subway to be able to buy it.
Hi, Ratzila!
I am interested in the CoutureUp Essence Cream UV. I was wondering does this leave a white cast? How does it compare to the &free Sensitive UV Cream as I believe they are both from the same brand Isehan?
Thank you
I haven’t tried it. I’d assume it’s fairly comparable to &free Sensitive UV Cream since they’re made by the same company. This has a very similar formula but with more bells and whistles.
Thank you for your answer. I’ll buy this Coutureup as soon as it becomes available on ebay or on other online shop. Hopefully it’ll happen very soon.
Hi, Ratzilla! Does it leave white cast? Is it elegant to wear? I have dermatitis so there isn’t a wide choice in sunscreens for me.
What do you think, does this sunscreen protect better than purito unscented or dear clair’s sunscreens?
They all are 50++++ but I guess Coutureup provied better protection?
Thank you
I haven’t tried this. Personally, I’m wary of Korean sunscreens in general so they’re not something I’d rely on. I’ve heard of the two brands you mentioned but I don’t know anything about their products.
Why are you wary or Korean sunscreens? If you or someone else has written about this already can you provide a link? Thanks!
Not just sunscreens, but their skincare products in general due to their lax regulations and laws on cosmetic ingredients and labelling (when compared to Japan and EU). I find it hard to trust the info (especially ingredients) provided — even if they’re from the manufacturers themselves. I’ve seen way too many glaring discrepancies and deliberate omission in the ingredient lists to believe whatever product info that is provided. It bothers me is that they can’t write a proper ingredient list. For e.g., it’s impossible for so many Korean products to lack water, solvents, and preservatives on the label. What is holding those extracts together and keeping harmful bacteria at bay? Magic? I think it’s kinda shady because if they shove this fact under the rug, what else they lie about?
While Korea does use in-vivo ISO 24444 & ISO 24442/3 test methods for sunscreens, it isn’t mandatory. Companies aren’t legally required to follow them. That’s completely fine but then the sunscreen’s trustworthiness completely depends on the manufacturer. If companies don’t even adhere to international standards with their ingredient lists, I personally find it very hard to trust the UV labels of their sunscreens.
Thank you for the information! I also prefer the more stringent testing of sunscreens. Hopefully this sunscreen will be available online soon
It’s bizarre contradictory that you don’t trust Korean products, yet you continue to use them and even endorse some of them to your readers as “Best Picks”. Why do you use and even recommend products that you find unsafe and untrustworthy?
I don’t trust beauty/personal care products made in China whatsoever but that still didn’t stop me from buying (and loving) Zeesea products.
I don’t find Korean skincare products unsafe in the sense that they are somehow harmful or dangerous. I’m wary of them in general for the reasons I mentioned. Yes, I have shared my thoughts on some Korean skincare products that I personally really like with readers but that doesn’t mean I don’t have my reservations about them. For example, it’s impossible the ingredients lists provided by Sidmool are complete. I have very resilient skin so I’m personally not too concerned about the unlisted solvents/preservatives. Ingredient omissions, however, can pose a serious problem for those that need to avoid certain ingredients due to allergies or sensitivity.
I don’t follow your logic at all whatsoever.
You’ve commented multiple times about how you don’t trust the safety and efficacy of products made in China so why on Earth would you use Chinese cosmetics? Your having very resilient skin makes absolutely no difference – just because a product doesn’t cause an obvious reaction to your skin doesn’t mean that it’s not doing your body any harm.
And on the topic of Korean products – how is it not harmful and dangerous for a company like Purito to be dishonest about the protection provided in their sunscreen? If this oversight was caused by lax Korean standards, then it’s obviously a serious health issue, as people risk sun damage and skin cancer.
It’s really discouraging and disappointing for you to treat this issue flippantly. If you believe products from certain countries shady, unsafe, untrustworthy, etc. then you should not be recommending them to your readers who treat you as an authority on Asian beauty products and are very influenced by your posts! Taking wishy-washy stances and claiming to be suspicious of certain products while openly using and recommending them is very irresponsible, not to mention disingenuous.
I feel my comment is being misconstrued.
My comment about having resilient skin and not finding them unsafe was referring to K-beauty products overall. By “harmful or dangerous”, I meant potentially containing hidden illegal substances that would be a health hazard. I don’t have any sensitivity so I’m not concerned that the small handful of Korean creams and potions that I’ve tried and liked contain more ingredients (specifically solvents and preservatives) that are listed. Should I have kept those products to myself? Perhaps.
I often hear people say that Korean skincare products are superior because they contain more beneficial ingredients and don’t use “filler ingredients”. This, in reality, isn’t true because Korean regulations don’t require cosmetic ingredients to be shown in descending order of weight (KFDA doesn’t require pre-dissolved compounds to be listed as individual components). My wariness with K-beauty mainly stems from this. Comparing products by dissecting formulas and analysing ingredients seem to be a big thing online these days but that cannot be done with products that don’t follow the same cosmetic regulations & labelling standard.
As for the Purito controversy, I did a quick search and it seemed lots of people have been saying this for many months. I think people should also be aware that not all sunscreens labelled SPF50+ are the same. I’ve no issues with creams and lotions, but sunscreen is where I draw the line. I don’t avoid them per se, more that I don’t feel comfortable relying on them.
I should have elaborated on Zeesea, I bought a few palettes solely based on their gorgeous packaging. They look even better IRL than in photos. Quality seems comparable to a lot of Western mid-end brands. I have swatched them on my hands a few times, but my personal bias stopped me from actually using them.
It’s not possible to “misconstrue” your comments when you glaringly omit pertinent information – you said you “bought and loved” Zeesea products, so based on your comment, how exactly is one supposed to know that you bought them only for the packaging and don’t actually use them?
Even for Korean products, how would a reader know that you draw the line at sunscreens when you’ve used and reviewed Korean sunscreens on your site? You say you’re wary of all Korean products, so how would one realize that sunscreens in particular are a no-no for you when you didn’t clearly state that? Even if all SPF 50 sunscreens are different, a user should not expect only SPF 19 protection when properly applying an SPF 50 product!
If you don’t bother to mention relevant information, then you cannot try to hold readers responsible for misunderstanding things that you didn’t actually state.
Please communicate more clearly especially when there are possible dangers and problems when involved in products. Your readers are not mind readers and cannot glean information that you have stated confusingly or not provided. Many people consider you an authority on Asian products and you have always taken absolute and hardline stances on the safety/efficacy or certain products from certain countries, so it’s not encouraging when you backtrack and make contradictory claims, or clarifications that are not obvious or even implied in your previous statements.
And furthermore, “resilient” is not really a useful descriptor and about as useless as when someone describes their skin as “sensitive” because I have no concept of what your skin is resilient toward and no scale for how resilient it is, and it’s always possible to have unknown and unexpected allergies no matter what your skin is like. If you have a bad reaction to a K-beauty product, how will you know what caused it? Will you stop using K-beauty products permanently then? And like I said above, an obvious skin reaction doesn’t necessarily mean a lack of harm to your body.
I only bought up Zeesea as a casual comment — an example that, yes, I’m filled with contradictions like everyone else. The point wasn’t why I bought them — it was the fact that I still happily gave them my money despite all my reservations.
I provided the link to this comment thread in my reply on Twitter simply because it was the most recent on this topic. I’ve actually shared my opinion (some even with links to studies and articles!) on Korean beauty products overall and their sunscreens specifically here on my site and on Twitter countless times over the years!! Considering the attention some have gotten in the past, I think it’s safe to assume most regular readers do know where I stand on K-beauty products — I don’t avoid them but I’m leery.
I do test various Korean products on occasions that have piqued my interest — some of which have been written about in a review — but my opinion never been changed. My site has reviewed just 4 Korean sunscreens (none I recommended for UV protection) in 10 years!!!
Different test methods will give vastly different results. Sunscreens (I’m not referring to Purito) are sometimes falsely accused of not meeting the labelled claims because the testing group chose to use outdated in vitro tests using a UV transmittance analyzer (because it’s the cheapest), which isn’t a reliable method to monitor the effectiveness of sunscreens according to many peer-reviewed studies.
When I say resilient skin, I mean exactly that. It’s strong and resists inflammation/irritation and handles “aggressive” treatments with little to no side effects. I’ve never actually had a negative reaction (e.g. rashes, breakouts) to any cosmetic product — and I’ve tested a lot over the years.