Tinted mineral sunscreen that isn't a bastard

[crispinglovershighkick]

I have a love/hate relationship with tinted mineral sunscreen: it's easy (two birds/one stone, no white cast) but it's a bastard (pills and peels about 50% of the time). I've just wiped my face a second time because for whatever reason neither of the primers I used stopped the ts from pilling over moisturiser. Not sure if I should have 1) waited longer to apply or 2) applied immediately but I can no longer be arsed to figure it out.

I used to love the Coola matte one, now discontinued. It sometimes pilled but the Niod one I use now pills somewhere on my face most of the time.

Am I doing it all wrong and I need a completely different product? Ts all seem very silicone-heavy which I don't love.

Ideally prefer cruelty free brands.

I haven't tried this yet, waiting for my SPF moisterizer to run out .but NIOD do survival 30 (shame it's not 50). It's not technically tinted but the reviews are that it gives you a natural tint from the ingredients. Might be worth a look? X

Lol I think it’s the one in my link?! Yes, shame it’s not 50, plus it’s a bastard

Oh lol! What a coincidence. Links don't work on my app. Sorry

No worries, your intuition was spot on! It actually is really good - good colour, consistency, finish (when it works) - but I can't figure out how to apply it. I need to use a more siliconey primer I think. But 50spf would be better.

The Neostrata Sheer Physical one is good. Heliocare has some good mineral ones too, but they're not tinted. There's one from the US, Mychelle Sun Shield, that I have on my list to try but not bought it yet, but that looks good too.

I found the heliocare one irritating but will have a look at the others, many thanks.

I have heard great things about elta md but it is expensive here.

I’ve been putting on a bit of white la Roche posay then some of the tinted version diluted with a tiny bit of biore spf50. So three different sunscreens! Prob breaking many rules but hey.

Thinner I do that too, I'm so tired of mixing and getting it slightly wrong - too tinted, not tinted enough, too white etc - and not knowing if I'm messing up the efficacy so I'm committing to finding a holy grail product if it exists.
Will look at EltaMD, I'm meant to go to the States in the summer (fingers crossed) so will put it on my list to try when I'm there. I've paid so much already for products that fall short for one reason or another, I'd pay a lot for one that ticks all the boxes.

I have the Paulas Choice super light SPF30. It's very lightly tinted so doesn't show as a tint on the skin- but tinted enough to not leave a white cast. It's suitable for light skintones- probably too light if you have darker skin. It really is lightweight and not greasy at ll.

Dr Sam Bunting has a physical sunscreen that comes in 3 versions (untinted, light tint, medium tint). It doesn’t give a lot of coverage though.

As for pilling, I find that if I apply sunscreen to clean skin with no products underneath it reduces the chances of pilling.

Mcmc good idea I'm going to pop it on straight after washing my face tomorrow instead of using moisturiser and primer first. I use adapalene and tazarotene and mineral ss can be drying but I should try using without moisturiser and see if it solves the problem.

Maybe all mineral ss do this, it looks like all the non-whitening ones are silicone based.

I just bought the Neostrata Sheer Physical ss botemp, looking forward to using a higher spf, taking lots of long walks now and sun sometimes makes an appearance.

Freek thanks, putting the PC one on my list

I use the Peter Thomas Roth snd like it

I use the MyChelle Dermaceuticals Sunshield in untinted.

It is good but it can pill a bit unless you are careful. I normally use serum/mist/oil and leave those to sink a in bit before applying very gradually.

It’s cruelty free, no silicone, the untinted one has a very slight cast and it’s the best overall I have found, but it’s not perfect.

I think I’m applying carefully but maybe someone can tell me where I’m going wrong. I wash face and use a hyaluronic serum and a balm on top and leave it for a while, maybe eat breakfast, get dressed, so let’s say at least half an hour. I use a pump of primer and apply carefully right to the edges of my face, then apply ss. Not sure if I should apply while primer is still drying or after it’s dry, seems to pill either way.
I tried patting it on but even though it didn’t pill it sort of ... cracked? Like a crackle glaze.
I tried bare skin but it’s too grabby, it sank in and the colour changed, looked dry and awful.
I feel a bit aggrieved that I’ve pared all my makeup faffing down to ss, mascara, brows and it still doesn’t seem to be less fuss and I’m concerned that I’m not getting protection from the sun.
Took ages to find a chemical ss I liked then dermatologist said to use a physical one which literally looks like you’ve covered yourself in toothpaste

I like the ‘Skinnies’ tinted one, it does leave me a bit shiny though. It’s a NZ based company but I think they ship to the UK, I got samples from the company but actually found the full sized ones in T K maxx

Thanks all. I don't mind shiny, it's the dry pasty finish that doesn't work for me.

I think the primer could be making your sunscreen pill. Most primers have silicone, and the silicone will clash with the sunscreen texture and cause flaking.

I remembered some other tinted physical sunscreens:
Ilia serum SPF 40: I haven’t used it, it’s supposed to have the coverage of a tinted moisturiser and has 13% zinc oxide.
Madara: they have an SPF 30 sunscreen with a light tint (it looks a bit greyish on me. My skin tone is light medium- Laura Mercier Nude TM shade). They also have an SPF 15 CC cream with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, it comes in 2 shades. I have the light shade, it looks nice, like a tinted moisturiser but more shiny. I normally put a light layer of powder on top.

Dennis Gross and Murad also have physical sunscreens, I think some of them are tinted. If not tinted, you could probably use a couple of high-coverage foundation drops and mix them into the sunscreen. Because physical sunscreens are supposed to “sit” on top of the skin to be effective, I don’t imagine that would affect the protection significantly.

Mcmc ok, I wouldn't ordinarily use a primer, tried it because the ss just won't sit on top of my moisturiser, it pills. What kind of moisturiser is everyone using first, or do most people use it without? I'll try using the bare minimum of moisturiser tomorrow.

I applied and removed three applications of ss today because it kept cracking and peeling, used chemical ss in the end. Stopped at Space NK later and got samples of three different brands to try.

Maybe I'm applying it too thickly? Or maybe my face/hands aren't utterly dry after I've washed it off my face for the third time? I manage to do more or less everything else like a normal person but I'm bad at sunscreen.

The Neostrata ss botemp recommended arrived today and it's a much lighter liquid product, hoping that means a better result.

And thanks for the recommendations Mcmc.

I use the Sunprise Mild Airy Finish by Etude House (Korean). Not tinted but it's the only mineral onen I've found that doesn't leave a cast or pill. It's amazing.

I put it on bare skin, mine never pills up. I think s needs bare skin to adhere to so you get effective protection.

I use the neostrata one as well and really like it. You have to get used to how liquid it is though. I also find it gives me good enough coverage on 'good skin' days. On days when I want to wear foundation I use Dr Sam Bunting's Flawless Gossamer Tint (still tinted but not as much) with foundation over the top.

I never found a tinted sunscreen that worked for me, they were all too yellow. So I found a regular sunscreen the suited my skin and I add Boots Foundation Drops if I want it to be tinted. It's easy to measure because it's drops, I find that two drops is about equivalent to tinted sunscreen and three drops is light foundation level.

Ella MD is the best I’ve found - you can get it at strawberry.net or on Amazon. It’s a pain to get hold of though - not always in stock or shipping charges are applied so I’ve ordered some the Jan Marini physical sunscreen, which was recommended by my Skin + Me derm. I will report back!