The perfect sunscreens make you put out of your mind you are dressed in sunscreen in any respect—that is going for frame sprays, face creams, and make-up staples (SPF-spiked foundations, bronzers, and the like). Admittedly, the latter has been tricky to seek out. Doing your make-up, finally, is a sensorial enjoy, whilst making use of sunscreen is decidedly… no longer. Necessary, sure, however by no means as amusing as glazing your cheekbones with a pearly highlighter. Until now, this is.
I’ve examined a slew of SPF make-up launches over the last a number of weeks (summer time’s proper across the nook, people!), and I’ve been floored via various cosmetically chic formulation. Think: a blush stick that glides like butter, bronzing drops that make you seem like you might have spent two complete weeks OOO, and a featherlight basis clinically proven to plump your pores and skin with hydration. I’d put on all of them despite the fact that they did not boast UV coverage—however they do! Ahead, the crème de l. a. crème I’ve been accumulating in my good looks bag, in conjunction with dermatologist tips about the way to layer them as it should be.
The Best SPF Makeup, at a Glance
The Best SPF Makeup of 2025
Best Blush Stick: Naked Sundays SPF 50 Mineral Peptide Sticks
Naked Sundays
SPF 50 Mineral Peptide Stick
Pros: 100% mineral with 0 white solid or spreadability problems, meets the Australian regulatory tips for sunscreens
Cons: Only 3 sun shades
SPF: 50
Key substances: Zinc oxide, peptides, diet E, cacao seed
This simply may well be my favourite blush stick of the instant, and I’d claim that even with out its UV-protective advantages. The pigment is creamy and blendable; the system is brimming with skin-enhancing hydrators, like peptides and diet E; and the sun shades (particularly this Dusty Rose quantity) are merely beautiful. I’m additionally so inspired via its 100% mineral system; zinc oxide, as we all know, is infamous for leaving in the back of a chalky solid, however this blush stick has a payoff without a hint of ghostly undertones. Of route, the system adheres to Australian regulatory tips (the strictest on this planet), so you already know you are getting optimum coverage with each and every swipe. Another bonus? It’s protected sufficient to swipe for your lids and lips with out inflammation—no stinging or burning.
Best Highlighter: Ciele Glow & Protect SPF 50+ Liquid Highlighter
ciele
Glow & Protect SPF 50+ Liquid Highlighter
Pros: Noncomedogenic, wonderful texture, brightens instantly and through the years
Cons: Some reviewers want the tube was once larger
SPF: 50
Key substances: Zinc oxide, allantoin, bisabolol
To me, the easiest highlighter right away fuses to the outside, does not include too a lot shimmer (differently it does not glance as herbal), and has the easiest champagne end. This Ciele system ticks all the ones bins and boasts SPF 50 to give protection to the prime issues of your face—which is the place you get essentially the most solar, BTW.
Customer evaluate: “I was so impressed with this. It’s a very subtle glow. There [are] no sparkles but has the tiniest little shimmer. It layered well over my skin tint and held up on bare skin well too.”
Best Bronzing Drops: Vacation Studio Tone SPF 50 Bronzing Drops
Vacation
Studio Tone SPF 50 Bronzing Drops
Pros: Lightweight consistency, makes you seem like you got here again from the seaside, flexible and easy-to-use utility
Cons: Has a cocoa and hazelnut smell if you do not revel in perfume
SPF: 50
Key substances: Avobenzone, homosalate, octisalate, octocrylene, ferulic acid, ceramides, collagen peptides
Craving a sun-kissed glow with out the true solar injury? Consider bronzing drops your perfect pals, particularly this SPF 50 bottle from Vacation. It does not simply ship a direct glow—it protects your pores and skin for the lengthy haul, so you’ll be able to grasp directly to stated glow for years and years. The consistency is mild and serum-y, so you’ll be able to simply layer it beneath make-up or combine it together with your tinted moisturizer (SPF-infused, in fact) for extra radiance.
Customer evaluate: “If you want to look like you just got back from a Caribbean vacation, but don’t want to expedite wrinkle formation, this is for you. I wear it daily for a subtle glow that is bronzing without being too dark or orange.”
Best Liquid Blush: Nudestix Nudescreen SPF 30 Blush Tint
NUDESTIX
Nudescreen SPF 30 Blush Tint
Pros: Melts into the outside, non-shimmery sun shades make you glance naturally sun-kissed, delicate sufficient to make use of on lids and lips
Cons: Pricey for a small length
SPF: 30
Key substances: Zinc oxide, red tea extract, inexperienced algae extract, passionflower extract
There’s simply one thing a few peachy cream blush that units my center aflutter, and this Nudestix possibility (referred to as Peaches n’ Sol) is actually one of the most perfect within the sport. Just a faucet of pigment is all you want to nail the dewy, flushed cheekbones of a beachy solar goddess. I really like to use on my lids too for a monochromatic second—and for additonal solar coverage at the refined eye space.
Customer evaluate: “Best blush i’ve ever tried! It blends beautifully, and the color is absolutely stunning. Bonus points for having SPF, and the fact that it lasts all day!”
Best Tinted Lip Balm: Ultra Violette Sheen Screen SPF 50 Hydrating Sunscreen Lip Balm
Ultra Violette
Sheen Screen SPF 50 Hydrating Sunscreen Lip Balm
Pros: Smooths lip strains and stops them through the years; yummy, nostalgic taste; non-sticky end
Cons: Only 2 sun shades
SPF: 50
Key substances: Avobenzone, octinoxate, octocrylene, cocoa butter, lanolin, diet E
Yes, I’m nonetheless FTFO over Ultra Violette’s U.S. release. (For the uninitiated, the Australian-based suncare logo was once handiest offered in a foreign country, and good looks editors would actually hoard bottles each time they might shuttle around the pond.) I’m the sort of fan of the emblem’s creamy sunscreen formulation, however in truth, the tinted lip balm does not obtain just about sufficient hype. Cocoa butter, sustainably sourced lanolin, and diet E very easily hug your lips in moisture, whilst chemical UV filters give protection to towards indicators of getting old through the years (like lip strains and lack of quantity). The subtly shimmery model—aptly named Bejewelled—is solely undeniable beautiful.
Customer evaluate: “The Bejewelled shade is a gorgeous pinky-gold with a glossy, non-sticky finish. It keeps my lips soft and hydrated with Lanolin and Cocoa Butter while the SPF 50 provides top-notch sun protection. The vanilla frosting flavor is a sweet touch, and I love that it’s Australian-made. Perfect as the last step in my skincare routine!”
Best Foundation: Clinique Even Better Clinical Vitamin Makeup Broad Spectrum SPF 45 Foundation
Clinique
Even Better Clinical Vitamin Makeup Broad Spectrum SPF 45 Foundation
Pros: Fragrance-free, dermatologist- and ophthalmologist-tested, is available in 28 shocking sun shades, buildable, light-as-air utility
Cons: You would possibly want more than one layers to achieve your required degree of protection
SPF: 45
Key substances: Ensulizole, octinoxate, octisalate, zinc oxide, diet B3, diet C, diet E
I will be able to’t even rely the collection of foundations I’ve observed that promise to reinforce your pores and skin as you put on it—however believe me, with this system, the claims ship. In reality, in a medical find out about, 94% of ladies reported extra hydrated naked pores and skin after simply two weeks. With an component checklist that includes diet B3, 5 (sure, 5) types of diet C, diet E, and SPF 45, it isn’t onerous to know why. As for the feel? It’s so silky and weightless that I will be able to slightly inform I actually have it on, which is strictly what I crave in a basis.
Customer evaluate: “I was searching for a lightweight foundation that’s long lasting, doesn’t get oily in a few hrs, not a liquidy consistency, and has SPF in it…and this hit the nail on the head!!! I have very sensitive skin and this Clinique foundation is PERFECT!”
Best Setting Powder: Colorescience Brush-On Sunscreen Mineral Powder
Colorescience
Brush-On Sunscreen Mineral Powder
Pros: Makes reapplying sunscreen a breeze, can be utilized for your scalp, mattifies extra oil
Cons: Pricey
SPF: 50
Key substances: Zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, grape seed extract, hyaluronic acid, glycerin
When it involves SPF-infused environment powders, it does not recuperate than Colorescience’s mineral brush-on protect. Yes, it is a powder, nevertheless it come what may makes my pores and skin glance dewy and radiant. (I believe that is the hyaluronic acid and glycerin at paintings!) Trust, this will likely change into your primary pores and skin savior in the summertime months, because it mattifies extra shine with out making your pores and skin glance cakey. Not to say it makes sunscreen reapplication an absolute breeze—simply faucet, brush, and pass. Pro tip: Brush it for your scalp too to give protection to your phase from the solar’s rays.
Customer evaluate: “This sunscreen is the best! When sunscreens sting my eyes my day is ruined. Not Colorsecience, this sunscreen goes on with great coverage stays put through a heavy sweat session outdoors and does its job! My entire family has worn the “tickle” sunscreen for years. We fish and boat, run triathlons, walk the dogs in the humid southern weather, all without a sunburn. I highly recommend this sunscreen.”
Does make-up with SPF actually paintings?
Short resolution? Yes! It’s no longer simply advertising and marketing; make-up with SPF actually does lend a hand protect your pores and skin from UV rays. From a logo standpoint, it may be tricky to earn an SPF score from the FDA (it calls for numerous time and sources), so leisure confident that any product that does have it has finished the good enough checking out.
That stated, “I still recommend applying your sunscreen as the last step of your a.m. skincare routine, and then you can apply your foundation with SPF next,” board-certified dermatologist Tiffany Libby, MD, as soon as instructed WWW about SPF foundations.
Is SPF in make-up sufficient?
Now, here is the catch: SPF-spiked make-up more than likely is not sufficient. See, you want to use a nickel-size quantity (or part a teaspoon) of sunscreen for optimum coverage; until you are making plans on the use of a pretty big dollop of basis (which is extremely not likely), the make-up by myself simply is not going to chop it.
“As long as you’ve applied your first proper layer of sunscreen to your head and neck, I am totally in favor of using foundation and concealers with SPF, as this will layer on more and help when you go to reapply,” Libby explains. Remember: You do want to reapply sunscreen each and every two hours, which is the place an SPF-infused environment powder or blush is useful. Why no longer refresh your make-up and fortify your solar coverage concurrently?