15 May 2012

I Don't Want To Fucking Burn (Part I) - Face Sun Protection

Now that the sun's coming out more and longer, I'm pulling out my collection of sun care reserves.
I'm not joking about reserves - I've got at least two backups of all of these.  Ever since my favourite Neutrogena After-Sun Lotion got discontinued/disappeared after one season, I will never risk it again!

I have super super super thin and light skin, so I burn very easily.  A little bit of sun exposure and my skin will be red and hot.  No sun protection, and I'm a tomato.  My skin also doesn't tan... it just burns and peels, reptile style.  (Read the backstory on my sensitive/combination/hormonal acne-prone skin here:  click!)

I use a ridiculous variety of products so I'm breaking it down to face and body.
Here's the face lineup:

La Roche-Posay is the newest addition, and I can definitely see this as being the prom queen of all.
I got this during London Drugs' 15% off all La Roche-Posay products deal last month.  It's $26 CAD at regular price.  It is water-based so you have to shake it like mad.  It is very liquidy, and blends very smoothly as a thin lotion formula.  The formula dries quickly and actually disappears within your skin.

I'm always super sceptical of sun products that claim to dry matte, but it's never completely matte.  So, naturally, I had scepticism "bullshit" all over my face when the beauty counter manager at London Drugs was telling me about it.  She squirted a generous amount on the back of my hand and I rubbed it in.  After a couple of minutes, it had the same familiar "matte" look and I kinda scoffed in the woman's face.  BUT, after 5 minutes, it was as if I had nothing on my hand!  OMFG!  It's not just matte, but you cannot tell that you're wearing any sun protection product!  There's no sunscreen scent and your skin is completely smooth to the touch without any glow.  Ok, I'm gonna stop - I'm sounding like a fucking infomercial.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to reach for this one all the time, because it's so lightweight and actually matte.  I'll probably replace my Clinique lotion with this during the Summer.

What makes it even more of a plus is it's paraben-free.

These two bottles are the exact same thing.  The one in the package is just the repackaged version of the one on the right.  It is VERY close to the La Roche-Posay one, except it's a smidge thicker in consistency and the sunscreen scent is definitely there.  It isn't "invisible" like the La Roche-Posay one, but the "matte-ish" shine is the most minimal that I've seen out of all the other popular drugstore brands out there.  If you're not crazy and obsessive like me, then go for this one at Walmart for $9.99 USD.
I'm not completely sure, but I think this one may be replaced by the UltraSheer Water-Light.  Read on about the Water-Light one.

Here's a comparison between the La Roche-Posay (L) and Neutrogena UltraSheer (R).
As you can see, there's significant difference in the consistency.

Neutrogena UltraSheer Water-Light is slightly more watery than the regular UltraSheer.  I think it might be the water-based version of the UltraSheer?  Might be pulling shit out of my ass again, I don't know...  But it's definitely closer to the La Roche-Posay than the UltraSheer one.  Obviously, I prefer this Water-Light one over the regular UltraSheer, so yay!
I don't know what I'm talking about... I sound like jibberish.  Just try it out for yourself.  It's $9.99 USD at Walmart.  Canada charges at least $15 CAD.  It doesn't fucking sparkle like the La Roche-Posay one, but for more than half the price, it's comparable.
You can see that it's definitely more watery than the UltraSheer, but not as thin as the La Roche-Posay:

I put this UltraSheer Face in as part of the face section simply because it's labelled that way, but it's wayyy too thick and shiny for my face.  When I say way too thick, I mean relative to the products mentioned above.  The formula is thinner than regular sunscreen.  I can see that it's good for someone who has drier skin or wants a thicker consistency.  I just happen use it as a body product.
I bought this from Walmart for $9.99 USD.  Once again, Canada charges at least $15 CAD.

Isn't this the cutest thing?  It looks like a deodorant for babies, haha.
It actually has a dry, waxy consistency like a deodorant too!  I like using this for my ears, around my eyes, and to touch up.  It's especially good for the eye socket area, because it doesn't melt or run - no tears!
I think I got this for $6 USD at Walmart or Target.

♥ M

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