Sunscreen Everyday- A Brand that Makes it Fun and Easy

Hello my loyal readers! I hope this blog post finds you well and soaking in some rays of sunshine wherever you are located at. We have had a gorgeous week where I am at and Sunday will be the first official day of summer.

Beside putting away my winter clothes, and bringing out all my shorts for the summer, another thing I do is make my sunscreen more readily available.

Back in early summer of 2014 I was laying out in the sun tanning on the patio of my studio apartment in Columbia, South Carolina. I had soaked my legs and arms with some tanning oil, and used a low SPF of 15 on the other parts of my body. I was going to be spending my summer in Orlando, Florida that year. My thought process at the time was that “I needed to get some color on my skin before heading down south.” I remember it hitting me that I needed to do a better job of actually protecting my skin when I am out in the sun.

My whole life I have been out in the sun during the summertime. Each year growing up I would go to day camp, and come home with some sunburns early on in the summer months. I have had both mild sunburns, and the kind that developed blisters and scarring even. I also had a few years where I would lay in the tanning bed in the winter time. Everyday, all year long, if the sun is out than I am outside at some point throughout the day. After that summer in 2014 I started doing a better job of at least putting on sunscreen prior to laying out and being in the sun.

Why wearing Sunscreen became so Important to Me

In the winter of 2017 I finally got all my moles and freckles checked out at the dermatologist. I hadn’t had things looked at for around four years at that point. I was shocked when they said they wanted to remove one of them, and I started going to the worst case scenario in my head. Which was “what if I have skin cancer?”

“Suddenly all those years laying out in the sun and tanning bed with little to no sunscreen flashed back in my mind. Was it really worth it? “

Thankfully it came back with zero pre-cancerous cells.

A couple of months later when I was on a work trip to Florida, one of my coworkers and I went to the beach. As she was putting sunscreen on my back she asked if I had a mole removed, and that it looked like it was coming back. I didn’t think that was possible but she was right when I looked in the mirror later that night. I also discovered shortly after that a trip a mole on the bottom of my foot that I had never recalled seeing.

I called my dermatolgist to schedule a screening right away. Both were removed and came back as non-cancerous, which I was increddibly thankful for.

Those two skin scares made me want to take wearing sunscreen seriously.

“I may not be able to prevent all types of cancers, but I can prevent my risk of skin cancer with protecting my skin when I am in the sun.”

Now, when it comes to to using a sunscreen type product there are many things I take into account. The main one is the ingredients, and how my skin reacts to it since I struggle horribly with acne, even at the age of 30. The second is how it feels, and if I actually enjoy using it.

Lets be honest, if we don’t like the way a product makes our skin feel or reacts we aren’t going to use it.

The Sunscreen Brand I Use Everyday

Back in 2019 I was overhauling all of my skincare since I was having some major skin problems, primarily with acne. I was even looking into the cosmetics I was using.

When I was fifteen years old my Aunt gave me the book Don’t Go To the Cosmetics Counter Without Me by Paula Begoun. She founded the skincare brand Paula’s Choice and has another site Beautypedia where she reviews products on the market and how they affect out skin. Beautypedia had recommended a finishing powder by the brand I had never heard of.

That brand was called Supergoop!

I fell in love with their ingredients “No List.” The fact that all their products are reef safe and not tested on animals. Furthermore, I loved their motto of “Sunscreen Everyday” and having unique products that set them apart.

Some of my favorite products when I plan to be outside and really work up a sweat is the SPF 50 PLAY Everyday Lotion and Spray. I like using a spray to reapply sunscreen to my body when I am outside for long periods of time. Both of these are good to use if you struggle with acne as well.

I also loving using the Glow Oil on my arms and legs. This is great to use when I am just riding in the car, or running some errands that involve me being in the sunlight. I try to avoid putting this on my chest/neck area since it does have acne causing ingredients in it. However, it is a great moisturizer for the arms and legs.

The GlowStick I like to use to reapply sunscreen to my bare face before heading outside, as well as my neck and chest. It doesn’t have any acne causing ingredients in it which is another major plus.

Now something I LOVE most about Supergoop products, is their more makeup type products they carry.

First is the makeup primers they have. I use the Mattescreen since I battle extremely oily skin on a daily bases. This is great to put on over my moisturizer (that also has SPF), and is wonderful to use on a “non-makeup” day. It makes the skin appear more even and toned, and helps with controlling some of that oily shine.

I also love their Shimmershade Eyeshadows, and this is my most favorite product because it is so unique. The one I have pictured above is in the shade “First Light.” This shadow doesn’t crease at all and it lasts the WHOLE day! For an oily skin gal like me that is a huge deal! I use this everyday I wear makeup because it makes for a great eyeshadow primer and keeps the color from fading. It is also great if you are not that big of a makeup person to give you a more “wide awake” look. I just replaced my shimmershade eyeshadow recently due to the SPF expiring, but this little jar lasted me all year and I didn’t even make it through half of it, and again I use it everyday.

I developed a freckle on one of my eyelids a few years ago, so pairing the Shimmershade Eyeshadow with the Bright Eyed cream really helps me feel like I am protecting my skin to the fullest, even in the most small spaces like my eyelids.

I also use the Resetting Powder as my daily finishing powder on top of my foundation, and I have just started using their Poof Part Powder for my scalp since it notoriously gets sunburned in the summer.

I hope this this post inspires you to wear some SPF this summer, because protecting our skin is so important. I know it is an extra step, and sometimes sunscreen can feel sticky and tacky. The best advice I can give is to find a brand you love using, and want to use every single day.

I also want to encourage you to attend a yearly dermatology appointment if you have the means to do so to get all your freckles and moles checked out. It is worth the specialist cost if it saves you thousands of dollars in medical bills, and your life at the end of the day.

Your friend,