Ultra Violette Lean Screen SPF 50+: What CHOICE Measured, and What Followed
Last updated September 13, 2026
CHOICE measured SPF 4 against a label of SPF 50+ in June 2025; Ultra Violette first called that result scientifically impossible, then withdrew the product in Australia and the US two months later after eight tests returned figures from 4 to 64.
This is the result that started the Australian sunscreen affair. CHOICE bought Ultra Violette's Lean Screen SPF 50+ off the shelf, had it tested on a ten-person panel at Eurofins Dermatest in Sydney, and got back an SPF of 4 against a label claim of 50+. Rather than publish on one laboratory's word, CHOICE sent a different batch to a second laboratory in Germany first.
What was tested
CHOICE measured SPF 4, 12 June 2025
CHOICE measured SPF 4 against a label of SPF 50+. In the body's own words:
The sunscreen which scored the lowest in our testing was Ultra Violette's Lean Screen SPF 50+ Mattifying Zinc Skinscreen, which returned an SPF of 4
Method, as CHOICE states it: AS/NZS 2604:2021, incorporating ISO 24444 (in vivo SPF) and ISO 24443 (in vitro UVA); a 10-person panel under a solar simulator, run at Eurofins Dermatest in Sydney.
UK Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) acted, October 2025
UK Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) took action over the product's SPF and published no measured figure of its own. In the body's own words:
The product has failed SPF testing with variable results, placing consumers at risk of sunburn.
Method, as UK Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) states it: Not stated in the recall notice. The notice covers 22 batches, A1399 to A2550, and names Ultra Violette, Boots, Space NK, Liberty London, Cult Beauty, Harrods and Sephora as retailers.
What the brand said
Ultra Violette initially rejected the result outright, telling CHOICE it had begun an urgent test of the batch in question.
Lean Screen contains 22.75% zinc oxide, a level at which, when applied sufficiently, would render a testing result of SPF 4 scientifically impossible.
What happened next
- 16 June 2025 — CHOICE published the laboratory detail, including the result of the second test it commissioned before publication: a reported SPF of 5 on a different batch at Normec Schrader Institute in Germany. CHOICE releases sunscreen lab test details.
- 22 August 2025 — Ultra Violette reversed its position and withdrew Lean Screen and its export twin Velvet Screen, saying that across eight different tests the product had returned SPF data of 4, 10, 21, 26, 33, 60, 61 and 64, and offering refunds. ABC News.
- 5 September 2025 — The TGA records the goods (AUST L 332788) as voluntarily cancelled from the ARTG and all batches voluntarily recalled; the export-only Velvet Screen (AUST L 475518) was cancelled the same day. TGA.
- 7 November 2025 — The recall was notified to the EU Safety Gate system as alert SR/03849/25, notified by the UK for Northern Ireland. EU Safety Gate.
Market status: recalled, per the notice linked above.
Alternatives that passed
CHOICE reported that four of the 20 sunscreens it tested returned a measured SPF at or above the claim on the label. Two of the four cleared the claim with margin: La Roche-Posay Anthelios Wet Skin SPF 50+, measured at 72, Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Body Lotion SPF 50, measured at 56.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was Ultra Violette Lean Screen recalled?
Yes. The TGA records the goods as voluntarily cancelled from the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods on 5 September 2025, with all batches voluntarily recalled. The UK Office for Product Safety and Standards published a recall covering 22 batches, and the same recall was notified to the EU Safety Gate system.
Did Ultra Violette dispute the SPF 4 result?
At first, yes. The brand told CHOICE that a result of SPF 4 was scientifically impossible for a formula containing 22.75% zinc oxide. On 22 August 2025 it reversed that position, published a spread of eight test results — 4, 10, 21, 26, 33, 60, 61 and 64 — and withdrew the product from sale.
Is Velvet Screen the same product?
The TGA lists Velvet Screen SPF50 as a separate entry, AUST L 475518, marked export only and never supplied in Australia. Ultra Violette withdrew Lean Screen and Velvet Screen together.
SPF List did not test this product. The results on this page were published by the named test body or regulator; quotes and links go to the original publication. Brand responses and later developments are listed where they were published. Formulations change; a result applies to the batch and date tested.