Have I mentioned I'm pale? Nay, porcelain. Alabaster. Alright, fine: blue. Fair skinned or not, all of us should be concerned with our skin and the best wrinkle fighter is always a great sunscreen. For the past decade or so I've been wholeheartedly loyal to Skinceuticals Ultimate Defense sunscreen. It's got "transparent" zinc-oxide and my acne-prone skin never once broke out. In fact, it almost felt a little drying. Which I think is good thing in sunscreen if you're going to put it on under makeup every single day. My makeup never budged and it never left me feeling greasy.
But. But, but, but. It's expensive. Muy expensivo. Granted, one tube lasts forever, but these are trying times and our household budget could no longer afford my sunscreen habit. So I went looking for an alternative.
When I saw Burt's Bee's sunscreen at the grocery store, I was pretty excited. I've been as addicted (if not more so) to Burt's lip balm as I am Skinceuticals. And I love their baby body wash (though I've had to forgo that in lieu of less expensive options, too). At $15, it was considerably less expensive (really, exponentially less), so I through a tube in my cart and went on my merry way.
But I'm sorry to say, I don't like it. I gave it the good college try - a couple of weeks, applied under a variety of circumstances - and it just isn't good. To begin with, the "non-whitening" label misses the mark. It's quite visible. I was only able to make it less geisha-inspired by using absolutely miniscule amounts and rubbing it in for minutes.
Then there was the grease factor. It never really felt settled in. It felt like a pool-side sunscreen. Like something you wouldn't mind if you were in a bathing suit and flip-flops, but certainly not something you'd like to feel under your makeup during a board meeting.
And my makeup did not stick. I became increasingly shiny as the day wore on and my makeup wiped right off with the slightest touch.
The final deal-breaker was the resurgence of pimples. I'll be the first to admit that break-outs come from a variety of sources and it's nearly impossible to pin the blame on any one source. But it seemed too coincidental.
I hate to say it, Burt, but you missed the mark. The good news? I did find a good alternative! I'll share more later.
