Sunscreens: Our Best Bets
It’s time for our yearly reminder that sunscreen found in makeup is not meant to be your stand-alone protection. That is your insurance policy. You’d have to use so much of your makeup to get the full sunscreen benefit that you’d essentially go through a whole bottle every three days, and that’s neither attractive (hello, caked makeup!) nor financially responsible!
Everyone makes a sunscreen nowadays, so it’s easy to find a formula, an SPF level, and a type that works for your skin and your lifestyle.
Liquids
Our favorites are Skinceuticals Physical Fusion and Skinceuticals Sheer Physical, which both have SPF 50 and broad-spectrum mineral protection. (You may recall that all mineral blocks are, by nature, broad spectrum.) Physical Fusion has a light tint, meant to help keep your zinc-nose from showing, and Sheer Physical is white, so it’s best worked very well into the skin, or used on very fair skin.
Lotions
My favorite moisturizer with SPF is Alchimie Forever Daily Defense Cream SPF 23. It’s light enough for even oily skin to feel comfortable wearing it daily, but has enough Vitamin E to help out the dry-skinned among us. There are SPF lotions in every brand we carry, from Dermalogica to Jack Black to Kiehl’s to Mario Badescu. We’re always happy to help you get into a great fit!
Sprays
I am about the sunscreen spray life. My spray of choice is our ever-popular Coola Sunscreen Spray, which comes in a variety of genuinely enjoyable scents. (No cloying fake coconut here!) All Coola products are at least 70 percent certified organic, and they strive to be eco-friendly across the board, from packaging to product and beyond. And, lest you worry, friends, their sprays are continuous spray, not aerosol, which means they are not destroying our environment every time you go to the beach! Definite win. Oh, and bonus? Coola also makes a killer Makeup Setting Spray, which gives your glowing visage SPF 30 in a single spritz.
Primers
If your foundation doesn’t have SPF, another great way to get some added protection on top of your moisturizer is with a sunscreen primer. Coola makes two awesome ones (one mineral, one part of their “Classic” line of chemical filters). The Smashbox Photo Finish Dermaxyl Primer with SPF 20 has the same great texture as their fan-fave original primer, but with added sun protection, so if Coola isn’t the right fit for you, you still have options.
Sun protection is nothing to sneeze at, and with sprays, lotions, primers, and even grab-and-go sticks from Clarins and Fresh, there’s no reason to leave your skin uncovered this summer! Happy sunscreening, friends.
