La Roche Posay UVMune 400 Invisible Fluid Review: with a new filter Mexoryl 400 claiming to have the best UVA spectrum protection out there. It’s easy to purchase in Europe, and still relatively affordable. Everyone seemed to love it, but how does it compare with other sunscreens? With filter low-down & checklist!
My skin is medium dark tone, Fitzpatrick IV, with an extreme combination (prone to dry patches). I enjoy spending time in the sun, doing outdoor activities like running and hiking, although I don’t enjoy sunbathing per se. I prefer my sunscreens not sticky.
The Product
The La Roche Posay Brand
La Roche Posay is a French brand, which is also the name of the city it’s from. Founded in 1975 by Monsieur Levier, it is currently under L’Oreal group, and it’s famous for products suited for problematic skin.
Note: I am surprised that we have reviewed none La Roche Posay’s sunscreen on the site.
La Roche Posay Anthelios UVMune400 50+ Description & Claims
Our newer, improved version of Anthelios Ultra-Light Invisible Fluid SPF50+. Very high UVA/UVB facial sun protection. Our ultimate protection with Ultra Long UVA protection. Ultra resistant formula specifically developed for sensitive skin.
ANTHELIOS UVMUNE 400 INVISIBLE FLUID SPF50+ NON PERFUMED: With NEW exclusive filter MEXORYL400. Our new UV filter against ULTRA LONG UVA*. To help protect against UV induced damage. Our ultimate protection. (UVB + UVA + ULTRA LONG UVA).
A very high protection that is ultra resistant: water, sweat and sand resistant.
Anti eye stinging. Invisible, light weight texture. Nongreasy. Without perfume.
* [380 400nm] = Long UVA/ [380 400nm] =end of the spectrum that we call ultra long UVA
La Roche Posay
The most exciting thing with this sunscreen is the new sunscreen filter, Mexoryl 400, that should protect well against the Ultra Long UVA (Why UVA protection matters). The exact PPD number of this product hasn’t yet been published officially, but the previous version has PPD of 46.
Ingredients
Filters
| Sunscreen Filter | Type | Spectrum | Remarks |
| Ethylhexyl Salicylate / Octisalate / Octyl Salicylate | chemical / organic | UVB (280-320 nm) with peak at 306 nm | not a strong filter, used with other filters to solubilize. |
| Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine / Tinosorb S | chemical / organic | broad spectrum (UVA & UVB, 280-400 nm, peak at 310-345 nm) | very photostable, available elsewhere but the US |
| Ethylhexyl Triazone / Uvinul T 150 | chemical / organic | photostable UVB filter | oil soluble, odorless & colorless powder, available elsewhere except the US & Canada |
| Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane / Avobenzone | chemical / organic | full UVA protection | not photostable |
| Methoxypropylamino Cyclohexenylidene Ethoxyethylcyanoacetate / Mexoryl 400 | chemical / organic | UVA with peak absorbance at 385 nm | L’Oreal group exclusive, approved in 2020. Especially effective for ultra long UVA (370-400nm). |
| Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate / Uvinul A Plus | chemical / organic | high UVA protection (320-400 nm) with peak protection at 354nm | high photostability, can be used up to 10%, available elsewhere but the US & Canada |
| Drometrizole Trisiloxane / Mexoryl XL | chemical / organic | broad spectrum,with peak absorbance at 303 nm (UVB) and at 344 nm (UVA) | L’Oreal exclusive, oil soluble, photostable. |
| Terephthalylidene Dicamphor Sulfonic Acid / Mexoryl SX / Ecamsule | chemical / organic | UVA, peak absorbance at 345 nm | L’Oreal exclusive, water soluble |
Full Ingredients List
For a full explanation of the ingredients, check out Incidecoder.
La Roche Posay UVMune 400 Invisible Fluid Application
The texture is very liquid, almost water-like. There’s no way you can do a finger-length application, because it will slide off your fingers as soon as you put it there.
This 0.04 oz is equal to 1/4 teaspoon.
On My Hand
Here you can see the texture is very runny. It is quick to spread and quick to absorb. There are no white cast, but there is a slight visible shine on my hand.
On My Face
What I love: super easy to apply and reapply. What I don’t love: it still feels like something on the skin.
Claim Check on LRP Anthelios UVMune 400 SPF 50+
The claim check is based on my experience only, and it might not be the ultimate truth for everyone.
Ultra resistant: water, sweat, and sand resistant
I couldn’t properly test the water resistant feature yet, as I haven’t been able to go swimming this season. But I used this sunscreen when I went on a hiking trip at Cinque Terre.
I only reapplied once throughout the day (texture is still as pleasant on my skin after re-application), and I noticed a bit of redness on my skin. The weather was super sunny with little shades and lots of wind.
Anti eye stinging
Yes. I’m not sure what the “anti” supposedly meant. However, this sunscreen doesn’t sting my eyes at all.
Invisible
Yes, for a medium dark skin tone. (Fyi, this sunscreen has a yellowish tone, it’s invisible on me, but might have an effect if you have a very light pink tone).
Light weight texture
Well, kinda. The consistency is the most runny of all sunscreens I’ve tried, and yet it doesn’t feel like that on application. It does make it easy to apply the quarter teaspoon though.
Non greasy
Unfortunately not. It really depends on what you wear underneath, and even then, I wouldn’t call it non-greasy. It is, however, less greasy than most other sunscreens out there.
LRP Anthelios UVMune 400 Invisible Fluid Review
Face Routine
Toner and very light serum.
Piling
Never happened on my skin.
Feel on Skin
It is very watery, sinks in quickly with no white cast, but there is a slight sticky feeling afterwards.
Scent
No Fragrance and no prominent smell.
Stings the Eyes / General Discomfort
None.
Comparison
The texture is the most watery from all the sunscreens I’ve tried so far. Even compared to Anessa’s it looks like it would disperse easily on the surface. Combined with the absolute no white cast feature, it makes it one of the easiest sunscreen to wear.
Anessa’s Perfect UV Sunscreen Skincare milk still has the best texture when I want to layer makeup on it, Garnier Super UV Face Fluid is pretty similar to this one but slightly less greasy.
Checklist & Rating:
Alcohol is the ingredient number two for this sunscreen. Take my thought with a grain of salt because my skin is not especially sensitive to it, but this is the least drying of all the other ones I’ve tried with alcohol in it, including the Biore Aqua Rich.
It really is an almost perfect sunscreen, especially if you count the waterproof and sweat resistant claims. It would be the one I’d bring to a summer vacation on the beach if I can only bring one sunscreen.
Verdict:
It’s between like and love for me. It still has room for improvement, so maybe if it’s discontinued, a better version will come along too.
Reasons I love it on La Roche Posay UVMune 400 Invisible Fluid Review:
- Relatively easy to get where I live (Germany)
- Bottle is super easy to carry around
- Very pleasant to apply and reapply
- The promising new sunscreen filter for ultra long UVA
I don’t think you can go terribly wrong with this one. It’s not the best sunscreen I have, but it’s really close.
Have you tried this sunscreen? Is it on your wishlist? Let me know if you have more questions in the comments! Xoxo, Astrid
Availability & Price
Easily available at pharmacies in the EU and UK, prices range between 14.50€ to 20€.
Please note that this post is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods or money for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.
I thought it was important to have PPD OR PA RATE on products. Does it mean this product is less effective for sun protection? Thank you
Hi Lilybeth, I’m not sure I understood your question correctly. I hope I can give you a satisfying answer.
1) Yes, of course it’s important to have a PPD or PA rate on products. What I couldn’t find is the exact PPD number of La Roche Posay Anthelios UVMune 400. The closest possible number is based on their previous Anthelios Invisible Fluid SPF50+, which is PPD 46, because the formulation is similar (with the addition of Mexoryl 400). As I mentioned in the post, the Mexoryl 400 currently provides the best UVA protection in term of spectrum.
2) On the packaging, you can see it has a UVA symbol with a circle. It means it has a UVA protection of at least 1/3 of (SPF) 50, so at least 16.66. Also, please note I’m not a chemist, and I don’t have access to a testing lab. I can only tell from what I read on the official product page, the packaging, and the ingredients list. There is no reason to believe this product is less effective for sun protection. Usually, with bigger brands like L’Oreal / La Roche Posay, they would have proper testing in place to make sure their product performed as claimed.
Hope it helps!
Thank you for the review! For us Americans, what do you think of LaRoche’s other offerings stateside? I’ve seen the UVMune 400 Invisible Fluid on ebay, but have never purchased sunscreen on that site, since i’m unable to see the expiration dates on the packages. Any advice?
Hi Mariel, generally I’d agree to be cautious with ebay offers and only buy from reputable sellers. I’ve heard from people in the US buying EU sunscreen from Care To Beauty, but obviously haven’t done so myself. HTH!
Thank you !!