A Few of My Favourite Sunscreens

Being as pale as myself, it's no secret I've always been a big advocate for sunscreen. Skin cancer is on the rise, and sunscreen should be SUCH an important part of our lives by now. I thought it might be helpful for me to share a few of my favourite sunscreens, since they are definitely not all equal in quality and especially texture.

La-Roche Posay makes my most consistently favourite sunscreens, with their fluid facial sunscreen being my top pick! It's incredibly light (very liquidy) with an almost matte finish which wears wonderfully under makeup, and offers a high SPF. None of their sunscreens feel overly greasy, or flake off in white patches as many other brands tend to do on me. They offer a great stable broad-spectrum protection, can't argue with that!

Vichy makes a sunscreen body oil, genius! It feels lovely to wear on dry skin, or when going to the beach, or if you just want a nice glow to your skin with a pleasant smell. Rubs in easily, and NO whiteness whatsoever which I know a lot of people will appreciate. And with an SPF of 30, thats not too shabby in the protection department either! Plus I don't mind re-applying this one at all.

If you are looking for something a little more inexpensive, these sunscreens by Hawaiian Tropic feel like body lotion and have a summery scent as well (I actually get compliments on how I smell when I am wearing this!) I wouldn't recommend them for the face as I would imagine they would be pore-clogging, but they feel like as a lotion-sunscreen combo. I would skip the SPF12 though... and go with at least a 30!

I couldn't talk about sunscreen without also mentioning a couple of my favourite after sun products! For the body I really enjoy the Korres After-Sun, it has real greek yogurt in it to soothe and help repair the skin and a refreshing scent. I don't apply this one on my face however, I find the smell a bit strong and the gel a little rich. They do make a Yogurt Face cream though which I haven't tried other than swatching on my hand, but the texture is lovely and contains the same soothing properties as the body gel. 

The 98% Aloe Vera gel from Jason actually gave me faith in Aloe once more as after sun care. All your usual Aloe Vera gels you find these days are sticky, smell terrible, and have almost NO Aloe actually in them!  (Check the ingredients, you'll be baffled. I know I was!) This one from Jason feels almost silky, and contains almost all real Aloe Vera (thank goodness), and I've used it on my face and body without any problem.

Last but most certainly not least, this SOS balm by Vichy is an incredible option for those really bad sunburns. You know the ones... They peel, and hurt, and are oh so very red. I burned my nose so badly one summer it was peeling like you would hardly believe,  and within only a couple of days this product made it ALL go away and I was only a little pink, amazing!! I was especially grateful because I had a big event to attend 3 days after this burn happened, and there was no way I was hiding it with makeup. I always keep some of this on hand, because you never know!

Some great tips if you do happen to find yourself out in the sun, is of course drink LOTS of water and wear a hat or remember to sunscreen around your hairline and part (don't forget behind the ears!) Don't forget to RE-apply your sunscreen throughout the day! Rule of thumb is if you are outside, do it every couple of hours and more often if you are in and out of the water because NO sunscreen is waterproof. Find a sunscreen you like to apply, and it won't be such a chore. I promise they've come a long ways in their formulas, and you're certain to find one you don't hate eventually. Many companies provide an SPF in their moisturizers now for face and body! If you have found yourself a little burnt, take an Ibuprofen (or Advil) as soon as you realize. This helps to take down swelling, lessening redness, and preventing some of the nasty damage that causes peeling. 

I could go on about sunscreen all day, but I won't bore you. ;) I'm sure I'll eventually do a follow up. If you do have any questions, leave me a comment! Or I'd love to hear what your favourite sunscreens are! 

Categories: Korres, La-Roche Posay, Skincare, Sunscreen, Vichy