Missha All Around Safe Block Essence Sun Review: Reading an Old Favorite’s Label in 2026
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This is the sunscreen a lot of people met first, and the one they quietly stopped recommending once the newer Korean formulas arrived.
The usual reason given is that it’s an old formula. We wanted to know whether the label says so.
The short version: the Missha All Around Safe Block review that matters is the one you can do yourself on the back of the tube. It carries five UV filters, and two of them are the same current-generation filters the newer picks are sold on.[1] It carries an alcohol-free flag, and the fragrance is the last of fifty-one ingredients.[1] The one thing the label really does say differently is the rating: SPF45 PA+++, where most of the newer Korean sunscreens print SPF50+ PA++++.
Is my old Missha sunscreen still fine, or should I switch?
Start with what’s in it, because nobody checks what “old formula” actually means.
Here are the UV filters and their positions in the list.[1]
| Position | Filter | Generation |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate | Older UVB |
| 3 | Ethylhexyl Salicylate | Older UVB |
| 4 | Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid | Older UVB, water-soluble |
| 6 | Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate | Current-generation UVA |
| 10 | Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine | Current-generation, broad |
Three older UVB filters, then two filters that appear in the sunscreens people recommend instead of this one. The last two go by the trade names Uvinul A Plus and Tinosorb S, and if you’ve read our filter guide you’ll recognize them.
So the mix is not what “old formula” implies. It’s a hybrid.
What isn’t on the label that I expected?
No drying alcohol. The list carries an alcohol-free flag.[1] The only alcohol on it is cetearyl alcohol at position nine, which is a fatty alcohol used as an emollient, not the drying kind.[1] That matters because “older Korean sunscreen” is often shorthand for “drying, high-alcohol,” and here that shorthand is simply wrong.
Fragrance is the last of fifty-one ingredients.[1] Present, so not one for anyone avoiding it, but at the end of a long list. We went through what the word “fragrance” does and doesn’t tell you in our fragrance-free piece.
No avobenzone. This one is worth saying plainly because the usual complaint about older sunscreens is the avobenzone photostability question. That question does not apply to this product, because the ingredient isn’t in it.
So why does it feel different from the newer Korean sunscreens?
The honest answer is that the label gives you one difference, and it isn’t a subtle one.
This is SPF45 PA+++. A large share of the newer Korean sunscreens are SPF50+ PA++++. Those are test results rather than marketing, and PA+++ means a lower measured UVA rating than PA++++. What the PA scale actually measures is laid out in our PA rating piece.
That’s a real gap, and it’s the one we’d point at rather than the vaguer “it’s old” complaint.
Does an older filter mix mean this is less safe?
No study we found says so.
Two of the three older filters here, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate and ethylhexyl salicylate, are on the FDA’s list of filters it has proposed need more safety data. Until that data arrives, they do not have generally recognized as safe and effective status. We went through what that means, and doesn’t mean, in our Tocobo line guide. Wanting more data is not a finding of harm.
The absorption research that started most of this worry is covered in our absorption piece.
Is this still worth buying for me?
It still makes sense if the price and the size suit you, the fragrance doesn’t bother you, and SPF45 PA+++ is enough for how you actually spend your day. Check the price on YesStyle.
Look elsewhere if you want the highest UVA rating on the label, or if fragrance is something you screen out. Our fragrance-free piece has picks that are flagged free of it, and if sunscreen stings your eyes, our no-sting piece is the better starting point.
FAQ
Is my old Missha sunscreen an outdated formula?
Not in the way the phrase suggests. Three of its five filters are older UVB filters, but two are current-generation ones that also appear in the sunscreens usually recommended over it.
Does this have alcohol in it that could dry me out?
No. The list carries an alcohol-free flag. The one alcohol on it, cetearyl alcohol, is a fatty alcohol used as an emollient, not the drying kind.
Should I worry about avobenzone going unstable in this one?
There’s no avobenzone in it, so that particular question doesn’t apply here.
Is SPF45 PA+++ enough for me?
It’s a lower UVA rating than the PA++++ most newer Korean sunscreens print. Whether it’s enough depends on your day, but the difference is real and it’s on the label.
Can I still get this, and is it worth repurchasing?
That depends on what you want from it. If the finish suits you and the rating is enough, the label doesn’t give you a reason to panic.
Sources
Ingredient list (INCIDecoder, read directly):
[1] Missha All-Around Safe Block Essence Sun SPF45 PA+++ : five UV filters, at positions 2 (Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate), 3 (Ethylhexyl Salicylate), 4 (Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid), 6 (Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate) and 10 (Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine); no avobenzone; carries an alcohol-free flag, with Cetearyl Alcohol at position 9 as the only alcohol listed; Fragrance is listed last, at position 51 of 51: link
