The New SPF Filter Is Here! Plus: Decoding Mineral Sunscreen Labels & The Truth About Ultra Violette’s “Sunscreen Gate” with Co-Founder Ava Matthews

Breaking Beauty Podcast

This episode of Breaking Beauty explores the launch of bemotrizinol (BEMT), the first new FDA-approved UV filter in over two decades, with U

Key takeaways

• Bemotrizinol (BEMT) is the first FDA-approved UV filter in over 20 years, offering broad-spectrum protection with improved stability and texture.
• Ultra Violette's Supreme SPF 50 sells globally every 30 seconds, driven by bold packaging and a focus on daily wearability.

Main topics

• Bemotrizinol (BEMT) as the newest FDA-approved sunscreen filter
• Ultra Violette's product recall and trust recovery efforts

Notable quotes

We're in New York City with a founder who came all the way from Melbourne, Australia.

Bemotrizinol is the first at Sephora in the U.S. to be formulated with this new filter that we keep hearing about.

Conclusion

The episode highlights how innovation, transparency, and consumer trus

Transcript preview

Speaker 4 (0:00) The following podcast is a Dear Media production. Speaker 5 (0:08) Welcome to Breaking Beauty, the podcast all about the breakthrough people, products, and moments in beauty. We're your hosts, Jill Dunn and Carlene Higgins. Speaker 5 (0:21) Welcome back to Breaking Beauty Podcast, everyone. I'm your co-host, Carlene Higgins. And Speaker 3 (0:27) I'm Jill Dunn. And we are two longtime beauty editors turned beauty podcasters. We're in your feed every single Wednesday talking about the breakthrough of people, products, and moments in beauty. This week, Speaker 5 (0:37) we are in New York City with a founder who came all the way from Melbourne, Australia. We are welcoming the co-founder of Ultraviolet, Ava Matthews. Hi, Ava. Hi. Now, Ava calls herself a reformed sunscreen delinquent with, and we quote, over 100 moles to prove it. So she's passionate about sun safety. Ava co-founded Ultraviolet, the Aussie sunscreen brand in... 2019 with her business partner, Beck Jefford, and it officially landed Speaker 3 (1:09) stateside in 2025. And before adding founder to her resume, Ava spent two decades working in fashion and beauty and shaping some of beauty's most influential products. And what I Speaker 5 (1:22) appreciate about Ultraviolet is that they thought about sunscreen in the context of your daily routine. So what you layer it under, how it plays with makeup. all of that. I mean, the packaging just, it's just Speaker 3 (1:34) stands out so much. It's the best. It's color blocking, bold hues, like electric royal blue, instantly recognizable in beach totes. It's sort of built this cult following in a very short amount of time. Yeah, we definitely heard about it before it Speaker 5 (1:49) landed stateside. And their best-selling Supreme SPF 50 formula sells every 30 seconds around the globe. So this week, we're breaking down how Ultraviolet broke through in a category previously ruled by French Pharmacy and K-Beauty formulas. And we're getting Ava's best tips for layering SPF with makeup, the real talk on that recall that made headlines last year, and what to expect from their newest launch. Speaker 3 (2:18) which hallelujah is made for us acne prone girlies. And it's formulated with, let me try to say this, everybody. Say it Speaker 1 (2:28) again, Speaker 3 (2:28) guys. Say Speaker 2 (2:29) it with me. Bemetrizanol. It's Speaker 3 (2:32) formulated with Bemetrizanol, which is the first at Sephora in the U.S. to be formulated with this new filter that we keep hearing about. We've been waiting for this. We can't wait to learn more. So officially welcome to Breaking Beauty, Ava. Thank you so much. Thank you. So I love following you on Instagram because not only do you share SPF tips, but your mom is a very iconic stylist, fashion stylist in Australia. Yeah. First of all, she looks like your sister. Yes, Speaker 2 (3:02) and she loves to remind me of it. Speaker 3 (3:05) And she kind of like rates your outfits on Instagram and it's like no filter. Yeah. Speaker 5 (3:11) Yeah. Speaker 3 (3:12) It's Speaker 5 (3:12) as moms do. Yes. They have no filter. Speaker 3 (3:16) What's the most like brutal note she's given you? And did you take it or? Speaker 2 (3:21) Look, there's so many. And my mom is not that kind of like. you know you're gonna be the prettiest girl in the room Speaker 5 (3:28) you're just Speaker 2 (3:30) gonna kill it every day like she's just she's not straight she's a real straight talker and like she obviously loves me very much and we have a great relationship and i appreciate the honesty yeah Speaker 1 (3:40) oh Speaker 2 (3:41) god she said so many We have polar opposite styles, but she does tell me that I wear the wrong shoes with every outfit. I'm like, I have cheap shoes. And that's, she's like, you'll wear a really nice outfit and then you'll wear these terrible shoes and they let you down. Speaker 5 (3:56) Is your mom maybe a minimalist? Because for people who aren't watching this on YouTube, Ava's wearing the prettiest like coral outfit with palm trees on it. A lot of print Speaker 2 (4:08) going on. Speaker 5 (4:09) There's a lot of print. And then she's doing the. purposeful mismatch with the Fendi logo shoes, like the F with the F on it. So it's like a deliberate kind of mismatch, right? I feel like you're a maximalist. Speaker 2 (4:20) Yeah, let's go with that. And is your mom a minimalist? She's Speaker 5 (4:24) a Speaker 2 (4:24) f***ing minimalist. Full minimalist. See, that's what I'm sensing. And Speaker 5 (4:26) I don't Speaker 2 (4:26) know what she'd say about these shoes with this outfit. She'd probably say it's wrong. I think she'd say it's wrong. But Speaker 5 (4:30) from shoe Speaker 2 (4:30) theory, Speaker 5 (4:31) that sounds a thing. I think Speaker 2 (4:32) she'd say they're wrong. I think she would say I need a more simple sandal, like a neutral. But I clocked you as a Speaker 5 (4:37) maximalist right away because you have a bedazzled ultraviolet lip balm here that is like pink and shiny all over. Yes, Speaker 2 (4:48) it's completely bedazzled. Love it. Speaker 5 (4:50) Love it. Yeah, I'm Speaker 2 (4:51) a full Speaker 5 (4:51) maximalist. A girl after my own heart. Speaker 4 (5:01) I'm Jessica Capshaw. And I'm Camilla Luddington. And we are here with our new podcast, We Ride at Dawn-ish. At its heart, We Ride at Dawn-ish is about friendship, resilience, and showing up, even when the ride gets a little messy. It's about weathering the storms, staying in the saddle, and knowing that you'll have someone beside you when the sun comes up. Each episode dives into the glamorous and not-so-glamorous life as an actor. Motherhood, friendship, and really everything else in between. So catch new episodes of our podcast we write at Dawnish on YouTube or listen wherever you listen to your podcasts. Every Thursday. Speaker 3 (5:41) Grateful that Quince is supporting our show this week. It's time for a little fall wardrobe refresh. I know I just did my whole closet. turnover. And you know, those pieces in your closet that you find yourself reaching for over and over again, those pieces that make dressing easier in the mornings and the jeans that you know will always fit just right or the bag that you carry everywhere. Those are the pieces that earn that permanent place in your wardrobe. And that's exactly what Quince does so, so well. Quince is all about elevated everyday essentials. Think about Mongolian cashmere sweaters that are super soft and super comfortable. washable silk, and all of the designs from Quince are timeless. They're thoughtfully crafted. And by the way, the Mongolian cashmere sweaters, they start at just $50. I think I have about five of them at this point, and they've held up really well season to season. They also have premium stretch denim. I just picked up the Quince Comfort Stretch Mac Coat. So this is a single-breasted trench coat, and it has a gingham lining, so it's really fun. When you cuff your sleeves, you get that little peekaboo effect. And I just love the fit and the quality. It's really, really great. And everything at Quince, they're priced 50 to 80 % less than similar brands. So they work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middleman. So you're paying for quality, not brand markup. So find the fall pieces you'll reach for most at Quince. Download the Quince app for app exclusive offers or go to quince.com slash breaking beauty. Get free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com slash breaking beauty. We'll link to this offer in our show notes and on our website. Now back to the show. Speaker 5 (7:33) Okay, as beauty editors, we know that it's a tall order to create a great sunscreen. Honestly, I don't envy you for being a founder of a sunscreen brand in the year 2026. It can even be tricky for trained cosmetic chemists, dermatologists to do it. So looking back at the beginnings of Ultraviolet, what made you want to take on this category? Speaker 2 (7:57) Yeah, that's a great question because Beck and I ask each other this. Why did we do this? And, you know, you don't know what you don't know. When we started the brand and we were kind of ideating the brand in 2016, so 10 years ago, we really noticed a gap. The brand was founded in Australia and sunscreen, despite the rates of skin cancer in Australia, sunscreen was still talked about seasonally. It was promoted over summer. You could only get big pump packs at the chemist or at the drugstore, at the supermarket. There was nothing that was beautiful. And we worked for a premium beauty retailer. And so we could see the customer there investing significantly in skincare, you know, whether it was La Mer or Drunk Elephant or any of these kind of brands. But there were no options for SPF. you'd be lucky if a brand had one and maybe it was just not that good. And that was the only option if you didn't like it. And so people, but people weren't even really talking about wearing SPF every day. It still was a very seasonal conversation. And Speaker 3 (9:03) I think the only brand at the time, luxury wise, that talked about it a lot was Shiseido. Speaker 2 (9:08) Yes. Like Speaker 3 (9:08) a Japanese brand, right? But you're right. Like the La Mer's, the Estee Lauder's of the world. It's like, it's not front and center. No. Speaker 2 (9:16) At Speaker 3 (9:16) all. Yeah. Speaker 2 (9:17) And. During, you know, in the intro, you described me as a former sunscreen delinquent, which is true because I would do everything I could to avoid wearing it. And I'm paying for it now, of course, until I kind of reached my 30s. And I started, you know, and we were developing sunscreens for this retailer, a sunscreen for this retailer. And I looked more into the kind of anti-aging benefits or the kind of skin health benefits because as a 28, 30 year old skin cancer, it's Speaker 1 (9:42) not Speaker 2 (9:42) something that's on your radar unless you know someone or someone. very close to you has had skin cancer and you've seen that kind of very up close. So it was less for me about the skin cancer of it. I mean, I'm obviously now conscious of that now as I age, but it was about the vanity and no one was kind of incorporating it into a skincare conversation. No one was formulating beautifully. No one was making it look and feel like a skincare product. It was where you'd throw it in your beach bag. And so the whole premise of the brand was to insert. SPF into skincare, which at the time wasn't happening anywhere. Yeah. Speaker 4 (10:16) And Speaker 2 (10:16) especially in Australia. And I think the consumer in Australia was desperate for this. And we saw it straight away. We saw the reception and people were loving it and people were talking about it. And it was a really great time to launch a brand. And you didn't have to, we didn't have to spend a lot to get people talking about it. So I guess that, that reaction made, reinforced the belief that this was something that people actually desperately needed. So very much intentional with how we design the packaging and the formulations and skincare ingredients. And we call our products skin screens, which is just that combination of skincare and sunscreen. Yeah, I love Speaker 3 (10:51) that. Beauty editor move right there. What are the sunscreen habits like in Australia? Because I feel like it is different than North America. It Speaker 2 (10:59) is. It's very different. I mean, look, sunscreen and well, sun. safety is almost a part of our education in Australia. And we grew up, for any Australians listening now will know, Slip, Slop, Slap, which was the government campaign around sunscreens and wearing, as I said, we have incredibly high rates of skin cancer. I think it's two out of three Australians will develop a skin cancer at some point. And that might be a melanoma or it might be a basal cell carcinoma, which is pretty... It doesn't require a huge amount or it could be something you've got to have carved out of your face and need to have almost reconstructive surgery to help fix. So we, even at school, we had a thing, it was no hat, no play. So if it was, even in winter, if you didn't wear your hat in the lunch break or recess break, you had to sit inside with the teacher and it was always the teacher you didn't want to sit with. So like you Speaker 4 (11:48) had to remember the hats, they Speaker 2 (11:50) were. We had to wear them every day. So it was really instilled in us from a very early age that sun safety and sun care is important. My son, he's four at their daycare. They've got sunscreen everywhere. They reapply. There's an option to tick, like, do you, can you. can we use like whatever brand, council or supermarket brand sunscreen on your child? I'm like, no, it's BYO sunscreen. But I now I'll give it to the entire class. It's not like arty sunscreen. So yes, it's something that is very, very ingrained in us. And we've got much higher uptake in daily wear, whereas the US is not there yet. Yeah, definitely Speaker 3 (12:34) not. It's actually reversing. I feel like, Speaker 2 (12:38) Tan Max and whatever. Speaker 3 (12:40) But anyway, with Gen Z. Speaker 5 (12:41) Yes, it's true. It's scary. And so when you entered the market here, what happened? Like what surprised you? Because I imagine that we always hear about how challenging it can be with sunscreen entering a new market because the rules are different everywhere. Speaker 2 (12:58) Yes, they are. So we had to reformulate for the U.S. specifically. And we reformulate for markets. Often, you know, we've got a quite, we're in a complex category. We've got a complex product development, you know, regulatory system. So we had to reformulate for the US, which we did. And we thought, you know, we've got to, we've been around for six years before we launched. We're not going to launch anything that doesn't feel on par with the rest of the range globally. But, you know, what surprised me the most, I think was the, you know. the misinformation on social media that it doesn't really get to Australia or maybe we know better. So Speaker 5 (13:35) nobody's making their own sunscreen at home in Australia. Speaker 2 (13:38) I mean, look, I'm sure that they are, but it doesn't, that those kind of Speaker 4 (13:42) ideas, I guess. Yeah, Speaker 2 (13:44) don't, I don't feel like they get as far in Australia. Like you always see them, you know, I don't wear sunscreen and the people that like, you know, I've never worn sunscreen and you look at them, you're like. yeah, we can tell. Like, I'm fine. You know, I've been outside. So I'm like, yeah, you might. Sure. But have you had a skin cancer check? Yeah. Like, I look at you and I can tell you've never worn sunscreen. Like, you know, you paid for Speaker 3 (14:08) it. Speaker 2 (14:08) Yeah. And the thing is, Speaker 3 (14:10) we're all fine until we're not. Exactly. You could have like 50, 60 years of not having anything. And then all of a sudden, I just heard of somebody the other week that was like, they just retired and then they had melanoma removed. And it's like. Yeah, this is cumulative, right? And I think that's what's so hard to convey to people is that, yeah, it's compounding and it's like serious. Yeah, Speaker 2 (14:32) it is cumulative. That's another thing that people don't realize about sun. Speaker 3 (14:36) Yeah. And the U.S. seemed to be lagging sort of behind. That was always the headline, right? With the rest of the world in terms of modern UV filters. So from the inside, what's actually behind that gap? Is it like regulation? Is it economics? Is it... lack of innovation? It's