National SPF Day ☀️

[ather]

Hello BIC, 

As you might all know National SPF Day ☀️ this year is rapidly approaching. May 27, 2023. I like to think SPF Day is every day because it is so important for our skin! I would love everyone to share their tips and tricks for sun safety and of course favourite sunscreens.

My favourite combo right now is using Summer Fridays ShadeDrops Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Mineral Milk Sunscreen 1.7 oz / 50 mL as my base and applying Tower 28 Beauty SunnyDays SPF 30 Tinted Sunscreen Foundation 20 Mulholland  over it. Summer Fridays ShadeDrops Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Mineral Milk Sunscreen 1.7 oz / 50 mL I am still able to apply sunscreen over my makeup and it still gives a great finish and does not mess up my makeup! I also try to always wear a hat if I am going to be outside for an extended time and I never forget to protect my eyes with sunglasses 🕶️.

Right now I have been wanting to try these SPF:

Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare All-Physical Lightweight Wrinkle Defense Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF 30 P... 

Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Sunscreen SPF 50 

Evereden SPF 50 Premium Mineral Sunscreen 2 oz / 60 mL 

Drop a comment below and share your favorite SPF or tips and tricks to enjoy the summer safely.

Happy National SPF Day!!!

*updated to take the year out 🙂

[CynthieLu]

Guilty as charged. I often have many open at once, when I'm doing my best at wearing it everyday I like to have options too, I relate to that @WinglessOne 

Thank you for the info.  I do 2 swipes with my sun stick, eeep! I gotta aim for more,  I didn't know 4 swipes was best for adequate protection. Yikes!

[WinglessOne]

@CynthieLu  Heh, glad I'm not alone on the gimme options front. A friend once joked that I swap out sunscreens like I swap out sunglasses and umbrellas*—and you know what, maybe if more folks thought about sunscreen as both essential skin protection and a useful accessory, they'd actually use sunscreen more often. 😄 Well, also if sunscreens were less pricy considering how quickly one can use up a tube/bottle of the stuff. And especially if brands would stop fear-mongering against chemical sunscreens. But I digress. 

Definitely get into the habit of at least 4 swipes with a sunscreen stick, and be sure to finger-spread it around. I think more about layers than swipes, which helps me apply enough product since I apply all types of sunscreen (even the 100% invisible chemical ones) in multiple layers anyway. One full face layer with a sunscreen stick is 4-6 swipes on each major area of my face (forehead, both cheeks, nose bridge, chin, jawline) and neck which I then finger-spread around. Then I apply another layer of the same number of swipes all around my face. I often apply a third layer. It takes me longer to reapply with a stick than it would with a tube of sunscreen I can just measure out on my fingers. But the stick's more convenient on-the-go, even if my fingers get sunscreened up either way. 

*Surely I'm not the only person who has, um, a lot of umbrellas and sunglasses? I LIKE OPTIONS. 🙃

[CynthieLu]

Oooh Kay 4-6 swipes with the stick.I am drilling that knowledge in. I want my attempts at spf protection to be helpful to my skin. 😉

I also like the way you describe it as layers. That does change the way we think about it a bit,  a few layers rather than trying to goop on a ton all at once,  that's more do able and less goopy. I like that way of thinking @WinglessOne

Thank you 💖 🙏 again for the explanations!

Um, I felt validated when I read you had a few sunscreens on the go.  I just switch it up depending on different things, but I do like wearing it when there is a bit of variety in the mix. The same thing everyday is just not the best method for me. 😅

[CattyT3]

I'm making note of all of the ones I haven't tried as I have almost every deal breaker in common with you (recent lavender allergy diagnosis - yay). The BoJ one is a favorite of mine as well and I've had my eye on the Skin1004 range for a while now. LRP sunscreens seem to not agree with me oddly enough apart from the Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer + SPF 30.

> I have a couple of Korean and Japanese recommendations too if you haven't given them a go yet:
Canmake Mermaid sunscreen (leaves the skin looking so naturally dewy),
Heimish Artless Glow Base looks lovely even alone on the skin as well and it didn't look like artificial shine when I used it,
CosRX Aloe sun cream (my family all love this one for how undetectable this looks), 
Krave Beauty Beet the Sun (US-Asian) - really lovely formula I don't need to use moisturizer with as a forever dry skin club member! A similar dewy finish to the Canmake,
Naturium Dew Glow (US- Asian) - this is the product that helped my skin become tolerant of other vitamin C products I was having trouble with trying to use prior to beginning to use this on and off for a couple of months. Keeps you very glowy the entire day in the best way.
 

I have not experienced any white case with these nor has my partner who I also give my sunscreens to who is a bit darker than me and has oily skin.

Thank you for the detailed insights and hope the new sunscreens work out well for you : )

[WinglessOne]

@CattyT3  Quick BIC tip: be sure to "@" the person you reply to, so they'll get a notification. Otherwise they might never see your reply. 

Thanks for the recommendations! Canmake Mermaid Skin Gel UV (clear version) was actually my second favorite hybrid sunscreen, especially in cold weather. It always gave me super dewy glass skin in the frigid depths of Chicago winter. 🤣 I think Canmake reformulated it one year to something I could no longer use, and I haven't checked the current INCI list. Another annoying thing about Japanese skincare products is that some brands never post ingredients on their own site. They figure there's no need because they reformulate often; apparently customers in Japan agree with that. So I have to hunt down INCI lists elsewhere. (Thank goodness for INCIdecoder, plus retailers like YesStyle that usually post ingredients nowadays.) Note to self: check latest ingredients to see if you can bring Mermaid Skin back into the fold. 

I've looked at that Heimish sunscreen before and decided not to try it because it contains peppermint plus fragrance components. But I've never checked out Krave Beauty's sunscreen... I'll add that to my list of potentials. I also need to look at the COSRX sunscreen again; something about it initially stopped me from trying it, but I don't recall what that was. 

LRP's US sunscreens aren't the same as their European sunscreens, mostly because they can use better UV filters overseas. I do like a couple of their US sunscreens, and I've got their Toleriane sunscreen in my box of things waiting to be tested. But I know someone who's had issues (mostly pilling) with the LRP sunscreens he's tried. 

Also, sorry you're also in the no-lavender club. 😞 There are a couple sunscreens folks keep recommending to me that I can't touch because they contain lavender. I've even had to stop using 2 of my favorite hair products because keeping them off my face and neck was too difficult, and they probably contributed to my recent scalp issues. Interestingly, I can use fragrances that contain lavender, but only if I keep them off my neck and face (I apply fragrance only in my elbow pits or occasionally on my wrists). I can't use any body wash or body lotion/cream that contains lavender. I never even realized how many products contain some form of lavender until I had to start avoiding them—and I was super stubborn about quitting those hair products I mentioned because they worked really well on my coils. 🤦‍♀️ Thankfully I've got good substitutes now. Anyway, this is more than I meant to ramble about my skin's arch nemesis. Hope you're able to dodge all the lavender out there!  

[CattyT3]

@WinglessOne thanks for the @ tip:

That's a good point about the Japanese products - I had to sleuth around to get the ingredients list of some Hado Labo lotions as a lot of the packaging of different versions is so similar to the non-Japanese reading eye. I did hear about that Canmake one's formula being changed and people weren't liking the other 2 varieties that were not the clear one, but I have ordered a new one now as I'm almost done with my current one, so will have to see if it still agrees with me whether the clear version is updated or not when I use it later this year.

And very true about the Heimish one - I am actually surprised the peppermint didn't get me honestly since I find the slightest of hint of mint very noticeable normally.
I can believe that about the LRP ones pilling as I hated every single Anthelios range SPF I tried out - and thought it was the titanium dioxide, but I can use titanium dioxide baby SPFs with no discomfort in exchange for the purple cast on my skin at the very least.  So it's just something in their formulations unfortunately - I just think it's mostly not POC friendly actually. I hope you enjoy the Toleraine one when you get to it, or at the very least it doesn't cause any issues.

The no-lavender club sure has been a very bumpy journey this past half year until now, luckily I am now lavender free with my skin and hair product shelf & only need to audit my perfume samples - unfortunately if I smell it it hurts my head now as well. I can't believe how common it is in everything now I'm hyper vigilant about it. At least it's an excuse to branch out to new scents, I suppose.

[niki172]

For my dry skin (and it plays lovely with my makeup) I really like the Shiseido Urban Environment Oil-Free Sunscreen SPF 42 . For touch ups I'm really loving their Shiseido Clear Sunscreen Stick SPF 50 0.7 oz / 20 g . I also wear sunglasses with an SPF/blue light filter if I know I'm going to be in the sun and try to stand in the shade when/if I can (sometimes carrying around a parasol, especially in a crowd, is frowned down upon lol).

Also darker colored clothing absorbs UV rays so it shields your skin and helps to give you another little layer of protection. Nothing beats an SPF though and while this may make your warmer it is a nice trick.

[CattyT3]

The sun stick is one I was recommended to try by a friend who has dry skin as well and loves it but I'll have to skip on trying it as I tried both the Shiseido liquid sunscreens sold on Sephora since it's such a popular brand, and unfortunately both did not agree with me at all. To date the only Asian sunscreen to make me have a reaction or any negative experience at all.
But I'm glad the brand is good for other people with dry skin even if it's not me.

[WinglessOne]

@niki172  Piggybacking on the very good dark clothing tip: if you wanna wear lighter colors, you can also buy clothes that have built-in UV protection. These clothes have a UPF rating instead of SPF. UPF measures the amount of UV rays (both UVA & UVB) that can penetrate the fabric and attack your skin. UPF 50+ means the fabric will allow about 2% or less of UV rays to penetrate. UPF 30 = about 3% of UV ray penetration. the higher the UPF number, the better the protection. Still a good idea to wear sunscreen under those clothes since none of these garments offer 100% protection. 

I have a UV-protection hoodie from Uniqlo that I bought in 2018 or 2019—in The Before Times—that I used to travel with. Plenty of other brands sell similar items. Columbia has a whole line of sun protection clothing. 

[niki172]

@WinglessOne "in the before times" 😂 - if you don't laugh you may just cry lol. I forgot my husband has a couple of these UV blocking shirts thanks for the reminder!

[eshoe]

Ooooh brilliant idea, @ather! I share your love of the Summer Fridays ShadeDrops Mineral Milk Sunscreen SPF 30 1.7 oz / 50 mL. I use it on my forehead, using Biossance Squalane + Zinc Sheer Mineral Face Sunscreen SPF 30 3.38 oz 100 mL on the rest of my face. I love both of these products because no matter what combo skincare routine I use, there is absolutely no pilling - yay!

Sometimes I get a little crazy and even add Colorscience Sunforgettable Brush On Sunscreen for touchups when I am in the sun for an extended time.

[ather]

@eshoe  Yay. SF is such a great sunscreen. That’s awesome you mix different ones to make it work! I may need to try that trick! I’ll have to look into the Colourscience one a brushable one sounds interesting! 

[eshoe]

The good thing about the brush on powder spf is that I can convince my daughter to use it, @ather 😉

[Sunnysmom]

@ather great thread! 💞 I love the lightweight tinted moisturizers combined with spf so much! Thanks to you introducing me to Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm for Hydration & Shine Cherry and Summer Fridays Sheer Skin Tint with Hyaluronic Acid + Squalane Shade 2 I am now excited to try Summer Fridays ShadeDrops Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Mineral Milk Sunscreen 1.7 oz / 50 mL .

My all-time favorite is Supergoop! Glowscreen SPF 40 Sunscreen with Hyaluronic Acid + Niacinamide 1.7 oz Sunrise / 50 mL  and I’ve been mixing it with the new shade Supergoop! Glowscreen SPF 40 Sunscreen with Hyaluronic Acid + Niacinamide 1.7 oz Dawn / 50 mL - pink... to give a cool customized look! Hello summer!

🌞

[ather]

@Sunnysmom  I need to try Supergoop! Glowscreen SPF 40 Sunscreen with Hyaluronic Acid + Niacinamide  With the tint in it. I have seen so much love of this product! 

[Sunnysmom]

You do @ather ! I just love them so much! 

[kizaaa]

Hello!

It took me a while to find a sunscreen that suited my acne-prone sensitive skin, but I love the TULA Skincare Mineral Magic Oil-Free Mineral Sunscreen Fluid Broad Spectrum SPF 30 1.52 oz/ 45 mL . It is preferred for my non-makeup days. 

When wearing makeup, I found that the Saint Jane Beauty Luxury Sun Ritual Pore Smoothing Face Sunscreen SPF 30 1.7 oz / 50 mL applies smoothly!

As of now, I would love to try the Kosas DreamBeam Silicone-Free Mineral Sunscreen SPF 40 with Ceramides and Peptides DreamBeam 

[SportyGirly125]

@ather @I love LANEIGE Hydro UV Defense Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 50+ 1.6 oz/ 50 mL 

I also love wearing a hat and sunglasses. 

[JoSometimes]

Happy early “spiff” day everyone!

(@danielledanielle I totally pronounce it like that too! Love your sense of humour!)

Thanks @ather for starting this thread! This was such a great idea!

I was using Clarins Dry Touch Facial Sunscreen SPF 50 before. It was really great for sensitive skin. Non-irritating and pleasant scent.

Now, I’m trying COSRX Aloe Soothing Sun Cream. It has a bit of white cast, but it’s not irritating and the aloe should be good for minor sunburns (not that I’m trying to test that out for myself…🥵)

I’ve also tried CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30. I bought it on a whim a while ago when my skin desperately needed some moisture at while I was at work. I didn’t realize it was meant for normal to oily skin. On my dry skin, it left a lot to be desired but at least it didn’t irritate and had some SPF for sunny days when I had outdoor supervision.

I’ve also tried La Roche Posay’s offerings. It was similar in some ways to Clarin’s but no scent. There’s a kids version that my girls use. They get pretty wiggly from the thought of playing outside and sometimes I end up accidentally getting some too close to their eyes but they’ve never complained about it stinging. 

[ather]

@JoSometimes  Sounds like your skin is well protected! 

[JoSometimes]

@ather I used to not care so much about sunscreen when I was younger until one summer when I worked as a parking attendant. One day, there were too many of us working, so the manager pulled a couple of us to help else where. It was out in the open and I tried to just push through my shift instead of taking a break to hide from the sun. The next day, my family was up to take a portrait photo together at church. I looked like a cherry tomato next to the rest of my family. Ever since then, I’ve always kept a bottle of sunscreen in the car.