While SPF is vital for year-round wear, our enforced home-time has probably undone some sedulous sunscreen application habits formed last summer. We might have slathered on our base layer of sun protection a little less liberally in the throes of lockdown, relying on a minimal barrier from a tinted moisturiser or a lick of BB cream. But now with picnic pandemonium in full swing and al fresco dining on the horizon, the thought of adding some potent sun protection back into our getting ready agendas is more necessary than ever. So here’s five Australian Sunscreens that will play well under your make-up.
With hotter climes ahead, days spent basking in the bliss of sunshine, rosé, and human interaction are inevitable. Because, often, with day drinking comes melting make-up and SPF application amnesia, it’s paramount to find a good UVA and UVB guardian angel. We mustn’t let the good times impede the health of precious epidermal layers.
We’re already rummaging through forgotten beauty bits, relearning make-up applications, and auditing our everyday products. But as we reclaim sacred tools from a past life, let’s not overlook the importance of a reliable and intermingling SPF. The brief for society re-entry sunscreen is that it must protect, sit well under rediscovered make-up and even give a little glow to the skin, when worn alone.
Pending your skin type and textural sunscreen preferences, a mattifying sun guard might be the pick of the bunch, or a squeeze with illuminating properties could give a little extra dew to quenched faces. Here, we round up the best sunscreens to wear under make-up, for all of the seasonal escapades to come.
The illuminator
If you yearn for skin that glows (and take great pleasure in bathroom sink adorning), this serum-sunscreen hybrid from Ultra Violette could be the one. Encased in a cobalt glass vessel and complete with a lab-like dropper applicator, it’s experiential SPF. This is for the make-up-wearer that likes to make an event out of their morning routine, ritualising and romanticising the art of the skincare, sunscreen and beauty ritual. On the inside is what really counts, full of skin-nurturing native Australian antioxidants and free from oils that weigh your skin down. It’s fancy, it’s fluid, it’s as TikTok would have it: “something fun, something for the summertime” and thereafter.
Ultra Violette Queen Screen SPF 50+ Luminising Sun Serum, $47 from Adore Beauty
The dual-tasker
Alpha H is known for its skincare repertoire, so it’s not surprising this SPF has become a cult favourite over the years. This contender replenishes the skin while fending off harmful UVA and UVB rays, doubling up as a moisture-giver while keeping your face safe. If the thought of multiple skincare steps in the morning is distressing, slip a bit of this on, a few glow drops from Drunk Elephant, perhaps, and hit the ground running. For the streamlined skincare operator, this Aussie-made SPF gets the job done without parabens, mineral oil or sulphates, and can replace your morning moisturiser.
Alpha H Protection Plus Daily SPF50+, $58 from Adore Beauty
The all-rounder
Non-sticky, ultra-lightweight and a little bit pearlescent, this Mecca contender claims most of the must-tick SPF categories. It glides on with ease and gives a healthy dose of glaze, acting as a primer of sorts for the base make-up that follows. There’s no residual, gooey sunscreen feel on the face, just a hint of sheen and a supple finish thanks to a healthy dose of Vitamin E (a natural skin barrier strengthener). Also, extra points for the size variation. Pack a mini tube in your picnic arsenal and offer up a dollop to any SPF-negligent friends.
Mecca Cosmetica To Save Face SPF50+ Superscreen Oxybenzone Free Formula, $42 from Mecca Cosmetica
The gentle protector
Perhaps one of the most lauded and long-loved of the national skincare icons is anything made by La Roche-Posay. This invisible fluid sunscreen boasts a neat SPF50 UVA and UVB protection and knows how to care for fussier, ultra-sensitive skin types. It’s dermatologically tested for irritation-prone skin, free from fragrance and super lightweight to protect against harmful rays without you knowing it’s ever there—sort of like getting the right picnic playlist right without irritating your park neighbours.
La Roche-Posay Anthelios Invisible Fluid Facial Sunscreen SPF 50+, $32 from Adore Beauty
The mattifier
From SPF iconoclast Ultra Violette comes a mineral sunscreen without the unwanted white-masking or heavy touch-feel of an actual old school zinc. Constantly reimagining how we wear sunscreen, one of Ultra Violette’s more recent releases is this Lean Screen SPF50, made to slightly mattifying and oil-control extra-dewy canvases. If you’re planning some full throttle frisbee or the forecast looks exceptionally spicy, smooth this over your bare skin before throwing on your usual beauty suspects.
Ultra Violette Lean Screen SPF50 Sunscreen, $49 from Adore Beauty
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