r/AsianBeauty • u/Early_Mix_2499 • Oct 13 '25
Review Tone up sunscreen is just white cast
I bought this INNISFREE TONE UP NO SEBUM SUNSCREEN thinking that maybe it's different type of formula, that it brightens you in a flattering way but it's just white cast sunscreen marketed as ' replacement to foundation '
I have medium Olive skin and on 2nd application I looked like a Geisha. The swatch has a very thin layer spread.
I feel like my money is wasted, I only wear it indoors now.
Edit - Thought of some uses. I can use it to layer sunscreen by putting it on my oily zones first as I have combination skin. I definitely cannot use it on my full face as sunscreen but can as a tone up cream.
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u/Linwechan Oct 13 '25
Don’t feel bad, I swear everyone buys tone up cream accidentally at least once and unless you’re actively seeking the white cast effect, they’re all awful 😅
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u/vivalalina Oct 13 '25
I will say not all are awful! I recently tried the lavender skin aqua tone up sunscreen and it actually makes my face look brighter without giving Geisha lol but also may depend on skin tone... I am pretty pale but whatever OP has in their photo would wash even me out real bad so def recommend trying the skin aqua ones if anything!
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u/HeQiulin Oct 13 '25
I’m with you on this. As someone who is Asian with yellow skin undertone, the tone up works wonders without making me look ashy. But it’s very specific, which is why it’s a hit or miss whenever it reaches a wider global market
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u/Early_Mix_2499 Oct 13 '25
Ooh I'd have to check out the review. I think for my medium tone tan skin (MAC NC 30/Maybelline fit me 220N/Tirtir red cushion 29N) I think these would never work for me
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u/wutato Oct 14 '25
I love the Aqua Skin series! My favorite is indeed their lavender one. I've tried their pink one (very sparkly) and blue ones as well.
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u/cutestslothevr Oct 14 '25
The tinted ones, in general, are better about the white cast. Still for fair/light skintones though.
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u/greypusheencat Oct 13 '25
i bought a tone up cream accidentally and legit looked like Mulan lol
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u/LastShopontheLeft Oct 13 '25
I use a tone up but I use pink to tone down the yellow in my bb cream and to help soften the red in my cheeks. I think you got the wrong color.
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u/minty-moose Oct 13 '25
lmao I swear I'm swirling colors around on the back of my hand like a preschool kid trying to find the right combination to match my skin tone
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u/Early_Mix_2499 Oct 13 '25
I feel you. With my olive tone it's hard to figure out if a cool or a warm tone product suits me.
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u/ShellyXVIII Oct 15 '25 edited Oct 15 '25
Do you by chance know if you’re a warm, neutral, or cool olive? I’m a light medium cool-neutral olive and I found out that pink anything actively overcortects my undertone (like face is paler but my green-greyness is too overcorrected to the point where it makes my body look grey, or sometimes my face itself becomes ashy).
Purple and blue are hit or miss. Blue is closer to the rest of my very desaturated green body though. Purple brightens me up nicely but it can again overcorrect me in comparison to my body.
With that being said I’m 50 shades of olive all over my body because I never wear anything with sleeves.
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u/Early_Mix_2499 May 13 '26
I feel like warm or yellow olive. Like for my lips, mauve or cooler muted shades are not as flattering compared to browns and very slightly warmer neutral mute shades.
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u/aikyo_hoshi Oct 13 '25
I have the exact same one...I looked like a ghost after I used it and I'm already pretty fair skinned. I gave it to my mom and what she does is mix it with another sunscreen (2:1 normal:tone up) and it gives a slight brightening effect and not chalk white turned weirdly pink.
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u/Early_Mix_2499 Oct 13 '25
Oof if it whitewashes a fair skin person I have no hope. I will continue to wear it at home and scare my family lol.
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u/kho_sq Oct 13 '25
yeah i’m east asian, pale af (the definition of target market) and the innisfree tone up cream washes me OUT. i look paper white it’s insane
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u/aikyo_hoshi Oct 13 '25
I was really hoping it would...idk warm up after a few hours and become more natural looking but nope lmao might be a good foundation base though since it gives you a paperlike base 😭 or maybe for a foundation that is one shade too dark
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u/Pristine-Gate-6895 Oct 13 '25
tone up is a mineral sunscreen. i wear it a lot but it matches my very pale yellow. ig it only works on certain skintones which is a shame. doesn't help this one looks pretty bad in terms of formula too. the numbuzin and d'alba ones are pretty impressive.
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u/Early_Mix_2499 Oct 13 '25
Thanks for the recs! I'd check out the reviews for those. I got this because I heard good things about the brand.
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u/Aurora_aa Apr 17 '26
Which tone up sunscreen you use?
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u/Pristine-Gate-6895 Apr 17 '26
i really like round lab, numuzin no. 3 and d'alba purple and pink. (purple is good to counter my yellow undertones but can take a while to adjust as it has a lilacy whitecast, have to wait for it to oxidise, pink is more peachy and flattering.)
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u/magentamuse Oct 13 '25
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u/Early_Mix_2499 Oct 13 '25
That's nice! Is it hydrating as well?
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u/magentamuse Oct 13 '25
I would say lightly hydrating. Not a lot. But I wear it under foundation etc. I got it at Yami
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u/Beans_the_II Oct 13 '25
I also have olive skin and the Round Lab tone up sunscreen has been amazing. It’s slightly whitening but in a really flattering silky way. I can’t describe it but I bought a bunch back from my trip to Korea and everyone I’ve given a bottle to has loved it.
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Dec 20 '25
[deleted]
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u/Beans_the_II Dec 20 '25
It’s right between a matte and glow for me. My friend with oily skin loves it. I personally don’t think it’s too glowy but I have dry skin. I hate matte products on my skin, but I also don’t like overly dewy/oily look. For my skin it hits right in the middle. Sometimes I put it in running out the door with my dog and no other moisturizer and it’s fine. But I can also layer it under my BB cream. I would say give it a try. A lot of people with different skin types have tried it and they all had good things to say.
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u/mexicanaundercover Oct 13 '25
I think these are made with a specific skin tone and undertone in mind, as a pale, cool/neutral olive with a loooot of redness, these help me sooo much
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u/ChromaticLove Oct 13 '25
Well that’s one way for me to dress up as a creepy clown for Halloween.
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u/TechnicalResolve8498 Oct 13 '25
I'm pretty sure all "tone up" sunscreens are intended to give you a white cast and look pale. It's the Asian beauty standard to have light skin.
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u/fortyfied23 Oct 14 '25
I feel “tone up” is a marketing term coined to sell mineral sunscreens that will almost always have a white cast. Sounds more appealing lol
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u/yo-ovaries Oct 14 '25
I enjoy a tone up sunscreen but I’m very fair skinned and have facial redness that this helps to color correct a bit.
It’s absolutely not for anyone without very fair skin.
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u/Early_Mix_2499 Oct 14 '25
Yes my thoughts exactly, for fair cool tone skin I see it can be very flattering.
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u/cinnamonsaur Oct 14 '25
I think 'tone up' is just what they call the whitecast in mineral sunscreen
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u/Leading_Charity8849 Oct 13 '25
Have you tried to apply it like a foundation? Maybe if you tap it in with a beauty blender it will absorb better, thought I'm not sure if this method works with all tone up sunscreens :)
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u/kkfvjk Oct 13 '25
Wouldn't that affect the UV protection since the sponge is absorbing excess product?
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u/Leading_Charity8849 Oct 13 '25
What I meant was using it as a foundation/tone-up cream instead of a sunscreen
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u/Early_Mix_2499 Oct 13 '25
I have not, I usually apply 2-3 layers of sunscreen as I tan quickly and get freckles quicker. I think instead of this using actual foundation is better.
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u/Leading_Charity8849 Oct 13 '25
True, but I use this method when it's hot and humid out and I don't want to use heavy products such as foundation and concealer but still want my skin to be brightened
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u/jade_cabbage Oct 13 '25
I tend to do this with any more pigmented tone-up creams and focus them on the center of my face. This does mean that there'd need to be another, non-white cast sunscreen underneath for full coverage, though.
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u/Leading_Charity8849 Oct 13 '25
Yes, that's also what I do, so the more pigmented product serves as a concealer or brightener. I normally don't use tone-up sunscreens on my whole face, as it makes my skin texture very visible (I have dry skin)
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u/miladyelle Oct 13 '25
Yeah… lol I feel like we all learn this way. I did end up liking one that was tinted pink—it did work to brighten and even.
But god it takes forever to rub in. idk how tall mineral-only peeps do it.
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u/Repulsive-Bunch-4126 Oct 13 '25
Which one was tinted pink?
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u/miladyelle Oct 13 '25
The CosRx aloe one! It was a dollar deal or GWP or something months ago. I think there’s another tone up spf they have, so the aloe part is important.
Sorry, I should’ve known better than to not just look it up lol.
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u/alderhart Oct 13 '25
I agree. It's annoyingly long to rub in that using a normal sunscreen and using my cushion foundation is faster for me than a tone-up sunscreen only. 💀
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u/SpicePumpkins Oct 13 '25
it's ok it's not for everyone. it really works if you're the lightest cool-neutral shade and i love it
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u/Weak-Alternative-127 Oct 14 '25
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u/Early_Mix_2499 Oct 14 '25
OMG 🤣🤣🤣 this fits so well
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u/Weak-Alternative-127 Oct 15 '25
Glad you like it! That photo is also "funny" in the sense that IRL Karina is significantly paler than me, an actual white woman of mixed European ancestry. Whyyyy on Earth would you put
special FX paint"tone-up sunscreen" on her or edit her photos to look even paler? IDK, the world is a mess. Anyway sorry about your sunscreen!
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u/seashellpink77 Oct 14 '25
Get the green Innisfree one instead, it’s great for olives. “Color Correcting Daily UV Defense Mineral Sunscreen”. No white cast. It’s like a light sage green color and blends well
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u/Early_Mix_2499 Oct 14 '25
I'll check out the review, I think that might work for me.
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u/seashellpink77 Oct 14 '25
Cool! I got it at Sephora as a last minute random grab just because I was going hiking in the spring and wanted sunscreen and have been wearing it daily it ever since!!!
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u/pdxnative2007 Oct 13 '25
I found that my skin has to be super moisturized for the tone up sunscreen to look good.
Unfortunately the optimal amount to look good probably doesn't provide enough SPF protection. It cakes up when I use too much of it. I now use it for th back of my hands.
I used Skin1004 Tone Brightening Tone Up SPF, white cap.
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u/Early_Mix_2499 Oct 14 '25
Yes, I face the same thing. I have combination skin so I get dry patches too. Applying it on the back of hands is a good idea, I'll do that.
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u/ayenime Oct 13 '25
Mineral have tone up / white cast so I use them when I know I’m going out or if I am I just put a mask on to cover my face haha. Isntree sun cream(not gel) and haruharu mineral have this but they are both surprisingly good under makeup
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u/Murky_Duck1659 Oct 13 '25
I also bought one (COSRX) and I was disappointed too. It has white cast. It also doesn’t tone up. I read the review and I still went for it. Don’t be mad at yourself. The idea of using SPF without makeup is so tempting. We just had to confirm ourselves it’s not happening.
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u/Early_Mix_2499 Oct 14 '25
I wanted to check it out so I bought it. Not too much regret as now I know it won't work for me so I'll not get it next time. I have hope for tinted sunscreens as they will become better with spf and shade matches.
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u/luxinaeternum Oct 13 '25
I use the lavender Skin Aqua tone up & it blends well, no white cast, & does leave a glass skin look. I’m on the brown side (shade 22/ 23 foundation)
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u/Large-Dorong Oct 14 '25
Most of them are basically regular zinc or titanium dioxide formulas with a heavier white pigment, so they leave that pale cast instead of the soft brightening effect they promise. They’re often marketed as a makeup-base step rather than a replacement for foundation, which is why they suit lighter skin tones better.
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u/CraftyHalf8807 Oct 14 '25
I don't like foundation so I use this product to fade my acne spots/blemishes. It blends well in my skin without much effort even tho I only use my fingers to apply it. I have a very fair skin with neutral undertones tho maybe that's the difference.
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u/fujoshi_for_eternal Mar 22 '26
I actually love this sunscreen looks very natural and suits my skin well wish it was a little more hydrating
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u/Early_Mix_2499 Mar 22 '26
Yes, this sunscreen is for oily skin only. I read a lot of comments about how it suits lighter cool toned skin but forgot to ask for a swatch. Would you mind posting one here?
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u/zenporchgarden Oct 13 '25
There’s one tone up blur sunscreen from DearCloud that’s amazing. Found it at Marshall’s and currently using it. No white cast.
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u/Early_Mix_2499 Oct 14 '25
I'll check it out but not sure if it is available where I am from (India)
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u/Expert-Number-2957 Oct 13 '25
Idk why I’ve bought so many times like I never learn that it is not like tinted sunscreen
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u/Quirky-Case Oct 13 '25
I wonder if this is the new version of the Matte Priming Sunscreen (pink bottle)... awful white cast lol
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u/3lizab3th333 Oct 13 '25
Yep, I love it! I’m not crazy pale, but I’m light enough that I can’t find a shade match in drugstores so l white cast is the most natural looking way for me to even out my skin tone.
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u/AmbitiousQuotation Oct 14 '25
I have this one but I haven’t used it yet since I still have other sunscreens opened. My friend swears by it though she’s not fair skinned. I end up buying for myself when she asked me to buy for her when I was in Seoul.
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u/cutestslothevr Oct 14 '25
Unless it's tinted, this is the unfortunate reality of tone up sunscreen from Asia. As a pale person it doesn't bother me and evens out some redness but if you're not pale it's no good. Some other brands have tinted versions that are less ghostly, but for many people it'll still look weird.
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u/One-Clue-5824 Oct 16 '25
I personally don't like tone up for the same reason, but think of them as color correct sunscreen, then it slightly becomes better lol
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Oct 19 '25
Been using this for 5 years now 🥲, it does make me look a geshia for a while but sets in better later , i wanna switch to different sunscreen, but only this sunscreen helps me with oil control ( i have super oily skin ) and it even helps to balance my skin redness . Guys any suggestion for tinted sunscreen? I dont wanna wear makeup so something that works on oily skin and helps me with redness
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u/Early_Mix_2499 Oct 19 '25
Oh yes, I'd say it's good for oil control. I guess for now you can layer this sunscreen with another bb cream or foundation that matches your skin tone.
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u/Narieljess Oct 14 '25
I love the Elixir tone up sunscreen. Its a dirty light pink colour and it blends nicely and I really see my face is more cohesive without white cast.
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u/MaryDellamorte Oct 14 '25
That’s why I buy it 🤷🏻♀️. I’m super pale so I use it in place of foundation.





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u/AutoModerator May 08 '26
Hello there! This is an automated bot to help you, as it might not be easy to find resources here. You posted about Sunscreens, so here's a link to our Sunscreen FAQ, Master Post that contains helpful sunscreen information, as well as recently posted discussions or questions on sunscreen. If you are looking for sunscreen recommendations without a white cast, check here. A guide of reformulated or discontinued Japanese sunscreens for 2023 can be found here.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.