The Battle Of The Facial Sunscreens...

Ever since I finally upgraded my routine around this time last year and ever since, I feel like I have finally gotten into the whole Skincare thing properly. It's now something I spend a little more time on and just generally think about and consider a little more and one area which I've thought about a lot recently is sun protection. It's something I wanted to look into more last Summer but never go round to so with this year's warmer weather season in full swing (kinda), I decided to take the plunge and give it a go.  I tend to wear some form of light sunscreen in my day cream and generally, for everyday life when I'm not going in direct sun for a long time or don't need the protection that's completely fine. Or when I'm under flash photography and don't want to turn into Caspar the Ghost with the flashback - that's very important too, yanno. But, when I'm not in any of those situ's and instead want to specifically protect my face from the sun - just like you would with your body - I wanted to invest in something that I could use on top of my regular moisturiser to do exactly that. When browsing the Boots website, I came across two products that really caught my eye and I thought sounded the best option for me. Both claiming to give you maximum sun protection, but both in different ways so what better than to try them both out and see what one, if any, I prefer? Let's find out...

First up, introducing the Soap and Glory 'Make Yourself Youthful' Sunsheild Superfluid SPF50+. This is pretty pricey at £14.99 but I have heard so many good things about it that I was pretty hopeful that it was gonna be worth it. Unlike your 'standard' facial sun protection lotions, this supposedly offers a formula that's super lightweight and translucent on the skin and so gives no white cast - hallelujah! I was always kinda put off facial sunscreens as they always seemed to fall into one (or all three) of those dreaded categories but this product claims to go against the grain and so I just had to give it a try and I really, really like it. This has completely revolutionised the stereotypical format of a facial SPF and offers something that gives you the same level of protection, but with a formula that is still 'wearable' and 'usable' - you know what  mean? I simply put a light layer over the top of my normal day moisturiser and then apply my makeup as usual and it works like a dream. It's comfortable to wear, is completely undetectable and doesn't disrupt my makeup in any way at all. I can shield my skin but with no major compromises at all and that means it definitely get the thumbs up from me.

Then, moving onto the second and final option which I spotted in store and had to try out too. This is the Garnier Ambre Solaire Sensitive Advanced Protecting and Hydrating Face Mist SPF50 and as you can see, compared to the above lotion, this is instead comes in a handy mist format. I saw this when perusing the aisles of Boots (as usual) and was instantly intrigued about how it well would work and get the job done. After trying the above offering from Soap and Glory, I was even more eager to see how well it would compare and I have to say that I do like it for the most part. I don't really enjoy the application process - it feels like you're spraying deodorant on your face and the scent is definitely not particularly pleasant - but it is quick, easy and relatively foolproof and gets the job done in an instant. If you've forgot to apply your SPF before applying your makeup, you can simply spray some on right at the very end as a finishing step and you're covered and if you need to reapply and top things up - or simply apply first-off halfway through the day - you can easily do so using this stuff. It's definitely much more 'universal' than the lotion from Soap and Glory, that's for sure. It's lightweight, doesn't leave any colour or greasy residue and feels like you're almost applying nothing at all - but I guess that's where I start to doubt it a little. Compared to the Sunshield Superfluid which you apply directly to your face and you can see exactly where you're applying it (and that you're actually applying it at all) with this mist, you don't have that reassurance and because the formula and spray is so fine (which is certainly a good thing, don't get me wrong) you can't even really feel it going onto your face either. I'm not sure whether for convenience, you may be compromising the overall effectiveness of the product itself. 

So overall, for the most part I liked both of these products. They both did what I hoped they would do and I don;t have nay major, major complaints (like how they worked alongside my skintype or the makeup I apply over the top/beforehand) but having tried them both, I think I have a clear preference - the Soap and Glory Sunshield Superfluid. Personally, I much prefer how with the this, I am actually applying the product directly to my face so I can rest assured that the protection is on my face and it is even and not at all patchy. However, with the Garnier Face Mist, I felt like the format actually let the product down as opposed to making it entirely better. It may well be more quick and convenient, but I wasn't wholly confident in using it and knowing I'd used it correctly. I do still like it and will still use it but I feel it is much better suited as a 'top up' product for using as throughout the day as opposed to used alone as a standalone sun protector. Maybe these two would work well combined together. Now there's an idea...