Therapium CHROMARIS™ Colour Correcting Stick SPF 30 — 30 Tan

The second-deepest of the four sticks — tone correction and a mineral SPF 30 in one twist-up, in shade 30 Tan.

It sits between skincare and complexion make-up. Zinc oxide is the first ingredient and the sun filter; behind it sit organic jojoba seed oil, organic cocoa seed butter, ceramides, glycosphingolipids and vitamin E, plus organic sea buckthorn and black cumin seed oils. Mineral pigments — titanium dioxide and iron oxides — do the tone correction, softening the look of redness, blemishes and visible pores. The creamy texture blends out with a fingertip to a light, natural finish rather than a full-coverage one.

Which of the four shades?

Four steps, matched to complexion depth rather than to undertone — the coverage is sheer enough that undertone matters less here than it does in foundation.

• 20 Light — for foundation 05 to 15.
• 25 Medium — for foundation 20 to 25.
• 30 Tan — this one. For tan skin: roughly the range covered by foundation shades 30 to 35.
• 35 Deep — for foundation 40 and deeper.

The honest bit about the SPF

SPF is measured at 2 mg of product per square centimetre of skin — a thick, even layer over the whole face. A colour-correcting stick used the way people actually use one, dabbed where you want cover and blended thin, does not reach that density.

So treat this as make-up that contains sun protection, not as your sunscreen. If you are out in real sun, put a proper sunscreen on first and let the stick sit on top. That is a less flattering thing to say about our own product than the alternative, and it is the accurate one.

How to use

1. Twist up a little product and draw it straight onto the skin where you want it.
2. Blend out with a fingertip or a brush.
3. Build in thin layers rather than one thick one.
4. Reapply through the day if you are relying on it for sun protection.

Key ingredients

• Zinc oxide — the mineral sun filter, and the first ingredient on the list.
• Ceramides and glycosphingolipids — the skincare side of the formula.
• Organic cocoa seed butter and jojoba seed oil — for a creamy, blendable texture.
• Organic sea buckthorn and black cumin seed oils — two richer oils in the base.
• Mineral pigments — titanium dioxide and iron oxides, no synthetic dyes.

Scent

Very faint and slightly sweet, from a low level of perfume. The declared fragrance components are vanillin, terpineol, linalyl acetate, anethole and geraniol — the same in all four shades.

Good to know

• Shade: 30 Tan, the third of four. All four share the same formula and the same INCI list — only the pigment load changes.
• SPF 30, from zinc oxide. As with any sunscreen, it only works where you actually apply it, and it needs reapplying.
• Vegan, gluten free and nut free. Suitable for all skin types.
• What actually causes a white cast explains why a tinted mineral filter behaves differently from an untinted one.

Full ingredients (INCI)

Therapium Ltd, company number 16471805 · 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ, United Kingdom