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Category Archives: Sunscreen
Dollface Reviews: Soltan Invisible Dry-Touch Transparent Suncare Spray SPF 50
I’ve written here a few times now about my sun-screen buying woes, but, well, it looks like I’m going to do it again. Sorry.
Because my skin is so pale, I don’t go out without first of all slathering myself with a high SPF sunscreen. Now, this can be a bit of a pain, because here in the UK, most high factor sunscreens tend to be of the thick, white, gloopy variety: they take ages to rub in, they leave your skin looking shiny, greasy, and even whiter than it was to start with, the smell is strong enough to knock you out, and, just to top it all off, they almost always end up staining your clothes, and let me tell you, that stuff almost NEVER comes out. Oh, and you’ll generally pay something in the region of £15 per bottle for this.
For this reason, I normally buy my sunscreen in the U.S. This summer, for instance, I bought two cans of Walgreens’ own brand dry spray, for about $10. It was SPF70, and it was the kind of clear spray which dispenses as a “mist” and dries instantly: all you have to do is depress the pump, wave it over your body for a few seconds, and you’re done. I love it, and there are always lots of different brands that come in the same kind of format, for the same kind of price.
This stuff is almost impossible to find in the U.K. I’ve purchased various cans of sunscreen which looked and sounded like the stuff I buy abroad… but which actually contained a product which was white and runny, rather than clear and dry. And it’s always cost me around £15 per can, too. Most of the time I just try to stock up when I’m in the US, and bring enough home with me to last the rest of the year, but unfortunately my habit of maxing out my luggage allowance meant that this year I just didn’t have any space for sunscreen.
Enter Soltan Invisible Dry-Touch Transparent Suncare Spray.
Soltan, as you probably know, is Boots’ own brand sunscreen, and I’ve used it quite a bit over the years. A couple of weeks ago, however, I noticed Boots were selling the “Soltan Invisible” variation of it for just £5.99 per bottle, so I jumped at the chance to try it out.
First, the good stuff:
1. It’s clear.
2. It’s “dry touch”, which means minimal rubbing-in, and no greasy skin afterwards.
3. It doesn’t have an overpowering smell.
4. It goes up to SPF50, which is normally high enough for a UK summer.
5. It’s currently reduced to £5.99 per bottle.
As for the “bad stuff”, well, there’s only really one thing I don’t like about this, and that’s the pump action spray. There are actually a few different brands in the UK which sell similar clear-spray sunscreens, and I’ve found the same issue with all of them, which is that the pump dispenser is generally quite stiff, and impossible to use with one hand: I find I have to brace the bottom of the bottle against something in order to depress the pump and dispense the product, so, rather than spraying it directly onto the skin, I normally end up having to spray it into my hands and then rub it into the skin from there. The American brands I use, by contrast, come in a aerosol-style can, with a pump which can be depressed with one finger, allowing you to just “mist” it over your skin, with no rubbing-in required.
That said, however, this is definitely one of the better sunscreens I’ve found on this side of the Atlantic, and while there are other brands which offer clear-spray in the same kind of bottle, this is also by far the cheapest, at the current price of £5.99, which makes me tempted to stock up before it goes back to the usual price of £11.99.
One further word about this: it claims to be water-resistant, which is a claim I haven’t been able to put to the test, as the water in the UK is far too cold to make me ever want to swim out of doors! I have, however, used it on a couple of the hottest days we’ve had since I bought it, when I was out in the sun all day, and I didn’t get even the tiniest hint of sunburn, so it does seem to work well in that regard, although obviously, as it’s a clear spray, you will have to be a little more careful when you’re applying it to make sure you don’t miss a bit!
This is still reduced at Boots, and you can click here to buy it.
Dollface Reviews: Delphi SPF50 Young & Delicate Sun Block Lotion
Well, I’m back from my vacation, and I have loads of new products which I had intended to start trying out and photographing for you this week, but sadly for me, beauty products (and, er, shoes and dresses) weren’t the only thing I brought back from the States: I also have a horrible summer cold, complete with red nose, chapped lips and bloodshot eyes – lovely!
I’m leaving the makeup off today, then, and concentrating on topping up my moisturiser and drinking lots of water, but while I wait for my face to start to look (more or less ) human again, here’s a quick review of the product I’ve been wearing on it almost constantly for the past three weeks – sun block!
Now, as regular readers know, I consider sunblock to be the most important item in my beauty arsenal (yes, even more important than mascara): I prefer dry spray for the body, but always use creams on my face, so when a bottle of Delphi’s SPF 50 Young & Delicate Sun Block arrived on my desk a few days before my vacation, it went straight into the suitcase. Of course, my skin is neither young nor particularly delicate, and as you can probably tell by the name of this, it’s actually designed for children. This matters not at all to be, though: actually, a lot of my sun protection products are designed for kids, purely because children’s lines tend to come with a much higher SPF and great water resistance, and when your skin is as pale as mine, you take all the protection you can get, even if it does come in a kiddie-themed package.
Thankfully, though, there’s nothing remotely childlike about the packaging of this, and the 100ml tub is the perfect size to pop in your handbag and carry around with you. It’s water resistant, and although it is rather thick and white, I found that it absorbed easily enough, and didn’t look too greasy on, which is a problem I have with almost every sun block I use. As an added bonus, it has a pleasant, citrus scent, which makes a nice change from the more chemical smells I’m used to in high factor creams.
I wore this on my face and neck every day for the three weeks of my vacation, and emerged without a touch of sunburn, even although I spent a lot of time in the pool/ocean, so I’d say it did its job well, too. If you want to try it out, it’s available here, for £6.12.
Malibu SPF 15 Clear Scalp Protector
As I may have mentioned once or twice or a million times, I'm paranoid about sunburn, which is why you'll always find me lathered up in the highest SPF I can find in the summer, plus a hat.
Despite this, at some point I almost always burn my scalp a little. I'll get careless with the hat, or I'll go swimming and not want to worry about trying to keep it on in the water, and while I've never burnt myself badly, I have cooked my scalp enough on occasion to make this product of interest to me.
It's a clear scalp protector with SPF 15, and although I have tried similar things before, they've always been so very greasy that they take days to wash out properly. This one claims to be non-greasy, and only costs £2.49, so it may be worth investing in for my next trip.
Anyone tried it?
Korres Watermelon Suncare Stick SPF30
We've been having what passes for a "heatwave" here in the UK for the past few days, and Mr Dollface keeps commenting that I "smell like summer holidays" – by which he means I absolutely reek of high factor sunscreen.
I know I've mentioned this a lot, but this is possibly the only downside of warm weather for me – the fact that I have to go around slathered in sticky, gloopy, smelly stuff that ruins my clothes and normally stinks to high heaven. (Because even although none of the ones I use smell bad, they do all smell strong, and that scent tends to cling to everything at this time of year.)
This is also why I'm drawn to Korres Watermelon Suncare Stick. It claims to smell like watermelon (unsurprisingly, given the name), you see, and that has to be better than smelling like… sunscreen. It comes in a stick, so you're not going to be able to cover your entire body with it, but it'll come in handy for topping up delicate areas like the nose, forehead and shoulders. If only ALL sunscreen smelled like fruit. (Or maybe …. cakes?)
BUY: Korres Watermelon Suncare Stick, £16
Dollface Reviews: Ambre Solaire Spray SPF 30 sunscreen
I have the hardest time with sunscreen. Because I'm so pale, I have to be absolutely meticulous about applying it, and I also have to go for a high factor. The problem with that, though? Well, high factor sunscreens tend to be really thick, white and gloopy. They're hard to apply, take ages to soak into your skin, ruin your clothes (I always buy a selection of really cheap tanks and t-shirts to take on holiday with me because they always get ruined with sunscreen) and, in some cases, leave a white film on your skin which makes you look even paler than you started.
This is why I love Ambre Solaire so much. Their spray sunscreen comes in SPF 30, and is CLEAR. It dries instantly, is super-quick to apply, and has yet to ruin any of my clothes. I've never been sunburned when I'm wearing it either, although, admittedly, I will generally wear an SPF 50 if I'm going to be in the sun for a while, and I always wear SPF on my face.
The only drawback I can see to this is that it has a very distinctive smell: it's not unpleasant, though, and every time I smell it now I think of holidays and fun times, so it has some happy associations for me.
It's £13.97 per bottle, and you can buy it at Boots.
The Sun Tanning Stencil Robe gives you a “sun tatto”, also cancer
Araargh! With my super-pale skin, I’ve long-since learned to avoid getting a sun-tan like you’d avoid an axe-wielding murderer running rampant through your home. So this idea totally freaks me out. As you can see from the picture, it’s basically a robe with lots of cut-out areas that allows you to get yourself a "sun tattoo". Lie in the sun long enough, though, and you’ll also get a good chance of developing skin cancer, which is the main reason I hate this, although to be honest, I probably wouldn’t like it even if it didn’t involve frying your skin. What do you think?
[Source]
Peter Thomas Roth Instant Mineral SPF 30
I’ve said in the past that I’m not a huge fan of mineral makeup for the face, because I tend to find it leaves me looking older than I really am, with the powder emphasising the lines and dry skin around my eyes. (Nice!)
That hasn’t stopped me adding this one to my wish list, though, because this sounds like a whole other kettle of fish altogether. Rather than being a foundation, which is what I assumed at first, this is basically a mineral sunscreen. It contains SPf 30 and is talc-free, matt and transparent.
This sounds like a fabulous idea to me: I’ve also said before that I have huge problems in the summer, when I’m normally forced to wear thick, gloopy sunscreen under my makeup. Not only does it make the makeup want to slide off my face, it also makes me look super-greasy. In fact, the last time I was in Sephora, the assistant gave me a free sample of a product she said would help deal with my "very greasy skin". I was too embarrassed to tell her that my skin is actually normal, it was the SPF50 sunscreen on it that was greasy.
But I digress. This not only blocks the sun’s harmful rays, it also "crates the illusion of smooth, radiant skin" according to Sephora. I’m not sure how "safe" I’d feel going out in the sun with just a powder as a sunscreen, but I think that’s only because this is such a novel idea to me, and I’m so used to the thick creams. If it works, it could be a fantastic addition to my makeup collection, and I may even be willing to overlook the issues I’ve had with mineral foundation in the past for it.
Buy: Peter Thomas Roth Instant Mineral SPF 30, $30
Sunblock on a Rope! Mini Ultra Lite Oil-Free Sunblock by Peter Thomas Roth
I’ve heard of "soap on a rope", but actually, I think sunblock-on-a-rope is a much better idea. Why on earth would you need your soap to be on a rope, anyway? Where would you be taking it that such a thing would even be necessary? The mind boggles.
Sunblock, though – sunblock is a completely different matter. If you’re planning on leaving your house at all during the summer months (and, actually, during the rest of the year too, if you care about your skin), you’re going to want to have your sunblock with you. What better way to make sure it’s always handy than by sticking it on the end of a rope? Genius.
Bliss Ray of Hope – a sunscreen that makes you look slimmer. Apparently.
A sunscreen that makes you look slim? Well, I’ll be darned, sign me up for that, please…
The sunscreen in question is Bliss’ Ray of Hope, and it contains "solar activated slender spheres". Yes, "slender spheres". Because that doesn’t sound silly at all, does it? Apparently these slender spheres work to "release the visual slimming effect of caffeine molecules" when you’re lying in the sun, thus creating the illusion that you are, indeed, slimmer. I wonder if they’ll ever release one with "look like Angelina Jolie spheres"? Now that would be worth buying.
This one comes in SPF20 and is in a spray formula for easy application. I’d love to hear from anyone who’s used it, and who can tell us whether it actually made them look slimmer or not.
Wish List Sunscreen: Coppertone Sunscreen Clear Continuous Spray
Because I’m a redhead, my skin is naturally a pale blue colour. It would probably turn white after a few hours or so of tanning, but I wouldn’t know because I’ve never tried. Sunburn is bad for you, kids, and don’t you forget it?
During the summer, then, I never go out without at least SPF 30 slathered all over my body. The problem with this? Well, most high factor sunscreens tend to be thick, gloopy and white. You have to wait an hour for them to absorb before you can even think about getting dressed, and most of them are so white they just make me look even paler than I was when I started. (Which is a pretty tall order, let me tell you). Even when I do wait for the sunscreen to absorb, I invariably end up with streaks of the stuff all over my nice white t-shirts and other clothes – and just in case you were wondering, that stuff ain’t never coming out.
