Some facts:
- The sun’s UV rays can damage your skin in as little as 15 minutes, whether you’re outside, in a car, if it’s cloudy...
- The rate of melanoma has tripled during the last 35 years
- 78% of millennials NEVER wear sunscreen—or only wear it to the beach
There’s one other fact that you won’t find in the CDC or the AAD recommendations (but as beauty editors, we’re acutely aware): Sunscreen is incredibly easy to talk yourself out of using. “Oh, I’m only outside for a few minutes a day.” “But I want to make sure I’m getting my vitamin D levels up.” “Every sunscreen I try smells bad, feels greasy, screws up my makeup, leaves a white cast, breaks me out, dries me out, doesn’t fit into my routine...”
And hey—we get it. The market is packed with literally hundreds of options (many of which are in our office) and we still can’t find one we like enough to use regularly. That’s not only personally irresponsible, that’s a really big problem for beauty lovers and skin-havers everywhere. So for the past two years, we’ve been working to solve that problem for ourselves and all of you. World, please welcome Invisible Shield. Let’s take this piece by piece:
The Protection
Invisible Shield is a daily sunscreen with SPF 35 that protects against UVA/UVB rays AND pollution like smog and carbon monoxide. It does this with a first-of-its-kind encapsulated gel formula—basically a fancy way of saying that little microcapsules burst once you pump it out and rub them on your face. Along with the sun protection, there’s also a powerful mix of vitamin E, vitamin P, broccoli, and aloe leaf extract to neutralize free radicals inside skin. (Read more about those here Put that together with some fermented yeast and vegetal extract and you get a breathable matrix that literally shields skin from anything the universe decides to hurl at it.
The actual active ingredients are avobenzone, homosalate, and octisalate. The reason we went with chemical filters for Invisible Shield is that it allowed us to get a truly imperceptible finish when applied to skin. Which brings us to...
The Feel
Emily said it last Monday: “Like water.” Nothing’s worse than really good-feeling skincare (and really good-feeling skin!) covered up by needlessly greasy sunscreen. Everything in the formula made this possible. You might also notice that Invisible Shield isn’t waterproof; waterproof formulas tend to be too greasy for normal wear. Plus we figured you’re not going swimming every day. If you are, that’s cool—we’d just recommend a waterproof product to make sure you’re totally covered.
The Look
Totally clear. Seriously. And because it’s not white, there’s never any potential for a white cast. No excess rubbing necessary.
The Smell
Really good actually! We added a dash of sweet orange essential oil to the formula—just enough to smell like a vacation, never enough to irritate your skin or make you more sun-sensitive.
The Routine
Invisible Shield is the last step of your skincare routine. In the context of the Phase 1 Set, that’s after you cleanse with Milky Jelly, hydrate with Priming Moisturizer, and protect anything with Balm Dotcom. Invisible Shield was made to fit in seamlessly with your other products, so there's no alcohol to dry you out (the water-gel texture that feels hydrating actually is!) and it won't pill if you layer it over skincare and under makeup.
We know you know we all know that sunscreen is important enough to use every single day. (Even if you’re in the car! Did you know? Americans tend to have more sun damage on the left side of their faces from driving.) And every batch of Invisible Shield is made in line with the FDA standards. It’s all a part of our new mantra—say it with us:
Have safe sun.
Get your Invisible Shield today on Glossier.com.
—Us
Photos via Glossier.
But the fun isn't over! Sun Week is still underway over here.
