Beauty Tips For Body Care
I love reading reviews, and I love sunscreen reviews. Here’s mine! Warning: it's a long one.Skin tone: NC25, can get away with most generic “beige” or “medium” color foundations in the drugstoreSkin type: Naturally oily (not dehydrated, anymore)Sunscreen wishes: Something lightweight that can stand reapplications, no white cast, decent UVA protection, preferably a hybrid of mineral and chemical, cost-effective (less than $5/oz); easily accessibleTLDR: Left to right, most hated to least hated: https://imgur.com/a/LFNErUHAustralian Gold Botanical SFP 30 ($3/oz ; all mineral): Having tried the tinted version and not liking it for being too thick and drying, I stupidly convinced myself the body version might work. Wrong. This is the absolute worst sunscreen I’ve ever tried. It is thick, hard to spread, patchy, has a strange purplish white cast that never goes away. It’s also heavily fragranced, coming from someone who isn’t usually bothered by smells. For these reasons, it most definitely did not work on my face. As a body sunscreen, it failed for the same reasons. Even if I could get past the ashy legs this stuff gave me, every time I reapplied, it caked up on itself. The patchy, purplish white cast got exponentially worse with each reapplication. I had reapplied like 3-4 times because I was out in the afternoon sun, and by the end of that excursion, I could’ve passed for a Ghost Nation extra (from West World). If that wasn’t bad enough, this shit does NOT come off easily. Even after using oil as a first measure to loosen this shit, as soon as water came in contact with it, it seized up and refused to go anywhere, truly living up to its “water resistant” claims. I literally had to scour it off my legs with a washcloth. I abhor this sunscreen; wouldn’t even give it to my worst enemy.LRP Anthelios Clear Skin SPF 60 for face ($11.76/oz ; chemical): “Clear skin”? More like patchy, crumbly, white face. No matter what season, moisturizer, condition, this stuff has never been “clear.” I gave up using it for my face and tried to use it up on my arms and neck while out and about on a hot afternoon in the Texas sun. As expected, it was casty, streaky, and it clumped up on my arms from sweat with each reapplication, but whatever, I didn’t care too much. That is, until that night when I looked through pictures we’d taken. Two words: crusty neck. This stuff, mixed with sweat, formed white clumps in my neck creases, so that I walked around looking like I had a diaper rash on my neck. It’s hilariously bad. I’m so weary now of any LRP sunscreens. Ugh.Coppertone Sport Face SPF 50 ($3.20/oz ; combo): New packaging got my hopes up that this combo sunscreen would be a good drugstore contender. At $8 for 2.5 oz, I was willing to give it a shot. Nope, same deal as their previous sunscreens marketed for face: I looked like a greasy mime using just 1/3 of the recommended amount.Banana Boat Simply Protect Kids SPF 50+ ($1.11/oz ; mineral): Again, I was hoping this would be the combo face sunscreen gem that’s hidden under plain sight. Oh how wrong I was. Same deal as the Coppertone Sport Face: greasy, casty. Gets worse the more you reapply. Maybe good for kids, or on the body on the beach when no one cares, but definitely fell short of being a face sunscreen for me.Bare Republic Mineral Tinted Face SPF 30 ($4.41/oz ; mineral): Got excited for an all mineral sunscreen that’s also tinted. I hoped it would be more moisturizing than the AG tinted sunscreen. It’s silicone-based so it spreads out like velvet. The tint is not really noticeable, it more so functions to block the white cast. However, on my oily face, I felt this stuff slipping and sliding around like it never sets. If I touch my face, I can lift away the sunscreen and can see my naked skin underneath. This makes it impossible to reapply. While some people will like the primer feel of this thing, it left me feeling greasy (even though I looked matte). This sunscreen reaffirmed my dislike for silicone-based products that feel slippy and oily.Neutrogena Hydro Boost SPF 30 ($2.67/oz ; chemical): I loved that this watery lotion sunscreen (all chemical) has zero white cast, so it’s very easy to use full recommended amount. It dries to a shiny finish, which doesn’t go away even after 10-20 minutes. I can overlook this though, as the shine can probably be tempered with some loose powder. However, I can’t use this on my face because of the fragrance. Holy cow, this stuff is perfumed to the max. This is speaking from someone who isn’t typically sensitive to fragrance. This stuff smells way, way more than the Hydro Boost moisturizer (possibly because I only use a pea-size amount of that stuff vs the ¼ tsp for the sunscreen). And the smell lingers! I can smell this for hours after putting it on my face. Until they make a fragrance-free version of this, I can only use it on my body.Missha All Around Safe Block SPF 50+/PA+++ ($5.42/oz ; mineral): This has a runny, milky consistency that seemed promising. Super easy to spread, sinks in nicely. However, I have 2 gripes. First, if I use the full ¼ teaspoon, this leaves a noticeable white cast on my NC25 skin. This is with dividing the amount into 2 layers and waiting 10-20 minutes for it to set. Second, this stuff turns my face into a grease puddle. Not only do I look greasy, I feel greasy. It looks and feels the worst around my nose. In the spectrum of the sunscreens that I’ve tried, it’s not the worst, but it’s bad enough that I returned it to Target.Elta MD UV Physical SPF 41 ($8.33/oz ; mineral): I’ve used the UV Clear before I knew about SCA and the cult following that sunscreen has. I liked it well enough, but decided to try a tinted version from the same line. This one also has die-hard fans, and I totally fell for the “the tint is so perfect it doubles as a foundation” reviews. I can see this being true for people who have lighter skin than me, but on my NC25 skin tone, it looks like I’m wearing a foundation 2 shades too light, especially when using the full ¼ tsp and reapplying. The tint is deceiving because when it’s spread out on the face, it’s definitely lighter than the color when squeezed straight from the tube. This stuff has a stiff texture and a mattifying effect, and so when I used this on dry skin, it emphasizes all the textures, lumps, bumps, flakes. The mattifying nature isn’t as severe as the AG tinted face though. Not knowing about proper skin hydration, I despised this sunscreen. However, as I’ve gotten better at hydrating and moisturizing beforehand, this sunscreen goes on leagues better. Because it mattifies, I layer it over other sunscreens with a shiny finish. I also recently figured out that I can add bronzer to “shade-correct.” I’ll be glad when this stuff runs out though, as it’s too much maintenance!Etude House Sunprise Mild Airy Finish SPF 50+/PA+++ ($5.56/oz ; mineral): Got this based on HotandFlashy’s review. It has the same runny, milky consistency of the Missha above, which makes it super easy to apply. When I first tried it out last summer on badly hydrated skin, it was awful. All the bumps and textures were magnified when this stuff dried down matte. On properly hydrated skin, it’s much better. It has a slight white cast on me, which seems to build upon reapplications. I’m not completely happy with it, as I can feel it on my skin, and can see it if I don’t add makeup on top. But, I can work with it, and will probably repurchase if I don’t find something better.Nivea Sun Water Gel SPF 35/PA+++ ($3/oz ; combo): This stuff is even runnier than the EH or Missha sunscreens; it’s really like water. It goes on clear, soaks in quickly, can be layered multiple times without any issues. It feels very cooling upon application. There’s a smell of alcohol that I notice if I really pay attention, but the smell fades quickly. It’s nearly perfect, except for the shine. This has the same shiny, almost waxy finish as the Neutrogena Hydro Boost sunscreen. On my oily skin, the shininess is tolerable until about lunchtime. If I don’t blot or do something to it, I look like a greasy eel. The finish really emphasizes the large pores on my cheeks. Even still, this is probably the best sunscreen on my list simply because I don’t dread putting it on or reapplying. I just don't mind using this product, and they say the best sunscreen is the one you will use. So when I run out, I’ll order the SPF 50 version, or the Skin Aqua one, while I continue to look for the elusive HG sunscreen.
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by cacnac
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