Curél UV Protection Essence SPF 30
49/100 overall score
Sign in to see this product's score for your skin.
About this sunscreen
Curel UV Protection Essence SPF 30 is a pure mineral sunscreen relying on Titanium Dioxide alone. It wears with a balanced finish, feels lightweight, and may show a moderate white cast on some skin tones, with an okay fit under makeup. It does not sting and is generally low for pore-clogging, making it gentle for sensitive skin. With weak protection and a score of 49.0/100, the single-filter formula is better suited to light, low-exposure days.
Ingredient & SPF scores
☀️
UV protection
Weak
20
- +31.4 Titanium Dioxide at #4, UV filter (UVA1 +4.8)
- ×0.6 Almost no UVA1, poor aging protection
- +1 Label claims (SPF 30)
👻
White cast
Medium
54
- +100 Starting score
- −35 Titanium Dioxide at #4
- −15 Pure mineral formula
- +3.5 Coated minerals (Aluminum Hydroxide)
🪨
Heavy feel
Low
82
- +100 Starting score
- −16 Titanium Dioxide at #4
- −2 Petrolatum at #22, heaviest occlusive
🍄
Fungal acne
Medium
68
- +100 Starting score
- −30 2 polysorbate/sorbitan emulsifiers that feed Malassezia (Polysorbate 60, Sorbitan Stearate)
- −2 1 ubiquitous fatty ingredients (Stearic Acid), weak Malassezia signal
👕
Fabric stains
Low
90
- +100 Starting score
- −10 Titanium Dioxide at #4, white marks, worst on dark fabric (washable)
💧
Moisture
Balanced
LightNourishing
- → 2 Humectant polyols
- → 0.5 1 fatty-alcohol emollients (Stearyl Alcohol)
✨
Finish
Balanced
MatteDewy
- ← 2 1 dry-touch emollients reduce greasy shine (Isononyl Isononanoate)
- → 1 Occlusives seal moisture in (Petrolatum)
💄
Makeup base
Okay
PillsPrimer
- → 3 Primer-style base, volatile silicones and dimethicone slip
- → 2 Dry-touch esters, smooth fast-absorbing base
- ← 0.5 Gel polymers prone to pilling under friction (Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer)
- ← 1 Occlusives/waxes float the foundation
- ← 6 High mineral load at #4 greys under foundation
🌊
Water resistance
Not resistant
Non-water-resistantWater-resistant
Nothing flagged in the ingredient list.
How we rate water resistance →Full ingredient list (27)
What each ingredient does and how it moves each rating: green helps, red hurts, ↑ / ↓ give the direction, and ← / → shift a slider toward its ends (finish, moisture, makeup base). Auto-derived from our scoring rules and the ingredient's position.
-
Soothing, skin-conditioning active
-
2 Water
Solvent base, the water phase
-
Humectant, pulls water into the skin
- 2 → nourishing humectant polyol
-
Mineral UV filter (Titanium Dioxide)
- ↑ 31.4 UV protection, incl. long-UVA (UVA1)
- ↑ 10 white marks, worst on dark fabric (washable)
- pills ← 6 High mineral load greys under foundation
-
Emollient, softens and smooths skin
- matte ← 2 dry-touch emollient, anti-shine
-
Emollient, softens and smooths skin
-
Botanical extract
-
Emollient, softens and smooths skin
-
Emollient, softens and smooths skin
-
Humectant, pulls water into the skin
-
Fatty alcohol, an emollient and thickener, not the drying kind
- 0.5 → nourishing fatty-alcohol emollient
-
Emulsifier, keeps oil and water blended
- ↑ 18 feeds malassezia
-
Supporting ingredient
-
Emulsifier, keeps oil and water blended
- ↑ 12 feeds malassezia
-
15 Stearic Acid
Emollient, softens and smooths skin
- ↑ 2 minor malassezia feeder
-
Emollient, softens and smooths skin
-
Supporting ingredient
-
Botanical extract
-
Preservative, keeps the formula from spoiling
-
20 Hydroxide K
pH adjuster
-
Thickener and texture, structures the gel or cream
-
22 Petrolatum
Occlusive, seals moisture into the skin
- ↑ 2 heaviest occlusive
- 1 → dewy occlusive
-
Supporting ingredient
-
24 Tromethamine
pH adjuster
-
25 PEG-400
Emulsifier, keeps oil and water blended
-
26 Agar
Thickener and texture, structures the gel or cream
-
Chelator, binds stray metal ions to keep the formula stable
Does Curel UV Protection Essence leave a white cast?
It may show a moderate white cast on some skin tones, since it relies on Titanium Dioxide alone. Blending it in helps reduce the look.
Is the Curél UV Protection Essence SPF 30 good for sensitive skin?
It is gentle for sensitive skin. It does not sting, feels lightweight and is generally low for pore-clogging.
Is the Curél UV Protection Essence SPF 30?
It scores 49.0/100 with weak protection, a low result. The single-filter formula is better for light, low-exposure days than strong sun.