Wearing an SPF product daily is one of the best things you can do for your skin. Exposure to UV rays causes the breakdown of collagen and signs of aging such as wrinkles and sun spots follow suit. However, SPF products are also one of the hardest skincare products to shop for, as many of them have thick, oily textures, unpleasant scents, or leave the infamous white cast on your face. Gross, I know, but with lots of trial and error I have managed to find some SPF products that work for me.
The SPF that I've been reaching for everyday is the L'occitane Immortelle Brightening Shield SPF 40. This is probably the best SPF product I've ever used. It has an incredibly light, liquid texture, so I pump it into the palm of my hand before dotting all over my face. On the skin, it feels no more heavy than a light moisturizer. It's important to use enough product when using SPF or you will not be getting the full SPF 40 protection, so I use about 8 pumps every morning to cover my entire face and neck. It is rather pricey at $60 for 30mL, but SPF is absolutely not something you can use sparingly or that can be "less is more", so I would suggest looking into other options if you are turned off by the price.
This is a physical sunscreen formulated with titanium dioxide, so you are getting broad spectrum protection (which means it will block out both UVA and UVB rays). However, as with all physical sunscreens, it does leave a slight white cast over my face when first applied, but that goes away in a few minutes. Just be sure to wait for it to absorb before applying makeup on top. The scent is similar to the rest of the Immortelle line, a sort of fresh floral scent that isn't too strong. This sunscreen also includes a number of plants oils and extracts to help brighten the skin, including daisy extract. While this could be beneficial, those with sensitive skin may want to do a patch test first, as plant ingredients can often be irritating to the skin. Overall, I think this is a great SPF option, and is the most un-sunscreen-like SPF out of the products I am talking about today.
While we're on the subject of SPF's, I figure I would talk about some other SPF products I've tried. The Amore Pacific Natural Protector SPF 30/PA+++ is a blend of physical and chemical sunscreens. It seems to be only available in the US, but can be found quite easily online through Sephora. While it claims to be oil-free, I still think it feels rather heavy. It is also extremely heavily fragranced, so those with sensitive skin may want to steer clear. The product comes out with a slight pink tint, which helps slightly to even out skin tone but doesn't have any major effects, though it definitely helps cancel out the white cast. Not really a product I would recommend.
The Avene High Protection Mineral Cream SPF 50 was my daily SPF before I discovered the L'occitane offering. This is a physical sunscreen containing both titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, and provides broad spectrum protection. As with all Avene products, this sunscreen does not contain any fragrance and is a great option for sensitive skin. The product is tinted, so it does not have any white cast and actually really helps to even out the skin. I'm able to skip foundation and use only concealer for my base makeup when wearing this sunscreen. While it blends into my fair skin very well, those with darker skin may want to test it out first. The only complaint I have with this sunscreen is that it is a little bit heavy and oily. While it doesn't cause me to break out at all, I find that my t-zone can get quite oily throughout the day.
The Ole Henriksen Protect the Truth SPF 50+ was a product I really wanted to love, but just didn't work out. This product contains marine algae, fruit cell extracts, and vitamins A, C, and E, to firm and brighten the skin while protecting it, which sounded like an absolutely fantastic idea to me. It is a chemical sunscreen, so no white cast here, and has a pleasant citrus scent. The weird thing about this sunscreen is that it absolutely has to be applied underneath moisturizer. I did not read the directions at first and applied it like a normal sunscreen, and wow, was that a disaster. The sunscreen started to ball up in little white shreds as I tried to massage it into my face, and let me just tell you, that is not a good look. When applied under moisturizer as directed, it's incredibly light and almost undetectable. While it does not ball up as badly, over the course of the day, I still find little white flakes on my face whenever I touched it, so unfortunately, this is a love that could never be. Those who don't wear serums in the morning might have much better luck with this though.
The Shiseido Urban Environment Tinted UV Protector Broad Spectrum SPF 43 is one of my favourite SPF products, but it is definitely more of a makeup product than it is skincare. It's oil free and actually works very well as a tinted moisturizer. However, my concern with using makeup products as my source of SPF is that I cannot apply as much product without it starting to look heavy. That being said, I do still reach for this product when I'm having a lazy day and can't really be bothered to do my makeup.
What are your SPF favourites?
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