Neutrogena Ultra Sheer review

One beauty product that doesn't get enough screen time is Sun Screen. Sun cream? Sunblock?

That thick, sticky, oily goop that saves our skin from those damaging sun rays. My mother laughs every time she sees me slathering on another layer. When she was my age, the girls were slapping on baby oil and sitting outside for hours to get that exotic summer tan. I, however, grew up in a pretty average sun safe household. We're all pretty pale skinned at home, and are prone to burns. 

Being a pale skinned being that freckles at the first sign of summer, I was well aware of the importance of protecting my skin. The bite of sunburn, that irritating flaky skin, I wasn't a fan.  Growing up, sunscreen was there to help avoid a burn.

Today, I slather on the sunscreen in the name of all those women who spent their life tanning, damaging and aging their skin. I go out of my lazy way to make sure that before I apply any makeup; I rub on a face sunscreen and cover any limbs that would be exposed to the sun with a layer of creamy, moisturizing, sunscreen, a far cry from the messy goop I reluctantly applied only years ago.

I've shopped around for a bit to try and find the brand that works best for me. Most brands worked great on my body, but broke out my sensitive face. While on a final sun safety whim, I grabbed the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Liquid Sunscreen, SPF 70, and the Neutrogena Utlra Sheer Dry touch SPF 45.

This has been the winning duo for the past two summers spent working outdoors and in pools on a regular basis.  The face sunscreen is very liquid and light. It applies effortlessly and works great under makeup. My combination skin doesn't produce excess oil or feel heavy with product.

The Dry Touch body sunscreen has been a true lifesaver. While I am a willing participant in sun safety, K resists regularly. Since this sunscreen goes on smoothly and dries quickly, he agrees to it more often. The smell isn't obnoxious, and as long as you follow the typical sunscreen reapplication rules, i.e. apply after excess sweating, swimming and every couple hours, it works perfectly.

*I recently purchased the Neutrogena Clear Face liquid lotion. It claims to offer the same sun protection without irritating sensitive, acne prone skin.  I'll write a later post to update you guys on my thoughts.

I spent an entire summer working outdoors in Quebec, twelve hour days kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing, hiking trails and general maintenance work. I rocked this sun safe duo and, although some people would moan that the SPF was too high to form any sort of tan, I went from average pale skin to a rocking tan.

Note: Although tans are lovely, they are temporary, and even though some people seem to obsess over being tan, I embrace my ivory skin just as much.