Just by looking at me, you can probably tell I burn easily. I've had my fair share of bad sun burns over the years, but I like to think I've gotten more careful in my late 20's. This summer, I challenged myself not to get a sunburn, and I actually did pretty well...until last week. I had been dutifully carrying a bottle of sunscreen around with my all summer so far, re-apply religiously, and staying in the shade when possible. I was quite proud of my self. I've even been keeping a bottle in the glove compartment in my car, just in case. Unfortunately, my time was up when we took a convertible up the Sea to Sky highway on the way to a day hike, and I burrrrrned the whole way. I didn't realize we'd be taking a convertible, and so hadn't applied any sunscreen prior to us leaving home. Oops. Really, I know I should just be wearing sunscreen everyday anyway, but...it's always so icky!
Needless to say, my skin was very sensitive and irritated. It hurt to sleep on, and it was tough to wear clothes (especially bras) on it. In come my skin's best friend: Avène's Thermal Spring Water spray. I've actually had a bottle of this thermal water since last winter, and found it super handy for dehydrated winter skin. But now I've found a new use for it! It's been soothing my sunburn and keeping the burn area hydrated. According to Avène, the spring where this water is found has been declared to be of "public interest" in dermatology since 1874. And the spring water's soothing properties are what make it perfect for sun burns. (For added cooling effect, I've been spraying it on the burn and then standing in front of our fan!).
So, I've got my soothing after sun care, but next I want to make sure this sun burn thing doesn't happen again this summer! That means sunscreen. The thing is, I tend to not wear it sometimes because I'm fussy about the texture and smell. Last year, I discovered Avène's High Protection Spray and was pretty happy with it. It definitely beat any other sunscreens in terms of greasy-ness and smell (barely either). But there was still room for improvement. Turns out, Avène now has a new High Protection Light Mineral Lotion and Ultra-Light Mineral Lotion that definitely make it the most comfortable sunscreen!
The texture of these is amazing, and by amazing, I mean it basically feels non-existent. Completely sheer and lightweight. And guess what? No sunscreen smell! Win! Don't worry, it's still a broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection - with SPF 50.
I also really liked using the Ultra-Light Mineral Lotion on my face under makeup, it made a great base. Oh, and remember that spring water in the thermal spray I mentioned above? Those soothing properties are in the lotion too: added bonus!
Now I'll be that much more likely to actually wear sunscreen everyday. No more summer sunburns! And let's be honest, I should really be wearing this year round. Because UV rays are just as damaging during the rest of the year. Especially those cloudy days: don't let them trick you into thinking you don't need sunscreen!
Happy Styling! xo
~ Britta
