Coola Mineral Face Sunscreen

Coola is an interesting brand. They offer all the good stuff without all the bad in a sunscreen. I was optimistic when I added this to my FunFitFab box as an “add-on”. I saw this brand previously while at Ulta and online, but I always forgot to add it to my cart and purchase it. Which is a signature move of mine when I get distracted.

Let’s take a look at the brand for a moment. They use 70% +n organic ingredients. Non-GMO ingredients. Their slogan is “Farm to Face” and the organic ingredients are third-party USDA accredited. They are cruelty-free, Vegan, Gluten-free, Reef friendly without synthetic fragrances and are antioxidant enriched. They support local communities that follow farming practices that are sustainable. Another interesting point is that the majority of their bottles and jars are made from glass. While the tubes are created with “sustainably sourced sugar-cane resin”. It offers “Plant Protection”, which is taking ingredients that are naturally good for your skin and adding them to the product. As in they are not added chemicals that are added to preserve the product or those that need other chemicals to become “activated”. Ingredients like Avocado Oil, Aloe Leaf and Cocoa Seed Oil.

They follow strict guidelines that excludes:

• No Parabens
• No Pthalates
• No Cyclical Silicones
• No Sulfates (SLS/SLES)
• No Synthetic or Artifical Fragrances
• No EDTA (Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid)
• No Formaldehyde
• No Hydroquinone
• No Lanolin
• No Micro-beads
• No Mineral Oil
• No Palm Oil
• No Petrolatum and Paraffin
• No Polyacrylamide
• No Talc
• No BHA and BHT
• No MIT
• No Phenoyethanol
• No Oxybenzone
• No Octinoxate

What first attracted me to this sunscreen was the fact that it has a matte finish. A matte finish in a sunscreen was highly appealing considering how the humidity affects my skin. I look “dewy” in an hour. A look that some with drier skin covet and those of us that have that natural “dewy” look try to remove it or at least take it down a couple of notches. This sunscreen from Coola offers shine free UVA/UVB protection without all the harmful or questionable ingredients. It is said to be able to double as a primer. Interested? I most certainly was. Anything that makes such claims interest me.

As I held this white squeeze tube of sunscreen, I worried if there would be a smell. I am prone to migraines so this was a normal concern of mine. I took the plunged and opened it. It was not offensive and it did not give me a migraine. The smell was similar to that of other mineral sunscreens. It felt a bit grainy to the touch which was not super appealing, but it smoothed out completely after my skin warmed up the product. After applying it I noticed it did not leave a white cast on my skin. Which always screws with foundation in the worst possible way. It does have light weight coverage. I could barely feel in on my skin even after applying foundation. There are some mineral sunscreens that feel heavy on the skin and applying foundation only makes it feel worse. It makes me feel that I have layers of products on my skin, which I do, but I do not want to feel them all. I want them to meld with my skin and go unnoticed as I go about my day. I’m sure there are others that want the same.

I did not read any reviews before trying it as I wanted to give it a real review without precognitive ideas. Here’s the bad news. The mineral sunscreen gave my skin a “glowy” look to it, which I was not a fan of. It did not feel greasy on my skin. It just appeared “dewy”. It did not control shine on my skin. It did not cause my foundation to break down, but it did give the appearance of being “dewy”. This is only how it worked with my skin. My skin can be quite finicky and refuse to cooperate with some formulas. I did try this as a primer and under my primer. The result was the same. It did not mesh well with my skin. I’ve tried it a few other times to see if it was something I was doing that would create the issues. So far, my skin reacted the same. Please remember, my skin despises the humidity. It makes my skin feel sticky and causes my foundation to melt. There are times I wonder why I bother with foundation at all. If I know I will be out in the heat and humidity for too long, I apply a setting powder over my foundation and hope for the best.

The Good News. I did not have any sort of weird skin reaction. I did not break out. I felt my skin received good coverage from the sun. It did not make my skin feel greasy. That in of itself is a huge plus. Also, it did not make my foundation break down. I felt I was being a better human to myself and the Earth for choosing a product that did not have all of those terrible ingredients in it. Plus the container was made from sugar cane and it 100% recyclable.

Here’s the bad news. The mineral sunscreen gave my skin a “glowy” look to it, which I was not a fan of. The claims that it controlled shine were not true for my skin. I found there was nothing matte about it. This is only how it worked with my skin. My skin can be quite finicky and refuse to cooperate with some formulas. I did try this as a primer and under my primer. The result was the same. It did not mesh well with my skin. I’ve tried it a few other times to see if it was something I was doing that would create the issues. So far, my skin reacted the same.

I cannot say I was not disappointed. However, I always try to keep an open mind because what works for one person may not work for everyone. I did not read any reviews before trying it as I wanted to give it a real review without precognitive ideas. I read a couple of reviews after trying it and it seems the product worked differently before it was reformulated. The previous product before the reformulation is the one I should have tried. At this point, it is what it is. However, I will be looking at the product selection for Coola to find another to try. I believe in what the company does. It all sounds wonderful and I wish more brands would try to go this route. After all, we only have one Earth. We destroyed it and we should save it.