Lux v Less - Sun Protection

Summer has officially arrived and it's finally starting to feel like it too.

So when the sun rays peeks through, make sure you enjoy its presence safely and in moderation by protecting your skin. Here are 2 facial sunscreens that will not only keep your skin moisturised but give you the protection you need to safely venture outdoors.

LUX: Guinot Age Sun Protective Anti-aging Skincare SPF 20 - RRP A$140

This will not only protect you from the sun, but it will give you a big-antiaging boost with its list of 56 super-charged anti-aging ingredients like vitamin A, C, E and cell protecting amino-acids.

Only SPF 20 I hear you scoff? well yes, it is not as high as I personally would like but I was explained by Guinot's skincare expert Laura Pritchard that a higher percentage of the sunscreen chemicals would destablise the formulation and won't allow the product to penetrate deeper into skin, making it an ineffective anti-ageing product. Besides, no matter what SPF you end up using when outdoors, you should always re-apply every hour to make sure skin stays protected throughout the day.

A light and non-greasy cream, this stuffs smells of chocolate cocoa butter and can be quite addictive. Readily absorbed, this keeps skin hydrated all day long and doesn't get greasy on me at all. It also acts as a great primer before makeup applications, a bonus that many will appreciated and enjoy. Although it doesn't leave an obvious white cast in everyday use and has a great finish, be mindful if you're planning to be photographed whilst wearing this as it can have you looking lighter than in real life due to natural sunscreen ingredients (titanium dioxide).

Guinot is available at Guinot salons nationwide.

LESS: Neutrogena Healthy Defence Daily Moisturiser SPF 30+  - RRP A$17.95
A cheaper and readily available alternative, you will get good hydration and sun protection from Neutrogena Healthy Defence.

Also quite light and fluid, it has a subtle fresh scent that disappears within minutes of application. Whilst its texture is not as luxe as Guinot and it does leave a bit of an sheen on skin, it also contains vitamin A, C, E to give instant hydration. It doesn't leave a white cast and dries to a slight sheen finish, but I don't find makeup sitting as well over it and you may need to use a primer to prep your face and I find I can get slightly oily looking during the day with this product, even when using the combination/oily skin formula.

In 2 formulations to cater for normal/oily skin and combination/oily skin types, I find this product more suitable for me to use in cooler weather as I don't oil up as much and so I can slap plenty of it on my face and neck.  

Guinot spreads better and is slightly pale yellow in colour

Neutrogena is available in supermarkets, Priceline and pharmacies nationwide.

Many people have asked how you can re-apply sunscreen over makeup. Unfortunately, there's no real simple way without without having to do major touch ups on your face. So if you are outdoors, try using mineral foundation for touch up as they contain natural sunscreen that will give you protection or SPF tinted moisturisers instead.

samples of these products were sent for review.

Review: Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Daily Face Sunscreen SPF30+

Given that we Aussies live in one of the most southern countries in the world and the fact that there is a big gaping hole in the ozone layer just over neighbouring Antarctica, looking after our skin from the suns harmful UV rays should be our #1 imperative (well it is mine).

UVB  is what causes skin to go red and burn as it damages the skin's epidermal layers and is a key cause of nasty skin cancers such as melanoma while UVA, although less intense than UVB, is more prevalent in our atmosphere and is associated with photo-aging, skin aging, freckling and pigmentation. UVA rays can penetrate deeper into the basal of the epidermis and causes much untold damage many years later on.

So, short of staying indoors and never seeing the light of day or completely covering up, sunscreen is one of the most important products out there that one can use to protect our skin when we find ourselves out and about during the day.

Choosing sunscreens
Not all sunscreens are created equal and when looking for one, make sure that it provides broad spectrum protection (which will block out both UVA and UVB rays) and ideally should be Skin Protection Factor aka SPF 30+). The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administrators or TGA (think US FDA counterparts) have restricted labelling to show no higher SPF than 30+ as it can mislead consumers and lull them into a false sense of security that SPF 50 is better than 30 when in fact after application on skin, there is no significant increase in skin protection provided by the higher SPF sunscreens. Also different country applies tests for SPF differently so ratings vary considerably according to country. As a guide, Australian SPF30+ allows transmission of 3.4% of UV radiation onto skin which is more than enough for the daily UV rays our skin needs for vitamin D synthesis and healthy bone development.

I like my facial sunscreens lightweight and non-greasy. When I came across Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Daily face sunscreen lotion, I was instantly interested and the new helioplex technology promising a more stable sunscreen was too hard to resist.


What I found

• is a chemical sunscreen so works but absorbing the harmful UVA&B rays before it penetrates skin. Helioplex helps to stablise the sunscreen chemicals so you get longer protection before the chemicals starts to break down by the suns ray. Re-application every 3-4 hours is recommended if staying outdoors for an extended period of time
• being a chemical blocker sunscreen does not give a white cast on makeup applications, especially in photographs 
• lightweight and non-greasy - dry to touch with a matte finish
• milky white fluid in texture - rubs into skin very quickly
• very light, non-overbearing fresh scent the disappears quickly after application
• didn't quite work as a primer for makeup base. It accentuated any dry patches and needed a separate primer to fix those areas
• after 2 weeks use, I broke out from this and had 2 tiny whiteheads on my cheeks. I've not experience this with any sunscreens before, even with oilier sunscreens

Overall thoughts
I love the texture and how it was quickly absorbed into my skin. It is a shame I can't use this product long term as an ingredient caused my skin to react to it after a period of use. I now use this solely on my hands and neck as its a lovely product for those areas, just not on my face. I would love to see a re-formulated version that doesn't break me out as it gives a nice matte finish to the face.

Rating: 6/10
RRP A$14.99 at all good chemists and Target, Big-W and Kmart stores.
stats source: Australian Cancer Foundation