an ounce of prevention

Make no mistake, at 8,700 feet in the dead of summer, a girl's best friend is neither diamonds nor her mother. It is sunscreen. The same goes for the beach. Since we have done both in the past month, I thought it was a good time to talk sun prevention.

I have long been on the hunt for the perfect daily sunscreen. I have never liked what the sun does to my skin--brown spots, pink that immediately turns pasty white again--and as I am now getting, ahem, older, I would prefer to stave off wrinkles and sun damage insofar as it is in my power to do so. This caution has become downright panic since our sojourn in Southern California, when my Jane Iredale Mineral Powder SPF 20 (which I love) was not enough to stop a beautiful bronze stripe from emerging on my forehead and chin after a few months of incidental sun exposure. Melasma, my derm told me, left over from pregnancy but unseen because it had never been brought out by the sun.

So, in packing for this summer, the last errand on my to do list before our flight was a stop at Barney's for the new Sunday Riley sunscreen. This errand, as is always the case for the last errand, was not accomplished. Luckily, the magic bullet was already in my suitcase, unopened  (along with three other options, just in case).  Skinceuticals Physical Fusion UV Defense SPF 50 ($30, skinceuticals.com) is a titanium dioxide-based sunscreen that protects well, yes, but also imparts a dewy glow the moment I put it on. It diffuses redness and, unlike almost every other sunscreen I have tried, it seems to clear up my blemishes, rather than causing more of them. It is a pleasure to use. It has a runny yet creamy consistency that allows it to spread easily over the skin, and while the bottle may seem a bit small, I have been using it for two months on face, neck, and decollete, and I have yet to finish it off. I still keep my Jane Iredale compact handy for touch ups if I am going to be in the sun several hours after I have applied my morning sunscreen, but I find that it is rarely necessary now.

A quick note for those with olive skin or skin of color:  Though the Skinceuticals lotion is tinted, you may find it a bit chalky for your skin tone, so test it in the shop before buying. As an alternative, the next best thing I have found is La Mer The SPF 30 UV Protecting Lotion ($70, available at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and lamer.com).  It uses chemical blockers rather than physical ones, so there is no white cast, and it is cosmetically elegant and works well under makeup.

Mind you, we still came home decidedly sun-kissed, mostly on our shoulders and backs (I'm looking at you, Neutrogena Wet Skin Kids SPF 70 Spray, and I did reapply!), so the hunt is on for the perfect spray-on sunscreen.  If you have one you love, please email me by clicking the button at the bottom of this blog. In the meantime, enjoy all that August sunshine!