Posts with tag sunscreen

Vogue is the Bible, so what Vogue says goes. This time the fashion Bible is declaring that freckles are officially back in. In the world of women who bake themselves for hours at a time by the pool, were they ever really out?

San Francisco summers are freezing cold. We usually spend June and July so bundled up that the sun doesn't have a chance to burn any body parts. We must admit: sunscreen is often an afterthought.

Last week we sat through a two hour graduation ceremony in Boston during a heatwave and received a fierce reminder of it's importance: glowing, red, sunburned arms.

This was a bad burn, and Lubriderm wasn't going to cut it, so we headed to Walgreens for aloe vera gel. Luckily we found something even better: Burt's Bees Soothingly Sensitive Aloe & Buttermilk Lotion.

At the risk of sounding a little bit nutso, we definitely think there is an art to packing the ultimate beach bag. If you can pack it up with essentials and still keep it light, then you've got the knack.

We had a great weekend. We danced our butts off, sang our hearts out and probably had one too many beers at the Glow in the Dark tour in illy Philly on Saturday night. But as always, we were thinking of our dear reader's and before we went in to enjoy the likes of Rihanna, Lupe Fiasco (heart!), N.E.R.D. and the brilliant Kayne, we took a tour of tailgate heaven to see what's hot and what's not for concert gear this year.

Here is a breakdown of the ideal concert attire:

Little did we know there was a correct way to apply sunscreen (or swunscweam as our daughter calls it). But don't worry, we did a little detective work and figured out the 5 W's for you.

The Who and the What. Of course we're talking sunscreen here. The first step is, obviously, you want to slather it on anytime you're in the sun. That's a given. Just a tiny bit of sun exposure each day can really add up overtime. But did you know that you've got to apply 30 minutes before going outside for the best results? Yes it's true. And again each time you are active (What!? People actually do stuff other than layout on the beach?). If you have a protective hat or clothing, even better.

As pale folk, we are well aware of the myriad dangers of sun exposure. But we hate to get our hands all yucky with gloppy, gritty, weird smelling sunscreen.

Plus, it's so easy to miss a spot when we're rubbing in lotion. That spells disaster in the form of organically shaped sunburn art, usually across the backs of your knees, thighs or that little spot where every bra strap rubs all day long.

While I know that the proverbial best things are free, sometimes the ones that cost something come pretty close. Last week I cashed in a gift certificate for a facial at a local spa. The pampering was great, I admit, and my skin looks much healthier in the post-treatment after glow. But I have to say, the best thing that came out of that hour of beauty was the sunscreen -- DDF's Enhancing Sun Protection SPF 30. The aesthetician sent me home with a condiment container sample, and I've been meticulously rationing out the product over the past four days.

DDF's Enhancing Sun Protection isn't the cheap sunscreen I usually buy in bulk from the drugstore. It's about six times the price for approximately one-quarter of the volume, so this is definitely not the sort of thing I want to slather on before heading out for a three hour bike ride.

The sunscreen is nonetheless a pretty fantastic substitute for the daily makeup routine. The pinkish lotion contains a self-adjusting pigment, which perfectly adjusts to your skin tone. There is also a light sheen that evens out your complexion, which is great for me since I can't stand foundation, but actually like a little bit of coverage. Of course, there's also the SPF 30 sunscreen, which as a dermatologist I know told me last year, is the minimum for daily face protection.

Summer hasn't even begun and I've already plowed my way through two tubes of sunscreen.

For high-volume sunscreen consumers like myself, hardly a day goes by where I don't wish I could buy the product in bulk. Since I don't see Whole Foods setting up bulk sunscreen next to the pour your own honey dispenser, I'd be more than happy to settle for the next best thing -- an industrial-sized serving that comes with a pump.

Supergoop!, a sunscreen company that sells a proprietary dry-touch formula with SPF 30, offers a product called the Supergoop! pump. Obvious and convenient, the Supergoop! pump is the perfect solution for people who know they should wear block daily, but somehow forget to slather some on before leaving the house. The best part is that Supergoop! pump comes in high-volume quantities ranging from 15 oz to 52 oz.

Of course, the 52 oz bottle costs a $156, which is a lot to spend on sunscreen. But for someone like myself who probably spends that much on sunblock each year (not to mention the opportunity cost of going to the drugstore to every few weeks) the sunscreen Super Gulp might be surprisingly cost-effective.

It's an occupational hazard of beauty consumers everywhere. You buy a product. It turns out to be lousy. So you return it, right? Well, you would, except you foolishly tossed the receipt in moment of unbridled confidence.

A similar scenario happened to me over the past week when I bought an organic sunscreen from Nature's Gate. The lotion cost a pricey $17 at Whole Foods, but at the time I bought, I easily justified the cost. Wasn't long-lasting sun protection that could keep my whale-pale skin from turning red and crispy worth $17?

As it turns out, the answer is no. It only took two hours to make me realize that I had been majorly duped by a swollen price tag. I also had a sunburn, which also sucked.

But fear not -- I'm pleased to report that the folks at Nature's Gate were extremely sympathetic to my situation. Even though I couldn't get a full refund, Nature's Gate did offer to send me another product in place of the sunscreen, but instead of getting $17 worth of soap, I managed to score a major upgrade with a $35 vitamin C serum!

And if that isn't good customer service, I don't know what is!

One thing is for sure, I'm a sucker for sunscreen. Other women may have a bathroom closet full of makeup and half-empty styling products, I've got about a dozen different sunscreens collecting dust on my shelves.

After flipping through T, the NY Times Magazine beauty issue, earlier today, I realized that my sunblock family was about to get a new member. This time, it's not going to be another expensive, organic, moisturizing facial sunblock or a cheap coconut-scented sport version. Au contraire -- this is a sunscreen to out block all other sunscreens. Believe it or not, Neutrogena's Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock with helioplex now comes in a "I'll never have crows feet" SPF of 70!

And while I've heard competing opinions on whether or not SPFs over 30 perform better, I'm willing to take a chance on this one. If it turns out Neutragena Ultra Sheer is a disappointment, it can always enjoy a long life hanging out in my bathroom closet with the other sunscreens that I've given up on over the years.

Skin can be a funny thing. Some days you feel like your skin can take just about anything. But other days? Well, less so.

If your skin reacts poorly to a full-blown sunscreen, you might want to give natural sunscreen a try.

Organic sunscreen? I know, I mean, by its very nature, sunscreen is something that blocks out what is perhaps the most natural element on earth: sunlight. But Kiss My Face Face Factor does just that with a rich dose of Alpha Lipoic Acid, Green Tea Extract, and a special formula called Zoe, which contains Linoleic Ester that actually decreases your sensitivity to sunscreens.

Face Factor comes in SPF 15 & 30 (always use 30!) and it lasts up to 80 minutes in water or excessive perspiration. At $10 for 2 oz, it's not cheap, but whoever thought that staying young and beautiful would be?

When it comes to cosmetics, I tend to go through them very, very slowly. Shampoos, body lotions, face creams, make-up -- they all seem to have a longer-than-average lifespan.

It's not uncommon for me to get a full year's use out of most products. The exception, of course, is sunscreen. I slather it on everyday, rain or shine, winter or summer just to make sure that all UVA/UVB rays are unilaterally rejected by my epidermis.

I admit, it's a little obsessive, but I've yet to meet a dermatologist bold enough to disagree with my practice. And so long as melanoma is among the most prevalent cancers, I refuse to feel bad about being "wasteful" about sunscreen.

Even though high-end cosmetics companies sell sunscreen for $50 a bottle, my favorite will always remain the old drugstore stand-by Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Sunblock. The difference between the Ultra Sheer and other similarly priced sunscreens is that the Neutrogena variety has a "Dry-Touch" formula that absorbs quickly and doesn't leave a heavy residue. Basically, the Dry-Touch makes it possible for you to still wear your regular daily make-up over top the sunscreen without having that late-day cosmetics melt-down. Ultra sheer is also extremely effective at blocking out harmful rays while still being waterproof and sweatproof.

I'm also fond of the smell -- light, fresh, but not so strong that people will wonder if you were attacked by an overzealous cabana boy. (Not that there isn't a place and a time for an overzealous cabana boy, but that time and place is not the office.)

Most will be satisfied with the protective abilities of the 30 SPF. I, on the otherhand, will absolutely not go outside with anything less than Neutrogena's newest addition -- SPF 55!

Remember, stay young, stay beautiful, and put on some sunscreen.