HotandFlashy knows her sunscreen. She has worked through more than 80 of them on camera. She approved about half, gave about a third a mixed take, and skipped the rest. Her approval rate for the category sits at 49%. The products she loves share one quality: you genuinely cannot tell you are wearing them.
What does HotandFlashy recommend in sunscreen?
What she keeps coming back to is finish. She wants a sunscreen that dries down fast, sits matte or near-matte, and does not make pores or fine lines look worse. The Geek & Gorgeous Zero Feel SPF 50 is the clearest example: she called it the first sunscreen she had ever worn without needing powder or makeup on top. Dr. Jart+ Every Sunday Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 earned similar praise because it smooths skin like a primer and helps makeup last longer. She also rates tinted options highly when the shade is wearable, pointing to IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream SPF 50+ and Live Tinted Skin Tint SPF 50 as ones she can put on and simply go. The Colorescience Sunforgettable Total Protection Face Shield Flex SPF 50 made her top-ranking mineral list a few years running. Several products have earned her explicit winner label, among them Neutrogena Pure Screen Mineral UV Tint Face Liquid, CeraVe Invisible Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50, and DRMTLGY Physical Tinted Moisturizer SPF 44.
Hot and Flashy's sunscreen picks, in her words
"It has a PA++++ rating, which means it's the highest UVA protection. This is the first sunscreen I've ever tried that I could put on my face and not have to do anything else, [...] just go about my day without looking weird. With every other sunscreen I've tried it's either a white cast, the tint doesn't match me, it's super shiny, it makes my pores look huge, it feels super greasy, I need to powder it or put makeup over it."
"One of my very first loves in makeup, it's an all mineral SPF 50 makeup, it is amazing."
"A stick sunscreen I bought because I saw it and thought that one looks great is the Abib stick sunscreen. I keep this next to my front door and sunscreen up my hands every time I'm going out to walk my dog. It's so convenient because you always forget to do your hands, and I can just do my chest, my neck, my face. Great little sunscreen, very lightweight, fragrance-free, really terrific."
"I'm wearing my Undefined Beauty RNR sunscreen which is why my skin is a little bit dewy, but this is a really hydrating mineral sunscreen. It works really well under my makeup."
"This sunscreen is perfect for all my different skin types. It doesn't make me feel dry, it doesn't make me get super oily. It's just perfection in a sunscreen. [...] It gives you a beautiful skin-like look that is very sheer. It won't settle in your wrinkles. It's just gorgeous."
"My favorite body sunscreen [...] is the Hawaiian Tropic Sheer Touch Sunscreen, SPF 50. The smell of it is great. I love how it feels on my skin. It's just beautiful, it makes me feel hydrated and nice."
How many sunscreens has HotandFlashy reviewed?
HotandFlashy has reviewed 88 sunscreens, for an approval rate of 49%. 43 approved, 26 mixed, and 19 skipped.
What has HotandFlashy skipped in sunscreen?
Her skips often failed for the same reason: they never dried down. Blue Lizard Sensitive Sunscreen SPF 50 stayed greasy after 20 to 30 minutes and left a white cast that did not budge; she scored it zero out of five. Colorescience No Show SPF 50 went on wet and oily and still left a visible white cast, which she noted was a particular problem for something marketed as 'no show'; another zero out of five. Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Moisture Airy Fit Daily Sunscreen SPF 50 did not leave a white cast, but she found it made her foundation settle into her wrinkles faster and shortened how long her makeup lasted. If staying power under makeup matters to you, those are the ones she would steer you away from.
"This is a white sunscreen with a thick cream texture. It's difficult to spread the quarter teaspoon around my face and neck. It is very, very greasy feeling, gives a very strong white cast, it's very shiny, and it gathered up in my eyebrows and my hairline. It's just not wearable for me."
"This is a thick white lotion that takes a while to rub in. It feels pretty greasy and has a very shiny finish. It leaves a pinkish purplish white cast. It didn't dry back at all after 20 minutes and was still very shiny, very white, and very greasy looking and feeling."
"This is a lightweight liquid that feels really greasy and leaves a strong white cast. It doesn't blend well, it gives you polka dot pores, and settles into your wrinkles."
"So it's only $3.79 an ounce. It contains 10% zinc oxide, 8% titanium dioxide. It does contain sunscreen booster salicylate. This is fragrance-free and it's 80 minutes water resistance. This is a white thick lotion. It goes on feeling super heavy, super greasy, and it has a really strong white cast that doesn't dissipate even after 20 to 30 minutes of dryback. And I'm putting dryback in air quotes because this never dries back. It stays greasy feeling. I gave it a zero out of five as a sunscreen."
What should you take from HotandFlashy's picks?
HotandFlashy's record on sunscreens is genuinely useful for anyone who has struggled to make SPF work with makeup. She approves products that behave: light, matte, and invisible. She skips the ones that stay wet or greasy, and she says so clearly, with scores to match. If you are looking for a place to start, her named winners are a good shortlist.
Watch HotandFlashy say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- Colorescience Sunforgettable Total Protection Face Shield Flex SPF 50Named a winnerWatch at 19:40
- Neutrogena Pure Screen Mineral UV Tint Face LiquidNamed a winnerWatch at 16:23
- CeraVe Invisible Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50Named a winnerWatch at 19:00
- NYX Blur Screen Sunscreen SPF 30 PrimerNamed a winnerWatch at 1:20
- Australian Gold Botanical Tinted Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50Named a winnerWatch at 19:03
- Undefined Beauty RNR Sun Serum SPF 50Named a winnerWatch at 8:11
- Undefined Beauty RNR Mineral SunscreenNamed a winnerWatch at 1:11
- Kopari Bright As Day Sheer Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50Named a winnerWatch at 9:38
- DRMTLGY Physical Tinted Moisturizer SPF 44Named a winnerWatch at 3:03
- Eucerin Sensitive Mineral Face Sunscreen SPF 35Skipped itWatch at 4:35
- Pipette Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50Skipped itWatch at 5:15
- Cetaphil Sheer Mineral Face Liquid Sunscreen SPF 50Skipped itWatch at 2:52
- Blue Lizard Sensitive Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50Skipped itWatch at 4:19
- La Roche-Posay Tinted Mineral Light Sunscreen Fluid SPF 50Skipped itWatch at 14:42
- L'Oreal Skin Paradise Water Infused Tinted Moisturizer SPF 19Skipped itWatch at 5:13
- ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40Skipped itWatch at 13:23
- Prequel Sun Barrier Mineral Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 50Skipped itWatch at 5:21
- Iris and Romeo Weekend Skin SPF50+ with Vitamin C and GlowSkipped itWatch at 6:52
- Avène Mineral Multi-Defense Sunscreen Fluid SPF 50Skipped itWatch at 8:43
- AXIS-Y Complete No Stress Physical Sunscreen SPF 50+Skipped itWatch at 13:35
- Ultra Violette Velvet Screen SPF 50 Blurring Mineral SunscreenSkipped itWatch at 13:18
- Sarah Creal Brilliant Repair Shield Illuminating SPF 50Skipped itWatch at 10:24
- Freaks of Nature Peak Performance Sunscreen SPF 50Skipped itWatch at 4:41
- ILIA C Beyond Triple Serum SPF 40Skipped itWatch at 3:45
About this expert
See everything HotandFlashy has reviewed
Expert rankings
Related guides
This guide reflects what HotandFlashy said across her videos about 88 products in sunscreen, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The approval rate is the share of these products she approved. It is general information, not medical advice.