Tocobo Cotton Soft Sun Stick Review

AD info | This product was kindly gifted to me by StyleKorean. As always, any opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own.

I spoke briefly about the Tocobo Cotton Soft Sun Stick in my Tocobo brand review post, but since this is such a popular product I felt like it deserved it’s own post!

What is it?

The Tocobo Cotton Soft Sun Stick is a hybrid sunscreen stick with a semi-matte finish. It protects the skin from harmful UV rays, while at the same keeping oiliness at bay.

What are the key ingredients?

This sun stick contains six UV filters; five chemical filters and one physical one. We’ve got:

• Octocrylene – Primarily protects the sun from UVB rays and offers a small amount of UVA protection.
• Octinoxate – One of the most common sunscreen filters. It protects against UVB rays.
• Ethylhexyl Salicylate – Protects against UVB rays.
• Uvinul A Plus – Protects against UVA rays.
• Tinosorb S – Protects against both UVA and UVB rays.
• Titanium Dioxide – The sole physical filter in this sunscreen. It provides broad spectrum protection against UVA and UVB rays.

Other standout ingredients are:

• Vitamin E – Has photoprotective properties, preventing damage from free radicals.
• Turmeric Root Extract – Reduces inflammation and brightens the skin.
• Sunflower Seed Oil – Prevents moisture loss and reduces skin irritation.
• Cotton Extract – Soothes and moisturises the skin.

How should you use the Tocobo Sun Stick?

As with most sun sticks, this is best used for top-ups throughout the day rather than your initial sunscreen application.

You’ll get better coverage (and better protection) with a liquid sunscreen simply because it’s easier to tell where you have or haven’t applied it!

Lab Muffin Beauty Science actually has a really great video demonstrating how much of the Tocobo sun stick you need to apply to achieve full SPF 50 protection. It turns out that it requires about 3-4 minutes of continuous swiping, so you can see why it makes much more sense to use a liquid sunscreen for your first application of the day!

If you’re reapplying, try to keep track of where you’ve passed the sunscreen – to avoid getting sunburnt in any missed patches. Make sure you’re also getting those hard-to-reach areas of your face (e.g. the creases of your nose and around your eyes).

Packaging

There’s something so satisfying about the packaging of this Tocobo sun stick but I can’t quite put my finger on what exactly it is.

The product is housed in a translucent plastic case which is, of course, in Tocobo’s signature baby blue.

To dispense the product, you just need to twist the bottom and the sunscreen pops up.

I can’t deny the twist-and-go nature of this sun stick does make it significantly more convenient than it’s liquid counterpart. There’s no messy hands involved and you can just click the cap back on and chuck it in your bag to be used again later.

Scent

This sunscreen does contain fragrance but it’s not something you’d notice on your face throughout the day. I tend to only smell it right when I’m applying it.

I definitely prefer the scent of Tocobo’s sun stick to that of their Bio Watery Sun Cream. The sun cream is very botanical, whereas the sun stick is much lighter and fresher. It has a fresh laundry kind of smell.

Texture & finish

As someone with combination-dry skin, I struggle with sunscreen sticks because I generally find them to be too mattifying.

Fortunately, while the Tocobo Cotton Soft Sun Stick does have a soft matte finish, it doesn’t completely take away the natural glow / radiance of your skin.

It’s silky and soft, and leaves a little bit of shine behind – nothing that oily skin types wouldn’t be able to handle though!

It does have a bit of a chalky, silicone-y feel to it but it still feels quite breathable.

This sun stick glides over the skin pretty easily, especially if you’re already a couple of swipes in. My top tip is to warm the product up a bit on the back of your hand first to avoid any tugging.

Also, for a hybrid formula, there surprisingly isn’t any white cast – Lab Muffin showcases this in the video I mentioned above too. Even after multiple layers you don’t see a white film start to form.

How does the Tocobo sun stick apply over makeup?

Since you’re literally dragging the product across your face, you can expect to see a bit of makeup transfer from your face to the sun stick, but I wouldn’t say it’s anything major.

I generally don’t find that this disturbs the makeup on my face that much. I might need to reapply a bit of blush or bronzer, but my base stays in tact for the most part.

You definitely get more pick-up with powder products than cream ones, so I recommend choosing a cream blush or bronzer if you know you’re going to be applying this over the top.

Overall thoughts

Of the stick sunscreens I’ve tried, this Tocobo one comes out on top. As I mentioned before, I’m not a huge fan of sun sticks but I do have to admit that they have their own place in the beauty sphere.

Tocobo’s Cotton Soft Sun Stick is incredibly handy for reapplying SPF throughout the day with minimal fuss and virtually no mess.

Finish-wise, it isn’t drying and it feels fairly comfortable on the skin. I’m not super keen on the chalkiness it leaves behind but overall it’s not a dealbreaker for me. And, in fairness, you tend to get this with most stick sunscreens (due to their silicone content).

Best of all, you don’t just have to use this sun stick on your face. The twist mechanism means you can easily top up your sun protection on any part of your body at any time.

At the moment I’ve actually been loving using this on the back of my hands. They’re always exposed to the sun and I tend to forget about them!

Where can I buy the Tocobo Cotton Soft Sun Stick?

You can buy this from UK-based retailers like Pureseoul, Tonic15 and Skinsider.

You can also order this from international beauty marketplaces like Stylevana, Style Korean and YesStyle.

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