I love summer because it’s perfect for VACATIONS! I just got back from a sunny, weeklong vacation at the beach and Disney World so I wanted to write about sun safety so you all have a “safe skin” vacation too! Sephora sells a SWEET seasonal sun safety package called Sephora’s Sun Safety Kit (this is definitely a MUST-HAVE!). The kit comes with 12 sample size products, a makeup bag, and two UV monitoring bracelets. Sample kits are great because you get to try products at a low cost. There have been so many times where I received a sample size of something and liked it so much I ended up buying a large container… and there have been plenty of times I received samples very cheap (I spent less than $1) where I decided that product is just not going to work for me. Take the time to try samples before you waste your money! I’ve read that many people said the sample sizes were too small but I disagree. With these types of products you just need a small amount. If you really want a complete cost analysis, there’s a total of 2.4 oz of products so it’s like paying about $10.42 per ounce (I’m not including the UVSunSense bracelets or the makeup bag). Just for comparison, Chanel SPF Moisturizers go for about $44 per ounce.
Not sure if you need this kit? Check out these common Q&A about sun safety from the Skin Cancer Foundation’s website (reference listed below).
Q: What are sunscreens?
A: Sunscreens are chemical agents that help prevent the sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation from reaching the skin. Two types of ultraviolet radiation, UVA and UVB, damage the skin and increase your risk of skin cancer. UVB is the chief culprit behind sunburn, while UVA rays, which penetrate the skin more deeply, are associated with wrinkling, leathering, sagging, and other effects of photoaging. They also exacerbate the carcinogenic effects of UVB rays, and increasingly are being seen as a cause of skin cancer on their own. Sunscreens vary in their ability to protect against UVA and UVB.
Q: What Is SPF?
A: Most sunscreens with an SPF of 15 or higher do an excellent job of protecting against UVB. SPF — or Sun Protection Factor — is a measure of a sunscreen's ability to prevent UVB from damaging the skin. Here's how it works: If it takes 20 minutes for your unprotected skin to start turning red, using an SPF 15 sunscreen theoretically prevents reddening 15 times longer — about five hours.
Another way to look at it is in terms of percentages: SPF 15 blocks approximately 93 percent of all incoming UVB rays. SPF 30 blocks 97 percent; and SPF 50 blocks 98 percent. They may seem like negligible differences, but if you are light-sensitive, or have a history of skin cancer, those extra percentages will make a difference. And as you can see, no sunscreen can block all UV rays.
But there are problems with the SPF model: First, no sunscreen, regardless of strength, should be expected to stay effective longer than two hours without reapplication. Second, "reddening" of the skin is a reaction to UVB rays alone and tells you little about what UVA damage you may be getting. Plenty of damage can be done without the red flag of sunburn being raised.
Q: If it's cold or cloudy outside, you don't need sunscreen.
A: This is not true. Up to 40 percent of the sun's ultraviolet radiation reaches the earth on a completely cloudy day. This misperception often leads to the most serious sunburns, because people spend all day outdoors with no protection from the sun.
This isn’t a complete list of FAQ’s, so for more Q&A, check out the website listed in the reference.
Reference: "The Skin Cancer Foundation: Sunscreens Explained." Sunscreen. The Skin Cancer Foundation, 2010. Web. 04 July 2010. <http://www.skincancer.org/sunscreens-explained.html>.
Here’s a summary of Sun Safety Kit:
Sephora’s Sun Safety Kit
Cost: $25 at Sephora (a $95 value)
Color: variable, most products are white/beige
Scent: variable, most products have none
Texture: products are creams or gels
Apply using: clean hands
Overall leaves your skin feeling: softer, protected from the sun
Overall Rating: <> <> <> <> <>
This set contains:
0.14 oz Murad Essential-C Eye Cream SPF 15
0.23 oz DDF Ultra-Lite Oil-Free Moisturizing Dew UV Moisturizer SPF 15
0.10 oz Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm SPF 25 in Lemon and Chamomile
0.25 oz Peter Thomas Roth Max Sheer All Day Defense Lotion SPF 30
0.16 oz Kate Somerville Protect SPF 55 Serum Sunscreen
0.27 oz Clarins Delectable Self Tanning Mousse SPF 15
0.16 oz Cover FX BritePrep FX Brightening Foundation Primer & Photo-Aging Defense SPF 50
0.34 oz Bliss Best of Skintentions Daily Moisturizer SPF 15
0.23 oz Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream SPF 60 PA+++
0.25 oz Ole Henriksen Herbal Day Cream SPF 15
0.25 oz Smashbox Photo Finish UVA/UVB SPF 15
0.02 oz Bare Escentuals BareMinerals Multi-tasking Face SPF 20 in Summer Bisque
Pink Sephora makeup bag
2 single-use UVSunSense UV monitoring bracelet
If you’re interested in overall ratings of each product, here’s an At A Glance summary:
At A Glance
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Murad Essential-C Eye Cream SPF 15
Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm SPF 25 in Lemon and Chamomile
Single Use UVSunSense UV monitoring bracelet
Kate Somerville Protect SPF 55 Serum Sunscreen
Clarins Delectable Self Tanning Mousse SPF 15
Cover FX BritePrep FX Brightening Foundation Primer & Photo-Aging Defense SPF 50
Smashbox Photo Finish UVA/UVB SPF 15
Bare Escentuals BareMinerals Multi-tasking Face SPF 20 in Summer Bisque
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Bliss Best of Skintentions Daily Moisturizer SPF 15
Peter Thomas Roth Max Sheer All Day Defense Lotion SPF 30
(0.25 oz)
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Ole Henriksen Herbal Day Cream SPF 15
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DDF Ultra-Lite Oil-Free Moisturizing Dew UV Moisturizer SPF 15
Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream SPF 60 PA+++
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Pink Sephora makeup bag
And, lastly, here are the specific product reviews. There are quite a few products so I’m going to include a paragraph review instead of a full summary review for each product.
Murad Essential-C Eye Cream SPF 15 (0.14 oz)
I’m always on the lookout for great eye products and I would have to say I like this product a lot! It really helps to brighten the overall appearance of your eyes. I would like to note that A LITTLE of this product goes a long way so don’t use too much. I definitely plan on buying this product.
DDF Ultra-Lite Oil-Free Moisturizing Dew UV Moisturizer SPF 15 (0.23 oz)
After using the product, my skin definitely felt moisturized and softer BUT I felt that it was a little greasy even though it says “Oil-Free.” I’ll use it because I have a sample but there are better sunscreen lotions in this kit.
Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm SPF 25 in Lemon and Chamomile (0.10 oz)
This is my favorite product in this kit. I already have dry lips so being out in the sun makes my lips even drier. Not only does this product smell great and isn’t sticky but it also really moisturizes your lips. My favorite part is that it makes my lips tingle!
Peter Thomas Roth Max Sheer All Day Defense Lotion SPF 30
(0.25 oz)
The only other Peter Thomas Roth product I’ve used is a moisturizer and I really liked it because it was VERY lightweight. Peter Thomas Roth makes good products that make your skin immediately feel moisturized and soft with just a small amount of product. It’s not greasy and (just like the moisturizer) feels very lightweight. Overall, I didn’t find anything special about this product except that it has a pleasant yet unique scent.
Kate Somerville Protect SPF 55 Serum Sunscreen
(0.16 oz)
This is a great sunscreen! It’s a great size for traveling, taking to outdoor events, or just keeping in your pocket. I like this product because it’s not greasy and a little goes a long way. Also, it’s very lightweight so it doesn’t feel like I have a “sunscreen mask” on when I apply it to my face. I’m going to rate this product the best sunscreen in this kit for your face.
Clarins Delectable Self Tanning Mousse SPF 15 (0.27 oz)
For a self-tanning product, I love this! I’ve only used it on my face but it gives a light brown/tanned color (that’s not orange!) and it appears to be noncomedogenic (doesn’t clog pores). It’s not a really dark color so you might have to apply the product as needed to achieve the color you want. There have been numerous self-tanning face products that make my face feel heated/smothered but this one doesn’t feel that way at all. I’ve never had problems streaking but I would say it could look bad if you use AN UNBELIEVABLE amount of the product at all at once… just like any other self-tanning product.
Cover FX BritePrep FX Brightening Foundation Primer & Photo-Aging Defense SPF 50
(0.16 oz)
You have to shake this product well! Even though I really like Smashbox primers
(see below) this is still a great product too – I’d have to say that is one of my favorites from this kit. It’s a brightening foundation primer so when you apply it to your face, you instantly get a luminous glow… until you put your foundation on. Maybe it is just me but when I apply the Bare Minerals foundations over this product the luminous glow gets hidden under the powder. BUT – this product says it “blurs the appearance of fine lines and pores and promotes skin lightening of sunspots” and it does exactly that!
Bliss Best of Skintentions Daily Moisturizer SPF 15
(0.34 oz)
This is the only product I’ve tried by Bliss but I would have to say I’m impressed! I really like this product. It goes on smooth and has a nice citrus scent. It might be on the verge of being a little too thick/heavy for a moisturizer but one plus that the product claims is that “it delivers essential vitamins, minerals, and omegas” (omegas: essential fatty acids) to the skin. Extra plus for being a large sample size!
Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream SPF 60 PA+++
(0.23 oz)
I was a little disappointed by this product. I really like Shiseido cosmetics so I got really excited when I saw this lotion. If you spend many hours at the beach, then you’ll be excited that it says it is “very water resistant.” Unfortunately, I’ve found better sunscreens for my face. Even after shaking, it’s still very watery and takes a lot of product to get good coverage.
Ole Henriksen Herbal Day Cream SPF 15 (0.25 oz)
In my opinion, I didn’t notice anything special about this moisturizer. Nevertheless, it had the characteristics of a good moisturizer: very light/no scent, not greasy, and absorbed well.
Smashbox Photo Finish UVA/UVB SPF 15
(0.25 oz)
Whenever I wear foundation I always use a primer because it smooths out you skin so your foundation goes on more evenly. I’ve used the regular Smashbox Photo Finish primer and really liked it because it felt very lightweight. In my opinion, this product is just like the regular primer except it has SPF in it.
Bare Escentuals BareMinerals Multi-tasking Face SPF 20 in Summer Bisque
(0.02 oz)
I really like Bare Escentuals products so I was excited when I saw the kit came with this powder. This product is seems most like a foundation/finishing powder. This is great for a summer foundation since it has a slightly gold undertone.
Pink Sephora makeup bag
I wasn’t really impressed with this. It wasn’t that it felt cheap but it was ripped at the top when I removed it from the box. It appeared that it wasn’t glued together well near the ziplock-type closure.
2 single-use UVSunSense UV monitoring bracelets
This is an awesome idea! I am so bad about not watching how long I’ve been outside especially if I’m at a baseball game or the beach so this product takes the guess work out of wondering if you’ve been out in the sun too long. Just put the bracelet on, apply your sunscreen, and keep an eye on the color of the bracelet. It will change from white to dark purple when you need apply sunscreen again and then from dark purple to pale yellow when you’ve been in the sun long enough!
Protecting your skin from sun damage is important so if you don’t know what products would be good for your skin buy this kit to help you decide! This kit has everything you need to be SAFE in the SUN!
Stay Sunny,
Mrs. Sprinkles
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