Have any of you heard of the proprietary ingredient called Mexoryl™ SX developed by L’Oreal Laboratories? It is one of the ingredients that they’ve put on their sunscreen product. I haven’t exactly paid attention to this ingredient before because much of my sunscreen comes from Japanese brands, just because they have very milky texture that dries up fast.

Apparently this proprietary ingredient has been much talked about because it’s one of the most effective FDA-approved chemical UVA filter at maximum absorption of 344nm. It has high photostability, where it determines the efficacy of the protection factor from a sunscreen. It will be able to give longer UVA protection and will not degrade as fast as other physical UVA filter such as Avobenzone that is said to degrade 30 minutes after application, therefore it has a big question mark on its UVA protection efficacy if it’s not combined with other filters. However, there are still many people doubt about the efficacy of Mexoryl™ SX because it has not yet been tested outside the L’Oreal laboratories. But since it’s already patented, I would assume that it would be one credible ingredient.

Many will associate Mexoryl™ SX with La Roche Posay’s sunscreen product line called Anthelios. Although many still despise it because of its thick formula and perhaps also because of its price. For instance Anthelios 60 Ultra Light Sunscreen Fluid with Matte finish for face (normal to combination skin) 50ml will cost you $29.50. Another problem is also because we don’t really have La Roche Posay in Indonesia!

The reason why I began my search for Mexoryl™ SX is because I recently got L’Oreal Paris UV Perfect MAT with Mexoryl™ SX and XL (XL Block). From what I understand where Mexoryl™ SX will give UVA protection reinforcement, XL (XL Block) will give optimum UVB protection. So you will have broad spectrum sunscreen from this bottle that is rated as SPF30 PA+++.

The L’Oreal Paris UV Perfect MAT is intended to be used by normal to oily skin type. I would expect something really matte finish and a little bit thick. As I squeezed a little bit of product from the tube I found that the texture is very milky, much like the Japanese sunscreen that I love. It has a slight beige tint to it, but when used on face it doesn’t really leave any colour at all. Since the formula is very milky, the product doesn’t leave any white cast at all. It looks rather like my brightening primer rather than a mattifying primer. I would say Mentholatum Acnes UV Tint gives a nicer mattifying finish although not completely matte. It’s not greasy and sticky at all, it also absorbs quite fast. I can see how people with oily skin type would love this product. However, since I have dry skin, I feel that this product really suppresses my sebum somehow and at the first couple of days I have a few whiteheads appearing on my nose.

The price for this product is Rp 94,500 for 30ml.