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If you’re into skincare and you’ve been anywhere near TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest (make that any social media platform lately), you will have no doubt come across Beauty of Joseon’s Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics.
This sunscreen has been going absolutely viral over the internet for the last few months and for good reason, it’s an incredible product!
Well, Beauty of Joseon definitely weren’t going to leave it at just one great sunscreen… they’ve since brought out another four!
The Relief Sun Aqua-Fresh Sunscreen and the Daily Tinted Fluid Sunscreen are the newest products in the BOJ sunscreen lineup, and while they haven’t garnered the same amount of attention as the OG Relief Sun just yet, I think it’s only a matter of time.
Sun protection aside, these are all extremely different products so I thought I would break them down a bit in this post.
If you’re interested in finding out more about each of these Beauty of Joseon sunscreens and want to know which one is best for you, keep reading!
About the Beauty of Joseon sunscreen collection
Launched in 2017, Beauty of Joseon is a South Korean beauty brand that combines traditional Korean ‘hanbang’ ingredients with innovative skincare tech to create effective and affordable products.
Their first sunscreen, Relief Sun, came out at the end of 2021, following the Korean sunscreen scandal.
The Matte Sun Stick was released in January 2023 in collaboration with beauty influencer and cosmetic chemist Ramón Pagán, better known as Glow by Ramón.
The Ginseng Moist Sun Serum launched in May 2023, followed by the Relief Sun Aqua-Fresh sunscreen – a lighter, less dewy version of its original namesake – in 2024.
The newest sunscreen to join the Beauty of Joseon SPF range is the Daily Tinted Fluid Sunscreen which is the brand’s first mineral formula. This hit shelves in early 2025.
Beauty of Joseon sunscreens:
Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics SPF50+ PA++++
Best for: Normal, dry and combination skin. Also sensitive skin.
Just like an everyday moisturiser, Beauty of Joseon’s Relief Sun has a light, lotion-like texture that sits really comfortably on the skin. It’s super dewy when first applied, but quickly dries down to soft, velvety finish which makes it super easy to apply makeup over the top.
With four UV filters, this gives ample protection from the sun. If you’re looking for skin benefits, this offers plenty of those too! Ingredients like rice bran water, niacinamide and green tea help reduce irritation and calm the skin, while priobiotics such as pumpkin and soybean ferment extract improve skin tone and protect the moisture barrier.
This isn’t scented, doesn’t contain any essential oils and doesn’t cause eye-stinging so it’s a good fit for sensitive skin. I also think normal, combination and oily skin types would appreciate how light this is – it’s not heavy or greasy at all.
If you have dry skin though, you may need something a little more moisturising. The formula isn’t drying per se, but I do get more hydration from the moist serum (see below).
Beauty of Joseon Matte Sun Stick: Mugwort + Camelia SPF 50+ PA ++++
Best for: Combination to oily skin.
If you’re looking for a matte finish that doesn’t totally dry out your skin, this sun stick should be your pick. A combination of silica powder and silicones (in both fluid and powder form) helps the sunscreen control excess sebum and gives it that smooth, silky feeling on the skin.
You’ll also find cica, green tea and mugwort in here, ingredients which are known to reduce redness, provide moisture and calm irritation.
A key thing to point out about this sun stick is that it doesn’t contain niacinamide. I should clarify that niacinamide isn’t irritating for the majority of people, but some do find that their skin is particularly sensitive to it!
Packaging-wise, the stick format of this sunscreen makes it super convenient. It’s perfect for chucking in your bag and reapplying on the go – your fingers don’t even have to touch your face! This works best if you’re not wearing makeup though, as you have to swipe pretty firmly for the product to transfer. If you have oily or combination skin that gets shiny throughout the day, give this one a try!
Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Moist Sun Serum SPF 50+ PA ++++
Best for: Normal to dry skin.
Beauty of Joseon’s Ginseng Moist Sun Serum is one of the most unique sunscreens I’ve ever tried. It’s not at all similar to the rest of Beauty of Joseon’s sunscreen offering… or indeed any other Korean or western SPF I’ve tested.
What’s really cool about this sunscreen is that the active ingredients are encapsulated (you’ll sort of be able to see this when you pump out the product). This essentially means that the actives are distributed slowly and more evenly.
Ginseng is the star ingredient here, and you can definitely smell it when you apply the serum, so if you’re not a fan of the scent, this may not be for you. This sunscreen also contains arbutin which is a skin brightening agent, as well as olive oil to moisturise the skin.
Note: The original formula used to contain niacinamide and essential oils, but these were removed when the product was reformulated.
I love that this has a true serum texture – it doesn’t feel like a traditional sunscreen at all! It’s lightweight, dewy and feels super refreshing when applied. Because of this, I think it would suit normal to dry skin types best. If you want a sunscreen that moisturises, has no white cast and sits beautifully under makeup, this is it!
Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun Aqua-fresh Rice + B5 SPF50+ PA++++
Best for: All skin types.
If you love the original Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun, but just wish it was a little less rich and dewy, then the Aqua Fresh formula might be the one for you.
This has all the same great qualities as the OG sunscreen – it’s sheer, non-sticky and has no white cast – and is supposed to deliver the same level of hydration. I personally find that it’s a little less moisturising than the original Relief Sun formula, but that’s not a problem, it just means more skin types can use it!
This has a really lovely soft, semi-matte finish which isn’t too glowy, but isn’t drying either. It’s one of those sunscreens which just feels like your skin. It’s lightweight, it absorbs really quickly and it’s insanely breathable *chef’s kiss* 🧑🍳.
Taking a quick look at the ingredients, this contains rice seed water to brighten and calm the skin, panthenol to boost hydration, and oat kernel extract to reduce inflammation. We also have five chemical UV filters in here to provide broad spectrum protection.
Beauty of Joseon Daily Tinted Fluid Sunscreen SPF50+ PA+++
Best for: Combination and oily skin
Beauty of Joseon’s first mineral SPF comes in the form of their Daily Tinted Fluid Sunscreen. As the name suggests, this is a tinted formula so it’s meant to provide a little bit of coverage, as well as protection from the sun.
This comes in 12 different shades which is a fair amount for a tinted sunscreen. The consistency of the sunscreen is very thin, and the product is very sheer, so this adapts quite well to your skin tone, even if it isn’t a perfect match. I bought shade LP100 which is a bit too light for me, but still looks quite natural when blended.
With its soft, silky finish, you can tell that this contains silicones – though it’s perhaps not as evident as it is with the BOJ Matte Sun Stick. This gives it a nice mattifying effect which is perfect for combination or oily skin types, you really don’t get much shine peeking through as the day goes on.
Texture and swatches
As you can tell from the swatches above, the Beauty of Joseon sunscreens are all quite different texturally.
Both the Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics and Relief Sun Aqua-Fresh have a lotion-like consistency. They’re white when squeezed out of the tube but the colour quickly disappears once blended into the skin. The Aqua-Fresh formula is slightly thinner than the original Relief Sun formula, but both are still very light.
The Ginseng Sun Serum has a gel-type texture. It’s slightly amber-coloured but, again, this blends into the skin without leaving a yellow hue behind.
The Matte Sun Stick is balmy and completely colourless. It’s almost undetectable on the skin.
Finally, the Daily Tinted Fluid Sunscreen is very thin and watery, offering a super sheer wash of colour.
Which Beauty of Joseon Sunscreen is best for your skin type?
Finding the Beauty of Joseon sunscreen that is right for you will very much depend on the needs of your skin.
The Beauty of Joseon Matte Sun Stick is targeted at those who have combination / oily skin, while the Ginseng Moist Sun Serum is great for skin that needs extra moisture. Both Relief Sun sunscreens work for those with sensitive skin, the Aqua-Fresh one being more suited to combination skin, the original Rice + Probiotics formula being better suited to dry skin.
As a mineral SPF, the Daily Tinted Fluid Sunscreen is great for skin that’s sensitive to chemical formulas. With oil controlling properties, it’s great for combination and oily skin too.
In fact, if you have combination skin, you might find that can pretty much get away with using any of these sunscreens, it just depends on the finish you want and the type of texture you prefer.
Both Relief Sun sunscreens have a lotion-like consistency which makes them feel like a light moisturiser. The Matte Sun Stick has a silky feel on the skin, almost like a silicone primer. The Sun Serum has a thickish gel consistency that dries down to a dewy, but not sticky, finish. And the Daily Tinted Fluid Sunscreen is sheer and lightweight with a soft, velvety feel.
Have you tried any of the Beauty of Joseon sunscreens yet? Which one is your favourite? Let me know in the comments!
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