2 SUNSCREEN NEWBIES FROM HELLO SUNDAY

 

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Hello Sunday launched around about a year ago as a UK-based, sunscreen-focused brand and I reviewed most of their initial line here and a more recent reformulation here. However, today we're talking two of their latest innovations: a mineral eye cream and a top-up face mist...

Let's start with The One for Your Eyes Mineral Eye Cream SPF 50* | £18. I know there are certain sunscreen brands out there currently getting a bit of flack for creating superfluous sunscreen products for random steps of your skincare routine and claiming you need them all, but hear me out because I think eye creams are definitely a little different! The eyes are of course one of the first places our skin shows signs of ageing so you want to protect this thin skin with sunscreen to slow that down for as long as possible. Whilst the situation is definitely better here in the UK and EU, most chemical sunscreens contain a degree of 'traditional' sunscreen filters that can irritate the eyes. You don't really know when you're choosing a product how much of these filters it's going to contain percentage-wise, though I have to say I've never really had notable issues with any of Hello Sunday's products. That being said, I'm just one person and everyone's going to react a little differently to it and I'm sure you know if your eyes are prone to sensitivity. However, broadly speaking: mineral filters are pretty unlikely to cause such issues. As many of us know from unpleasant experiences, mineral sunscreens don't always have the most pleasant texture and can leave a white cast on the skin, so not everyone wants to use them all over their face. In steps the mineral eye cream...

This is formulated with both zinc oxide and titanium dioxide at an SPF 50 level, containing both broad spectrum and visible light protection and it has a slight peachy tint to it. It's also formulated with oat extract and jojoba esters to soothe and moisturise the eye area and there's no fragrance, so we can avoid unnecessary eye irritation. Whilst this all sounds great and I love  the concept of this product, it just falls short in the execution for me, sadly! Whilst this looks ok when I apply it in the morning, on no-makeup days it just seems to migrate and gather in the crease of my eyes and create a blueish tint, then on makeup days it sometimes pills as I apply my concealer over the top of it. It's all just a bit... messy. I think this could be a great product if they reduced its propensity to pill and released two more shades for different skin tones. That being said, I think if you have a light skin tone then this could be great: the peachy colour will offset dark circles and I'm pretty sure you won't get a cast. This just isn't for me in its current form.

Another recent launch from Hello Sunday has been their The Retouch One SPF 30 Sun Face Mist* | £18. I think there's been some naysaying around sunscreen mists but for me they serve a clear purpose: they're for topping up (not initial application) over makeup (where it would be impractical to reapply your original product). Look, I'm very into skincare and sunscreen, but I'm telling you: if I'm at a beer garden with my friends or spending the day wandering through some European city at the height of summer: I'm not about to go to the toilets, get out my liquid sunscreen and a beauty blender and try to reapply it over the top without ruining my makeup (especially not if I've had a few...) and the whole point of sunscreen is to... actually apply it. And, for me: as someone who isn't going to practically follow those steps, reaching for a mist every hour and giving my face a generous douse of it is the best option. Even if it's not perfect, it's a solution that works for me.

Anyway, one thing I would say about this product is that I wish it was SPF 50. I say that because a higher SPF allows you a larger margin of error and you automatically have that issue when you're misting and not every single droplet is going to hit your face. SPF 30 (and this is PA +++) is fine for everyday but I would exercise caution if you're out in the sun a lot. The other thing is that this is more of a weighty pump-action spray rather than a continuous mist, though Lab Muffin actually did a Reel on this recently highlighting that this might not be a bad thing; I personally feel like I get more product on my skin with a continuous mist but around 1/3 of the bottle might be propellant, so you still might not be getting as much sunscreen on your skin as you think. A good pro of this product though is that it does work well over makeup and it doesn't add anything to the skin, so you can re-apply this multiple times throughout a hot day and you're not going to look greasy!

Have you tried either of these releases from Hello Sunday?

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