The Style and Beauty Doctor has worked through more than 40 sunscreens. She approved a little over half, gave nearly a third a mixed take, and gave a hard skip to only a few. That 60% approval rate tells you she is not an easy sell on SPF. She looks hard at finish, formula, and how a product behaves on deeper skin tones, and she says exactly when something falls short.
What does The Style and Beauty Doctor recommend in sunscreen?
What she keeps coming back to is finish and feel. She approved sunscreens that blend in without leaving a chalky ring, sit comfortably under or over moisturizer, and hold up across seasons. Her standout winner is Ultra Violette Supreme Screen Hydrating Facial Sunscreen SPF 50. She called it rare because it is light enough for summer but moisturizing enough for colder months. She also rated Thank You Farmer Sun Project Skin Relief Sun Cream SPF50+ PA++++ highly for staying hydrating without feeling heavy. She flagged that the Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Moist Sun Serum SPF 50+ PA++++ has an oily base that can make other products pill on top. Her advice, straight from her review, is to wait a few minutes between layers or stick to products with a similar base. She noted the Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Pure Mineral Relief Daily Sunscreen SPF 50+ PA++++ blends more easily than most mineral options, but warned that anyone with facial hair will find the white cast settles into brows and edges, and that heavy sweating makes it more visible.
The Style and Beauty Doctor's sunscreen picks, in her words
"This is the best one for me out of all the Ultraviolette sunscreens that I've tried. The formula is lightweight, it's very moisturizing, it's got a natural finish. This is one of those rare sunscreens where I could wear it year round. It's lightweight enough to be okay for the warmer months but it's still moisturizing enough in the colder months where my skin doesn't feel dried out."
"When you put it on the skin it's very shiny and radiant at first, and it's going to stay like that for a couple minutes but it does dry down to where it's more of like a satin type of finish. So it's not completely oily oily but keep that in mind because sometimes skincare products don't play well together depending on what the base is. You might put this on with one of your favorite moisturizers and notice that the moisturizer starts to pill up on your skin."
"Again, with the sunscreen stick, they're so easy to carry around. This one has chemical/organic UV filters, but this is a Korean sunscreen, not a Korean-American. This is straight up from the motherland. Korea sunscreen, right? You can use this year round. [...] You might need to put a moisturizer on first and then you could use this year round. It has a natural finish. Super easy to carry around like this little, you just slap that in your bag. You could even use it to reapply over your makeup."
"This is a [...] really good mineral sunscreen. I did have a slight white cast. It wasn't the worst white cast that I've seen. It blends in beautifully. [...] I don't have to be like really worried because there's some mineral sunscreens that feel very pasty and it's really hard to blend into the skin. This blends in really nicely. It takes a little longer to blend in so that you've got it all covered."
"This has to be one of my favorites thus far. [...] This one is very lightweight. However, it still kept me feeling hydrated and moisturized. [...] So, this felt hydrating and moisturizing. [...] I like this. I could wear this in the summertime. I could probably wear this, you know, like spring, fall, the winter, I might need a little bit more than this, but this I really like. This is probably the second or third Thank You Farmer sunscreen that I've tried just in general."
"NYX also makes a blurring SPF 30 primer that if you put on enough can also double as your sunscreen step. I did find it moisturizing enough to just use that alone so I didn't have to use a moisturizer underneath it, but you know we're all different so you got to kind of see how things work for your situation and your environment."
How many sunscreens has The Style and Beauty Doctor reviewed?
The Style and Beauty Doctor has reviewed 45 sunscreens, for an approval rate of 60%. 27 approved, 13 mixed, and 5 skipped.
What has The Style and Beauty Doctor skipped in sunscreen?
Her skips were specific. Tower 28 SunnyDays SPF 30 Tinted Sunscreen Foundation got a skip because even layered carefully, the cast was still visible. She also pointed out that using less to dodge the cast means you are not getting the SPF you think you are. Ultra Violette Velvet Screen SPF 50 Blurring Mineral Sunscreen was a skip too: she found a faint grittiness and said the finish did not actually look mattifying on her skin. She skipped Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen for Body SPF 40 because the thin, runny texture felt clumsy to apply and left an odd feeling on the skin. She also revisited Drunk Elephant Umbra Sheer Physical Daily Defense SPF30, which she had reviewed years earlier when mineral options for deeper skin tones were limited, suggesting it no longer stands out now that the category has grown.
"There was no denying that the cast. If you don't put on enough of a mineral sunscreen then yes maybe you won't have a noticeable cast, but do you know how dangerous that can be when people aren't wearing enough sunscreen? If you're not wearing enough sunscreen but you think you are and you think you're being protected, you got to put on enough to get the SPF."
"It says that it's super soothing when it feels a little gritty. It's got some thickness and a teeny tinge of grittiness to it, and it didn't even look mattifying to me. It looked more like it had a natural finish. So this is a no for me."
"I reviewed this product years ago [...] back when there weren't that many mineral sunscreen options. [...] Back then there weren't that many mineral sunscreen options that look good on deeper skin."
"You put it on and some of it slides off, you gotta be very careful with how you're putting it on. Since it is a body product, [...] the way I use body products, especially body moisturizers or body sunscreen, [...] it could be this kind of stuff all over the place. I'm pretty clumsy, so if some of this gets on the floor in the bathroom and then I slip and fall, that's a problem. It just feels weird on the skin."
What should you take from The Style and Beauty Doctor's picks?
If you want to know what The Style and Beauty Doctor actually reaches for, her standout winner is Ultra Violette Supreme Screen Hydrating Facial Sunscreen SPF 50. More broadly, she tends to approve sunscreens that blend cleanly, skip the harsh cast, and hold up on oily skin. Her skips are worth reading too: she explains her reasoning every time, which makes her record a useful shortcut for anyone trying to narrow down a crowded category.
Watch The Style and Beauty Doctor say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- Ultra Violette Supreme Screen Hydrating Facial Sunscreen SPF 50Named a winnerWatch at 23:54
- Tower 28 SunnyDays SPF 30 Tinted Sunscreen FoundationSkipped itWatch at 6:32
- Ultra Violette Velvet Screen SPF 50 Blurring Mineral SunscreenSkipped itWatch at 13:48
- Drunk Elephant Umbra Sheer Physical Daily Defense SPF30Skipped itWatch at 9:01
- Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen for Body SPF 40Skipped itWatch at 9:15
- CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50Skipped itWatch at 1:43
- Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Moist Sun Serum SPF 50+ PA++++Rated itWatch at 9:05
- Skin1004 Helika Sun Stick SPF 50 PA++++Rated itWatch at 27:03
- Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Pure Mineral Relief Daily Sunscreen SPF 50+ PA++++Rated itWatch at 13:12
- Thank You Farmer Sun Project Skin Relief Sun Cream SPF50+ PA++++Rated itWatch at 9:15
- NYX Blur Screen Sunscreen SPF 30 PrimerRated itWatch at 21:19
- e.l.f. Suntouchable Invisible Sunscreen SPF 35Rated itWatch at 16:54
- Undefined Beauty RNR Mineral SunscreenRated itWatch at 97:44
- BYOMA Ultra Light Face Fluid SPF 50Rated itWatch at 28:48
- Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunscreen SprayRated itWatch at 18:00
- Tirtir Hydro UV Shield Sunscreen SPF 50+Rated itWatch at 16:21
- BYOMA Ultra Light Face Fluid SPF 30Rated itWatch at 28:17
- Supergoop Glow Stick SPF 50Rated itWatch at 6:55
- House of Hur Weightless Sun Fluid SPF 50 PA++++Rated itWatch at 11:15
- Olay Invisible Sunscreen SPF 35Rated itWatch at 19:14
- Sugar Girl Hot Body Screen Shimmer Sunscreen SPF 30Rated itWatch at 29:11
- e.l.f. Invisa Stick SPF 50Rated itWatch at 43:51
- Bolden Brightening Moisturizer SPF 30Rated itWatch at 2:51
- Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Moisture Airy Fit Daily Sunscreen SPF 50Rated itWatch at 9:04
About this expert
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This guide reflects what The Style and Beauty Doctor said across her videos about 45 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.