I bought the sunscreen for the bag but kept using the cream

Getting drawn into the character branding

I honestly didn’t plan on buying a new sunscreen last month. I have a shelf in my bathroom that is already half-full with different tubes and cushions that I use depending on how lazy I feel in the morning. But then I saw the Athe collaboration with Pompompurin. It’s a bit embarrassing to admit as an adult, but seeing those limited-edition pouches just made me click ‘order’ on the official site without really thinking about the price, which was around 30,000 to 35,000 won for the set. It wasn’t even about the product itself at first; I just wanted the pouch to hold my daily essentials. When the package arrived, the little character on the packaging looked cute enough that I didn’t even want to throw the box away right away.

The reality of using vegan sun essence

I’ve been trying to stick to vegan products lately, mostly because my skin has been acting up whenever the humidity rises. I started using the ‘Vegan Relief Sun Essence’ that came in the set. It’s much thinner than the heavy, pasty sun creams I used to buy in bulk from cheaper drugstores. It feels almost like a serum, which is nice because it doesn’t leave that thick white cast that makes me look like I’m wearing a mask. But there’s a catch. Because it’s so liquidy, I constantly feel like I’m not applying enough. I find myself patting more on my forehead and nose than I probably need, just to be sure. It takes a solid minute or two to feel like it’s actually settled into my skin, which is annoying when I’m trying to head out for a 9:00 AM meeting.

Should I be layering other products?

There was a moment last week where I stood in front of the mirror wondering if I should be putting on a regular sunscreen before the tone-up essence. I looked up a few forums, and people seemed divided. Some say if you don’t pile it on, you’re basically unprotected, while others say the essence does enough. It’s this constant background anxiety—am I actually blocking the UV rays, or am I just putting on a light tint? I haven’t reached a conclusion yet. On days when the sun is really aggressive, I end up grabbing an old stick-type sunscreen from my drawer just to layer over it, which probably defeats the purpose of buying a lightweight, fancy essence in the first place.

Comparing with the D’Alba cushion I have

I also have a D’Alba sun cushion sitting on my vanity. It’s convenient for touch-ups during the day, but it’s a totally different experience compared to the Athe essence. The cushion is fast, but it can get cakey if I’m not careful, especially around my mouth area. The Athe essence is better for the initial morning routine, but it’s not something you can just slap on in the car on the way to work. I’ve ended up leaving the cushion in my bag for those ‘I forgot to put anything on’ moments, while the Athe tube stays in the bathroom. It’s a bit of a messy system, but it’s what I’ve settled into for now.

Lingering questions about daily use

I’m still not entirely sure if the ‘tone-up’ effect is something I actually like or just something I’ve gotten used to. Sometimes in the harsh fluorescent lighting at my office, my face looks slightly pinkish compared to my neck. I catch myself looking in the reflection of my monitor and wondering if I overdid it. I haven’t tried their mineral sun cream yet—the non-tone-up version—and part of me regrets not getting that instead. Maybe the essence was a bit too much for a daily grab-and-go. For now, I’m just using up the tube because I already bought it, but I find myself checking the mirror more often than I ever did with my old, boring, non-vegan sunscreens. It feels like the product demands more attention than I’m willing to give it on a Tuesday morning.