45 Comments

Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!

Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).

We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!

Comments on this post are closed.
Kate O'Neill Avatar

This is the same as what I was going to say. 15 in my daily products, much higher when I know I’m going to be in the sun for prolonged periods of time. My dad died from skin cancer and I have the same light skin he did, so it’s a big deal for me to be careful.

jojoba Avatar

according to cancer council australia that above SPF30 isn’t very stable. therefore, australia has a rule of labeling SPF up to 30 even if the same product is labeled as higher. (ie. Shiseido SS is labeled as 55 in other countries but 30 in Australia.)

I trust Australian guideline and will use SPF30 (and whatever labeled as more.) 🙂

Kajsa Avatar

Whatever SPF comes in my foundation, think it’s 15 right now, but I mix it with a white non-SPF one so… Less SPF I guess?
I don’t like the sun, so I stay inside for the most.

Stefanie Anja Avatar

I live in England, we don’t get sun here. 😉

I’m super pale and sensitive to sunlight though so I wear at least SPF 50 on my body when I am actually in the sun (like, on holiday). My face is less sensitive so 15-30 usually does the job.

aradhana Avatar

i live in scotland…no sun to speak of so on a regular basis 0, and 15 if i happen to be wearing foundation. if it is one of those very rare sunny days, or if i’m anywhere on holiday, then a minimum of 15…however above 30 often feels really heavy for face lotions…anybody have suggestions for something light yet strong spf?

sprut Avatar

I use what is in my makeup which is usually a 10 or 15 unless I’m going out into the sun for the day like the beach or pool well then it’s a 45.

hi Avatar

My mineral makeup has SPF 15 in it, and I normally wear it just on problem spots and lightly under my eyes, which is where I need the most protection. I normally don’t get *tons* of sun on a daily basis, and if I know I’ll get some brief, hot bursts of sun (i.e. crossing campus to go to my next class) I’ll just keep my head down, lol! When I know I will get a lot of hot, direct sun, I go for the highest on the market – Neutrogena Dry Touch Spf 95. I’m SO, SO, SO ghost pale and direct sun for longer than 15 minutes will fry my skin. I’ve heard that SPF level doesn’t really make a difference after SPF 30, but it never hurts to be prepared 😉

Natalie Avatar

I wear SPF50 and it has to be waterproof too as I am prone to get freckles and dark spots. I get all my SPF products from Japan, such as Diorsnow SPF50, Kanebo or Shiseido 50

Christy Avatar

15 at least. My face cream has SPF15, but if I wear MAC Prep & Prime, it has SPF50. When I go out & we have some sun, SPF30 for exposed parts.

Nic Avatar

I usually use 15 or 30. I’m fair, so I’ve tried some pretty high spf in the past, but my skin just doesn’t like it. It’s not super sensitive otherwise, but a high spf will cause it to break out in bumpy red rash. Anyway, even on days when I’m outside for a long time, I find that 30 is perfectly adequate for me.

Catherine Avatar

I wear SPF30 on my face everyday and at least SPF15 on the exposed parts of my body if I’m going to be walking outside anywhere (I live in San Diego and we get SUNSUNSUN, so I take protecting my skin pretty seriously). If I’m going to be outside for a long period of time, then I’ll bust out the SPF30 for body, and if I’m going to the beach or anyplace that has lots of reflective surfaces (water) then I wear SPF60+ on my face and body. (This is partially because I am allergic to chemical sunscreens and SPF15, 30 and 60+ from Neutrogena were the only sunscreens I could find that I could use.) I also make sure that my sunscreen has a high percentage of UVA protecting ingredients as well even if there’s no UVA rating.

While it is true that SPF30 technically protects against 97% of UVB rays and ratings above that don’t make much of a difference, that’s only true if you really use the amount recommended (which is quite a lot), so I would rather tell people to use a higher SPF and wear less of it than use a lower SPF and wear not enough of it.

JennBee Avatar

Anything above SPF 30 isn’t significantly stronger or particularly stable (like one poster said), so I usually aim for 30-50. 🙂 I also try to use physical sunblock whenever I can – much better for you than chemical sunscreens!

Lynn Avatar

My everyday wear is SPF30 since I’m prone to dark spots. And sometimes when it’s really hot out or I’ll be outside for the most part of the day I wear SPF50.

MissDeeCanada Avatar

I always wear SPF 15 for every day. If I am going to the beach or camping or someplace where I will be in the sun for a long period of time I will wear SPF 60 on my face!

mlou Avatar

NW10 – love the outdoors, but try to avoid any damage. face/neck/ears: SPF 55-70 under my TM (which only has 20 and is possibly less IRL).

body/hands: 30-55 all year long.

Victoria Avatar

When I go to the beach or am out all day in the sun I wear spf70 because I naturally have a good tan, and I don’t like getting any darker..
Plus skin cancer is not cute. =x

Vivian Avatar

I live in N. America, so we`re kind close to antartica. However, I use a daily (if i can and have time) SPF 15. Going out under the sun, it will have to be SPF 30. I never go above that, because I HATE suntan or going under the sun, I don`t like the idea of frying myself. neutrogena has a line of sunscreen like SPF 60 with Helioplex that stablizes under the sun. Maybe all you gals who frequently go under the sun should check that out.

We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!