Sunscreens have caught some colour, acquiring a little makeup coverage in the form of tinted SPFs. Until now, these have been relatively few and far between. Australian sunscreen specialists Ultra Violette changed the game with the launch of the excellent Daydream Screen SPF50 (£38) a few summers ago. Now, a new batch is launching.
Supergoop! is the first cab off the rank with Protec(tint) Daily Tint SPF50 (£40). The best thing about this very sheer tint is the shade lineup, which is well considered and natural-looking across the board (24N is a perfect match for me). However, skin type matters. It will best suit someone with balanced or slightly dry skin, since the finish will look too moist for oilier types, and cling to any flakiness on very dry skin.
Sensitive skins and eyes generally fare best with mineral sunscreens, and Merit Beauty has them covered. The Uniform SPF50 (pictured, £33) comes in a generous 50ml helping and although coverage is still very sheer, it does blend beautifully and realistically. Again, shades are thoughtfully chosen (I’m 26) and all leave a very pretty eggshell sheen that sits at the halfway point between matte and glowy. If your skin is relatively clear and even, it’s ideal. But if you’d like a mineral sunscreen with more redness coverage, try Ilia’s terrific Super Serum Skin Tint SPF30 (£42), which behaves more like a foundation and has a huge shade lineup for all.
Beauty of Joseon’s Daily Tinted Fluid Sunscreen SPF30 (£17) went viral upon launch and if you’re balanced to combination in type and would like a well-priced sunscreen that imparts a sheer, slightly shiny glow, then it’s well worth a go. But dry skins shouldn’t attempt this without plenty of moisturising skincare beneath, which brings me to the rub of the matter.
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A one-application, multipurpose product that makes one’s morning routine a breeze seems almost too good to be true – and it is. While tinted sunscreens are of the same standard as regular SPF products, their effectiveness is identically dependent on applying enough: two longest finger lengths of sunscreen is adequate for face and neck. And so in order to be properly protected, one would have to apply so much tinted sunscreen as to appear caked in makeup (imagine applying that much foundation and you’ll get the idea – you’d look like a TikTok influencer). It’s for this reason that I would always suggest applying a tinted product over a regular untinted sunscreen, in a belt and braces approach.