A sad tale...

Firstly, if you've come from my Instagram, welcome!

Today, I’m back with another suncream!

In my first blog post I mentioned that I would explain what a chemical suncream is so here is a quick rundown. There are two types of suncream, mineral and chemical:

Mineral suncreams sit on top of the skin’s surface, acting as a physical blocker from the sun. They tend to have a visible white-ish cast to them meaning they are less desirable for darker skin tones.

Chemical suncreams are absorbed into your skin and sit in the deeper layers. They tend to be thinner and more transparent but can be problematic for sensitive skin.

Both of these options at high spf concentrations will protect your skin however reapplication throughout the day is necessary, especially if in direct sunlight. Personally, I find the white-cast from mineral suncreams puts me off and I therefore tend to buy chemical ones- but it’s all about personal preference.

This week I wanted to discuss The Body Shop Skin Defence Multi-Protection Lotion SPF 50+PA++++ (quite a mouthful!). Now you know when you have a favourite product and then you find out the brand is reformulating it and your heart sinks because you already loved it the way it is. And then the new version is nowhere near as good and you feel devastated. That is precisely my experience with this product.

I first discovered it about 2 years ago and was instantly hooked. It was super lightweight, had no white cast, no fragrance and just sunk into the skin like a dream! (It was, and still is, a chemical suncream). As someone who has had good experiences with The Body Shop in the past, it was another reason to invest in the brand. About a year later however, I found out that it had been discontinued whilst they were getting ready to release it’s reformulation *weep*.

Upon the re-launch, I was apprehensive to buy the new version. I had taken to the internet to see what others had thought and the response was extremely mixed- some loved it, other hated it. I decided to bite the bullet and see what it was like… and it’s safe to say I was very disappointed.

Now I don’t mean to sound dramatic, because it really isn’t the worst suncream ever. It’s just that in comparison to my previous experience, this was sub-par. It is much greasier, thicker and doesn’t sink in as nicely as the original. The overall event of using the product is unenjoyable. Since using this suncream I have found some much better alternatives that I will tell you about in later posts.

As I am sure you have worked out by now- I don’t recommend this product!

If you have any recommendations or similar experiences, leave them below! And, if you fancy hearing about my newest uploads, subscribe with your email to be notified!

Lots of love,

Lily x