This week is Sun Awareness Week, so I thought I’d finish off the week with a lovely big feature on facial SPFs, a product we all know we should be applying religiously, but apparently still quite a few of us don’t. As someone who dips in and out, I can completely understand why you wouldn’t want to use a facial SPF, as not only are they yet another step in the routine, they can also be quite unpleasant to use by not sinking in properly, feeling greasy on the skin, making make-up look patchy and just generally being difficult. With that in mind, I thought I’d round up some of the best facial SPFs for all budgets, so you have no excuse! I really have tried to ensure there’s something for everyone, so read on to find your perfect match. Remember to be generous with your application, and aim for around a 10 pence piece sized blob for your face.
Starting off with the high range ones, I’m slightly obsessed with Bakel at the moment as I love their philosophy – the product arrives with a box that clearly details all the ingredients and what each ingredient does to benefit the product – and every product I’ve tried from them has been fab. The have a nice, rich, luxurious SPF50, which is suitable for face and eyes, although it contains Shea Butter, so I would say this is a particularly good match for more mature or dry skin types. The Bakel Suncare Very High Protection 50+ is £50. When discussing facial SPFs that don’t cause breakouts, Dr Perricone MD’s Photo Plasma is the one that comes up the most, as it’s really a one-stop-shop as it provides hydration, skincare and a very decent SPF30 for £59. The Thalgo Age Defence Sun Cream costs £23.75 and is also an SPF30 and promises to be both non-greasy and non-whitening.
The snappy named Vichy Ideal Soleil BB Tinted Velvety Cream SPF50+ was my first love in the world of facial SPFs, as it’s a great primer that leaves skin feeling truly velvety (presumably hence the name) and sits brilliantly under make-up, making it quite the steal at £15.50. Caudalie have a great range of sunscreens for all skin types, and the thing I like most about them is that they usually work alongside a key skincare ingredient. The one pictured is the Anti-Ageing Face Suncare SPF30 which is £18. The DNA Renewal DNA Defense SPF50 has the price point of the higher range ones at £55, but I’ve included it in the mid range as you get a massive 118ml tube for your buck, so this could well see you through the whole Summer season. If you find your skin reacts to everything, I really recommend the Dermalogica Super Sensitive Shield SPF30, £29, which is a lovely, light and gentle SPF that’s perfect for angry or inflamed skin. Finally, Murad are another brand who have an SPF for every need, with a great example being the Oil Free Sunscreen SPF30 at £27.
Piz Buin have a huge range of very affordable sunscreens that meet a variety of needs. The Allergy Sun Sensitive Skin Face Cream is just £8 and comes in SPF30 or SPF50. A chat with the team behind Olay a while ago got me started on this feature, since they mentioned that their research had shown that we’re all still avoiding facial SPFs as so many of them are heavy, so to address that they released a couple of lighter versions of their existing products. The Olay Featherweight Moisturiser has an SPF15, which isn’t as high as I’d like, but it does come in a lighter formula for £14.99. The final product is another from Piz Buin, which is the Ultra Light Dry Touch Face Fluid, which comes in an SPF15 or SPF30 and promises to absorb quickly to provide an almost invisible protection for £8.
I’ll be giving these all a thorough testing over the next few weeks and coming back with my favourite from each category soon!
*PR Samples
