7 sunscreens for all scenarios and skin types

Written by Jenny Wu
Jenny Wu

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  1. The LRP Anthelios Ultra Light Fluid is my holy grail. I wear it Every. Single. Day. Inside + out. I didn’t start wearing SPF (on my face/neck) until I was 53 years old. At least I wore SPF hats + shirts for about 30 years prior to that, but no dermatologist ever explained UVA + UVB to me. I did a ton of research after I started wearing sunscreen. And what I really learned was how far behind the rest of the world we are in the U.S. Since the early 90s, Europeans have had better sun protection. I buy the Ultra Fluid from Canada, from Ireland + from eBay. I have simply not found a sunscreen my skin likes better than that Anthelios. I also use the Derma Kids spray on the back of my hands. And I still wear SPF hats + shirts in the spring + summer. Now I wear them everyday, when before I understood all this, I wore them when I exercised or worked in the garden. Now I wear them to work. And my face is always tipped away from the sun. The sun is not my friend.

    • Jenny says:

      Thanks for sharing Susan! I agree, the US is ridiculously behind when it comes to sunscreens. Good thing we’re now able to easily purchase better sunscreens from other countries!

  2. Veronica says:

    Thanks for the guide. I never know what to look for in a sunscreen. It’s especially important where I live.

    Joy to the World!

  3. Gabrielle says:

    This is such a brilliant guide to different sunscreens for certain skin types, I’ve always just used the same one each and every summer! Will be keeping your advice in mind for sure :) Hope you’re having a lovely week so far!

    aglassofice.com x

  4. I really love that Peter Thomas Roth sunscreen!

    xx,
    Meredith
    LATEST POST | INSTAGRAM

  5. MissLaven says:

    Love this round-up of sunscreens, Jen! I love La Roche Possay products and their sun screens are great!

  6. Naya says:

    Wonderful post here, Jenny! I love LRP sunscreens too; sometimes they sit too heavy under makeup, but overall – they seem to have a solution for every sunscreen dilemma possible! Welcome back and congrats! xx

    Naya
    partyparrotblog.com

  7. Alyssa says:

    I’m currently using Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence, and I love how light and effective it is. It suits my oily skin. I thought the Biore UV Face Milk was enough for me, but it’s better! :) And reading this post made me want to try La Roche Posay more. I wish they can be more accessible in my country. Only one luxury department store sells them here but the stocks are limited and the markup is quite high.

    xx Alyssa | STYLE VANITY

  8. Such a great read! I may get lazy with skincare some days but I’ll never forget sunscreen on my face now. I have the perfect one for my face but I need to find something for body as I may be going to Europe next month so this article has been perfect. I’ll have to keep an eye out for La Roche Posy now.

    Sxx
    daringcoco.com

  9. Radi says:

    Love your suggestions for every type of summer activity. I hate it when I sometimes forget to apply sunscreen.

    http://www.fashionradi.com

  10. I admit, I haven’t tried any of the ones you mentioned (not even the La Roche Posay versions) because I am so happy with my ISDIN Fotoprotect Fusion Water. It is European, offers both UVA and UVB protection and feels like nothing on my skin.

    Anne – Linda, Libra, Loca

    • Jenny says:

      I need to try that one, hopefully it’s available on ebay! Someone else recommended it to me a while back, but I forgot to pick it up when I was in Europe last year :(

  11. Rachel says:

    Nice guide. Love the part about anti pollution. It’s definitely aging – I know the ordinary survival 0 has a lot of anti pollution features as well as things like blue light / infrared protection.

    Love Japanese sunscreens… too bad they contain alcohol so high up on the lists.

    LRP is good too. Can’t wait to try their new range with anti pollution. I wonder what the PPD for it is.

    Would love it if you could look at or review sun sticks and sun powders. Tons out there.

    • Jenny says:

      Thanks Rachel! The ordinary survival 0 sounds great, but unfortunately it doesn’t offer any UV protection. The climate in Japan is warmer and more humid, hence alcohol is frequently featured to help improve the texture of the products. However there are still plenty of Japanese sunscreen without alcohol high up in the formula (or at all), especially ones formulated for dry skin types.

      PPD is a rating for UVA protection, similar to what SPF is for UVB. You can learn more in my sunscreen guide if you’re curious.

      I personally don’t like sun sticks as it’s hard to judge how much you’ve applied, which is important if you want to get the full amount of protection labeled on the sunscreen. I also considered including powders on the list, but an experiment on the sun protection of various sunscreen formats showed that powders offer little to no protection. Again this goes back to applying the correct amount of sunscreen to get the labeled protection, and you can’t really get that with powder without looking ridiculously cakey :(

  12. I adore the Shiseido sunscreen but I need to get the invisible version or I get a horrible white cast!

  13. This is such a great post Jenny! Yes sunscreen is a must but using the right type for different situations is also important. I definitely amp it up with more heavy duty protection when I know I’m going to be outdoors for most of the day. I used to be a big fan of LRP sunscreens back in the day and it looks like they’ve really expanded their range. I’m mostly into organic sunscreens now. I really like Soleil Toujours because their formulations are organic and don’t contain oxybenzone or octinoxate. No matter what sunscreen one chooses, reapplication every two hours is key!

    • Jenny says:

      Thank you Rowena! I try to stick to mineral sunscreens on a day to day basis if I can as well, it’s just less potential irritations for my skin and I’m not a fan of oxybenzone or octinoxate either. But I agree, the most important thing is actually using sunscreen and reapplying it!

  14. These look great. I recently switched to a BB cream that has SPF.

    Jennifer | Mrs Q Beauty

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