Forget wasps at a picnic – nothing stings as horribly as suncream in the eyes. We’ve all experienced the SPF that sinks into skin invisibly, only to leave your eyes in boiling red agony when it drips down and breaches your lashes in the heat. No amount of dabbing, blinking or rinsing seems capable of calming the sting either, and you’re then facing hours of streaming misery in the middle of a glorious summer day.
‘It really is game over,’ confirms celebrity makeup artist Hannah Martin, a favourite of the royal family and the woman who famously did Kate’s bridal beauty.
So what are the SPFs tried, tested and trusted by elite makeup artists, for whom red, sore SPF-ruined eyes could easily spell career disaster?
As a sensitive-eyed beauty editor who would arguably take waterboarding over dripped-down SPF, it was a question I urgently needed answering. Not least because I spent half of heatwave Monday being tortured by a very hyped-up facial suncream that got into my eyes. Grr. I won't name and shame, but I won't be using it again.
Interestingly, one brand comes top for both Hannah and fellow top MUA Ruby Hammer, a woman who’s worked with every supermodel on the planet and therefore knows the importance of keeping things calm.
‘La Roche-Posay Anthelios fluid is ultra-light under makeup and doesn’t leave a white cast, also doesn’t sting the eyes,’ Ruby tells me. The same derm-loved brand also gets the thumbs up from Hannah, who tells me she likes La Roche-Posay’s Anthelios spray. ‘That’s the one I take in my kit – people trust La Roche-Posay,’ she says, noting she relied on it for a ‘roasting’ bridal assignment in the recent heatwave.
Application-wise, Hannah uses a technique which can also be used to top up protection during the day without disturbing foundation. ‘I ask clients to shut their eyes and hold their breath while I’m applying it,’ she says. ‘I avoid spraying the eyes directly, but I always say to keep eyes closed for a moment after spraying to allow it to dry down a little.’
Ruby likes the La Roche Anthelios fluid as part of a flawless all-day makeup base that’s sun-safe as well as long lasting. ‘Patience is your best primer,’ she explains. ‘Give your morning skincare and SPF a solid 10 minutes to fuse with your skin before touching your makeup. Look for fluid, serum-like sunscreen that dries down to a satin finish.’
‘Vichy Capital Soleil UV Age SPF50 is also great for a comfortable satin dry down that won’t migrate and sting,’ Ruby says. Hannah, meanwhile, also namechecks Ultrasun's SPF50 spray as another trusted no-sting option.
To keep your sun protection topped up during hot days without disrupting your makeup, never rub an SPF cream over a finished face,’ advises Ruby. ‘Instead, mist an SPF spray over your makeup throughout the day to refresh and protect, if needed. Alternatively, an SPF mineral powder brush is brilliant for absorbing midday T-zone shine. Jane Iredale Powder-Me SPF30 Dry Sunscreen is good.’
Here’s to a summer without burning-red skin or eyes.
