No BS Beauty has put more than 100 sunscreens through her channel and approved most of them, earning an approval rate of 63%. She skipped about one in four, and her reasons are specific and worth knowing. She named a few products her outright winners, so there is a short list if that is what you came for.
What does No BS Beauty recommend in sunscreen?
Tinted sunscreens come up often in her approvals. She praised EltaMD UV Daily Tinted for working across a wide range of skin tones. However, she flagged that people on the very fair side might find some shades run a little dark. She has also gone back to certain picks more than once. She finished a bottle of Klairs All Day Airy Sunscreen and bought a second, and her Geek & Gorgeous Zero Feel SPF 50 is nearly done too. She called the Skin Aqua Tone Up UV Essence one of the very few tone-up sunscreens she actually liked. She also noted it uses both mineral and chemical filters.
No BS Beauty's sunscreen picks, in her words
"I love their sunscreen. I just bought the backup for it because I absolutely love it."
"This sunscreen is wonderful. I really enjoy it. I like seeing five different filters, I like seeing the combination of UVB and UVA filters, and I like seeing the L'Oreal patented one that's nice to see being used in some K Beauty brands. The manufacturer of this one is Colmar Korea, which I think makes a lot of innisfree sunscreens as well, and in my past testing some of the Colmar Korean ones I've had pretty good luck with them. I haven't really had any issues."
"Their sunscreen is great. They're hyaluronic watery sun gel. During sunscreen Armageddon, what was it now? Four, five, four or five years ago, when all these K beauty sunscreens were found out to be vastly underprotecting people for what they were advertising. The Isntree sunscreen stood the test of time there and didn't have any issues."
"This one is also a hybrid sunscreen and really nice, really light, great for acne prone skin, great for summer and winter. [...] This one also uses US-based chemical filters, so keep that in mind. Some people [...] prefer US filters only and some people prefer anything but US filters because they're so old and the US hasn't really updated anything they've done with sunscreens in the last 20, 30 years, so the US is really lagging behind in terms of all the technology in sunscreens out there."
"I picked up a sarra facial moisturizing sunscreen uh with the European filters in it"
"Neutrogena has a really nice tinted sunscreen."
How many sunscreens has No BS Beauty reviewed?
No BS Beauty has reviewed 105 sunscreens, for an approval rate of 63%. 66 approved, 13 mixed, and 26 skipped.
What has No BS Beauty skipped in sunscreen?
She skipped about a quarter of the sunscreens she tested. Safety issues drove some of those calls. She skipped the Ultra Violette Mineral Sunscreen after it tested at only 4 to 7 SPF instead of the SPF 50 on the label. That was part of a recall that covered more than 30 brands. She also skipped the ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 after finding hers had expired. She noted that zinc-based mineral sunscreens in particular may stop working entirely once they are past their date.
"I don't have the stick version because I hated that one. I'm just pretend like it didn't happen but it worked well for a lot of people so whatever."
"I'm not messing around with sunscreen that's even a couple months old, it's not worth the risk of it for me anyway. With my hyperpigmentation, melasma, it's just not worth the risk. This one uses zinc, and I have a feeling mineral sunscreens when they go bad, they're bad. Chemical ones may not be so true, but I've heard from zinc when it's done, it's done. You're not getting a benefit from it. So there's no point in messing around with that."
"It started with Ultra Violette being shown that their Mineral Sunscreen had like four to seven SPF protection as opposed to the 50 it states. This one used 22.5% zinc oxide as its filter, so keep that in mind. Now it's snowballed into over 30 brands having recalled their sunscreen, including Ultra Violette."
"Supergoop is a pretty popular brand, but I never thought any of their products were revolutionary. Not really Supergoop's fault, but the US chemical filters are just kind of sad, and I haven't been overly impressed with any of their mineral sunscreens either. In general I find most chemical sunscreens are more elegant and easy to apply and generally more efficient and effective than most mineral ones."
What should you take from No BS Beauty's picks?
The thing that stands out in No BS Beauty's sunscreen record is that she names a reason for every skip. She leaned toward tinted formulas that work across a range of skin tones, went back to her favorites, and did not hold back when she spotted a safety issue. Her named winners are Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment SPF 30, La Roche-Posay Anthelios UVMune 400 SPF 50, Kinship Self Reflect Mineral Sunscreen, and Skin Aqua Tone Up UV Essence.
Watch No BS Beauty say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment SPF 30Named a winnerWatch at 1:59
- La Roche-Posay Anthelios UVMune 400 SPF 50+Named a winnerWatch at 10:22
- Kinship Self Reflect Probiotic Zinc Oxide Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF 32Named a winnerWatch at 2:15
- Skin Aqua Tone Up UV Essence SPF 50 PA4+Named a winnerWatch at 6:20
- Beauty of Joseon Matte Sun Stick SPF 50Skipped itWatch at 0:15
- ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40Skipped itWatch at 9:00
- Ultra Violette Mineral SunscreenSkipped itWatch at 1:32
- Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40Skipped itWatch at 7:30
- Neutrogena Collagen Bank SPF 30 Facial MoisturizerSkipped itWatch at 6:51
- Vanicream Sunscreen SPF 30Skipped itWatch at 10:13
- Neutrogena Sheer Zinc Mineral SunscreenSkipped itWatch at 6:17
- Numbuzin No.9 NAD Peptide Dewy Sun Essence SPF 50Skipped itWatch at 9:23
- Skin1004 Tone Brightening Tone-Up Sunscreen SPF 50+Skipped itWatch at 0:26
- Ultra Violette Velvet Screen SPF 50 Blurring Mineral SunscreenSkipped itWatch at 1:39
- Biossance Squalane + Zinc Sheer Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30Skipped itWatch at 1:52
- Purito Centella Green Level Unscented Sun SPF 50+Skipped itWatch at 4:39
- BYOMA Moisturizing Gel Sunscreen SPF 30Skipped itWatch at 9:28
- Round Lab Birch Juice Moisturizing Tone Up SunscreenSkipped itWatch at 6:30
- Keep Cool Soothe Bamboo Sun Essence SPF 50+Skipped itWatch at 4:11
- Ultra Violette Clean Screen SPF 30Skipped itWatch at 1:38
- Good Molecules Moisturizing Rich Sunscreen SPF 30Skipped itWatch at 6:21
- Purito Daily Soft Touch Sunscreen SPF 50+ PA++++Skipped itWatch at 4:46
- Ultra Violette Lean Screen Mattifying SPF 50 Zinc SunscreenSkipped itWatch at 1:37
- Ultra Violette Queen Screen Super Glow Bronzing Drops SPF 50Skipped itWatch at 6:09
About this expert
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This guide reflects what No BS Beauty said across her videos about 105 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.