I've been wanting to write this post for so long and since it's now almost officially summer what better time than now!? If you've ever been out on the beach or boat with me, you know I'm always prepared with sunscreen- and not just for me, I make sure everyone I'm with has some too! I promise have a pretty good reason for being so crazy about my sunscreen though... I have basically every one of the risk factors for developing skin cancer- everything from my fair skin, the 15+ moles that have been removed, the terrible sunburns I got at the pool in my teenage years, and my family history of melanomas.
When my mother had her second melanoma removed this summer, I was reminded how crucial it is to protect your skin from the sun. Unfortunately, all of the damage we do to our skin when we're younger is irreversible (how I wish I could tell my teenage self to wear sunscreen on spring break and not baby oil!!) and there is no way we can go back and change anything. I've finally learned that, as much as I would absolutely love love love to sit and bake, I just can't be one of those girls that can lay out at the beach or pool all day. Well, not unless I'm lathered in sunscreen, wearing some layers, a hat, or under some shade!
Since I'm now a self proclaimed sunscreen queen, I've found some great ones that I love enough to use every single day (and multiple times a day if I'm going to be outside!) and I wanted to share these with you all so you too, can be sunscreen queens (or kings if any guys are reading this!) too!
Earlier this year, I received a small sample of Coola mineral matte face sunscreen in my
Birchbox and decided to explore more from this brand. My
Coola body & face sunscreen are two of my favorites now! The
Coola Plumeria SPF30 Body Lotion smells amazing and feels like regular body lotion instead of that sticky, gross sunscreen feeling. The
Coola Cucumber SPF 30 Mineral Matte Face Lotion just feels like light moisturizer and blends right without making your face breakout or feel at all greasy! I put both of these on every morning right after I get out of the shower, even before I get dressed. I do this because A) it's a whole lot easier to put sunscreen on all over, B) you don't have to worry about forgetting any spots, and C) the sun can still get to your skin through your clothes or bathing suit.
Next up, another brand that I discovered via
Birchbox,
Supergoop!! My
Supergoop CC Cream is probably the one item of makeup that I could not go without. I have red, splotchy skin on my face so this stuff is great to even out my skin tone. It is SPF 35 so it's another layer of sunscreen, gives the perfect coverage and is "self tinting" so it blends really well with the color of your skin. I also love this
Supergoop Eye Cream with SPF 37 because I feel like the under the eye skin gets neglected when it comes to sunscreen and it's also the first place that shows aging so it needs some extra protection! I felt a little bit crazy when I bought this huge
18oz. container of Supergoop but considering how much I use, I think it makes sense... This product is actually my least favorite just because it seems kind of watered down and doesn't have the most pleasant smell, though that goes away quickly. Even with that being said, it's still great stuff and sits on my bathroom counter where I use it all the time (like I said, I slather up right out of the shower!) My newest Supergoop product is the
SPF30 Lip Balm that I keep in my beach bag. It is so moisturizing and now I never forget to use sunscreen on my lips!
I keep some cheaper
Coppertone in my sunscreen bag and I can share with everyone and anyone in need of some sun protection! It has been really convenient to keep all of these sunscreens together in a bag because I can throw it in my beach bag (my
Hayden Reis ditty tote!) whenever I need it and always know where to find it. I received this sunscreen zip bag as a gift with purchase last summer but I love
this bag or this
Hayden Reis Sunscreen Pouch!
Now go find a shady spot on the beach, lather up the sunscreen and enjoy!
I'll be sharing some of my "sun secrets" tomorrow so stay tuned, but in the meantime you can read about more
sunscreens and how to be
sun savvy on Alison's blog,
Long Distance Loving!
Shop my favorite sunscreens: