Anua sunscreen is the newer half of a brand best known for a toner, so this edit starts with the three formulas and their finishes. After that come the Anua toners, serums and cleansing oil that sit underneath, and a handful of Korean sunscreens from other brands.
Anua Sunscreen and the Heartleaf Brand Behind It: A Field Guide to the Shelf
Anua was founded in 2019 by The Founders, a Korean brand incubator, which is described as a brand-building company led by two co-CEOs. That is not the romantic origin story of a single chemist in a kitchen, and I find it more interesting for that reason. It is a team building a brand around one idea, and the idea was heartleaf. If you are looking at Anua sunscreen for the first time, it helps to know it is the newer side of a company that started with a toner and then branched into the daily habit that protects everything else.
The three formulas in this edit are really three finishes, so I would choose by feel. The Zero-Cast Moisturizing Finish Sunscreen is the one for people who dislike a pale film, and the name tells you the goal is no white cast. The Invisible Matte Finish Sunscreen is the one for oily or humid days, when a dewy layer feels like too much. The Invisible Glow Finish Sunscreen Stick is the one I keep in a bag for reapplication over skin and makeup, which is the point at which most people quit.
I will not quote you numbers that are not on the label, so check the carton for the protection details of each one. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher, broad-spectrum protection and water resistance, and that is the checklist I use.
No sunscreen blocks everything. Wear it, reapply it, and pair it with shade.
What goes on before the sun step
Anua is best known for Heartleaf 77 Soothing Toner, which swaps most of the usual water base for heartleaf extract, Houttuynia cordata, and it is the ingredient most closely tied to the brand. It became the reason many of us heard about Anua at all, and in 2022 the brand reached US shoppers directly. The toner is the first layer I would put under a morning sun step, pressed into clean skin and left for a minute. It leaves skin feeling calm and softer, and it sits neatly under everything above it.
The serums are where I would get more selective. Niacinamide 10 TXA 4 Serum is the one for a glowier-looking, more even-looking finish, and I would use it in the morning only if the skin feels settled. Azelaic Acid 10 Hyaluron Redness Soothing Serum is made for skin that looks flushed, and it is a good one to patch test first. PDRN Hyaluronic Acid Capsule 100 Serum is the pure hydration step, and the one to choose if your skin feels tight by lunch.
Heartleaf Pore Control Cleansing Oil is the evening partner, since a proper sun step needs a proper removal. Massage it onto dry skin, add water, rinse, and follow with a gentle second wash if you wore sunscreen all day or makeup over it.
Keep it to two or three layers in the morning. More than that and the sun step starts to pill.
Other Korean sunscreens to compare
Sunscreen is personal, and I would never tell you one bottle beats every other. These are the Korean formulas I would compare, each with a different feel.
Beauty of Joseon's Day Dew Sunscreen SPF 50 has a dewy finish, which suits dry skin or a cold morning. Abib's Airy Sunstick SPF 50+ is a stick, so it is the one for touch-ups, and the plus sign is there because Korea prints SPF as 50+ when the differences above 50 are small. Round Lab's Birch Juice Moisturizing Sunscreen is a cream for people who want their sunscreen to double as a moisturizer. innisfree's Invisible Barrier Sunscreen Serum SPF 47 is a lightweight serum texture, and e.l.f.'s Suntouchable Invisible Sunscreen SPF 35 is an invisible-finish option for everyday.
In Korea sunscreen is classed as a functional cosmetic, and the PA rating grades UVA protection, with more plus signs meaning higher protection. So read the PA line as well as the SPF.
What I would skip: a thin smear. A sunscreen only works in the amount it was tested at, and most of us put on too little. I would also skip sun exposure as a goal in itself, and I would never treat a high number as permission to stay out longer. Reapply about every two hours, and after swimming or sweating, whatever the bottle says on the front.
Making the habit stick
The best sunscreen is the one you will really put on. Try a formula on your inner arm first, then on your jaw, and give it a day before wearing it on your whole face.
I keep a stick in my bag and a cream on the bathroom shelf. Morning layers go on clean skin in the usual order, sun step last. Then, about every two hours outdoors, reapply, and again after swimming or sweating. Wear a hat, find shade, and do not chase a tan. If a new product stings or leaves your skin red, rinse it off and stop using it. Put the stick where you will see it, by your keys or in a coat pocket, because a reminder you can reach is worth more than good intentions. Cover the ears, the back of the neck and the tops of the hands too, since those are the spots I forget. Anything that lingers deserves a dermatologist, not another bottle.
