La Roche-Posay Anthelios 50 Tinted Mineral Ultra Fluid Sunscreen

I've been using this for 2 years now because I can't seem to find another sunscreen that plays well under my makeup and doesn't dry my skin out. My skin likes to get drier from mineral sunscreens and makeup but all the chemical sunscreens burn my skin and eyes and break me out. It's not perfect by any stretch but it does the job I suppose. It is creamy and slightly oily feeling at first until it sets. You MUST use a decent amount to get protection from the sun but BE SURE to really massage it in . Like a lot. If you don't you will end up with streaks. It is slightly too dark for my skin so I have to blend down my neck and this has caused makeup residue to get onto my coat lapels. Very annoying. It looks good on me tho, blends imperfections. I only have to apply foundation/concealer to spots instead of the whole face when I use this. It pairs well with mineral foundations. Currently using it with a sweet Leilani brand mineral liquid foundation. By the time 5 rolls around this is greasy. Not intensity greasy but there is an oiliness to my skin. Especially if used with a heavy day cream so I avoid those. It can kind of look oily but like it's also flaking off. A reapplication is a necessity if going out in the evening or just do your makeup all over again without sunscreen because it is night. I like it enough and it works for me enough to keep using it for now until I find something else. I tend to avoid looking for other things because my skin is picky and finicky and breaks out with most things. Not this though. It's so gentle. The downfall is the price and the packaging. When it seems like there is none left, cut the bottle in half and you'll have another 3 days of product if you store it in a ziplock or a Tupperware. They need to perfect the formulation in order to keep me buying it. Will look for something else but buy this if needed

This broke my skin out into Deep painful cysts and burns like hell a few minutes after applying is a pain in the butt to blend and made my skin feel like it was being suffocated and looked oily as anything .. same thing with the effaclar duo.. I am now dealing with scars that I shouldn’t have...this brand does not work for my skin in any way at all definitely not wasting another dollar on this company that prides itself in sensitive skin care yet is full of irritating ingredients... I got sucked in learn from my mistake. I can’t think of a single thing I liked even the fragrance is off putting smells like cleaning solution.

After Coola Matte tinted and Coola Mineral Primer (Dawn Patrol) and Coola Rosilliance, this is next on my rating list as not greasy, thin, no white cast, and flattering- not cakey or greasy or unnatural. Its also easier to find and a little less pricey. Its in a go-anywhere container.

At first this looks really oily, but gets better as the day wears on, if you use it with another mineral sunscreen.

Finding tinted sunscreen with an SPF this high is rare (for me) . I use this specifically for tinting my too - white mineral sunscreens (currently Neutrogena Sensitive Skin Liquid SPF 50). La Roche Posay sunscreen is too expensive for me as a stand-alone since I apply a generous amount of sunscreen daily (this is $30-35 for 1.7 oz). It's a bit too dark for my skin anyway, so I was happy to try it as a tint.

I tend to favor mineral sunscreens over physical ones on my face because the latter tend to break me out and irritate/burn my eyes. The one big issue I can't get around with mineral sunscreens, though, is the ghostly bluish-white cast they leave on my yellow undertoned skin. Thus, the tinting.

APPLICATION:
I've been fiddling around with the amount of the La Roche Tinted that I use. Too much of this super liquid-y sunscreen and my face looks too greasy. But if I add just a few drops into my mineral sunscreen and mix it in my hand, it turns into a beige tone, and the end result is MUCH more natural-looking vs the untinted mineral sunscreen alone. It does tend to increase the drying time by a lot (hastened by a blow dryer on cool setting... yes, it's a pain in the ass) .

Since I'm only using this as a tint I'm expecting it to last a while. I suppose I could achieve the same thing at a much lower cost if I used a few drops of darker foundation, but it's very hard to find broad-spectrum foundations, on top of which, they tend to be thicker than this.

FINISH:
The effect of this tinted sunscreen mixed with plain white mineral sunscreen is a bit like putting bb cream on (it has a brightening, slightly smoothing effect), only the finish is way less elegant, less diffuse, and with my liquid sunscreen, it's very runny. Mineral sunscreens tend to be a bit gritty, and this is no exception. It does smooth a bit out after application. The biggest issue I have with this is the oily finish. The more I use in my normally matte mineral spf base, the greasier my face looks. One upside is I've noticed that when use with mineral sunscreens, this oiliness tends to get absorbed during the day and look less glaring.

When I first wrote this review I thought this might be compromising my already acne prone skin. I cut this out of my routine for a few weeks to see if this is the case. I didn't come to any conclusions so I've started to use this again (Jan 2019).

BUYING TIPS:
You can occasionally find this $30 to $35 1.7 oz sunscreen on sale for about $23 to $25. I got mine for $25 on sale at Amazon (seems to go on sale once in a while). I've also seen it on the Rite Aid (terrible) website and on the CVS website in the $24 range

SUMMARY: I think this would be best for those with dry or normal skin- it veers too warm toned and greasy on me when used alone, and the shiny finish highlights any texture/bumps. The upside is that the shininess, after a few hours, is less obvious. I like how it tints too-white mineral sunscreens and takes away the ghostly glare, but I'm on the fence as to whether I would purchase it again.
7/26/18 and Jan 2019

I am on my second bottle. This is the only facial sunscreen I've found that doesn't irritate my (admittedly sensitive) skin. The tint may be too dark on very pale skin. It blends pretty well, but you may feel nervous about it appearing orange when it first comes out of the bottle. The tint turns out just right for my skin. When I wear this, I can skip the BB cream or foundation which makes it a great summer option. The only down side is the texture. The texture can feel gritty and annoying to spread. Once it's on, I honestly forget it's on my face!

I really struggle with finding a sunscreen that doesn't break me out. I find la roche sunscreens surprisingly don't cause me any breakouts. I bought this on sale for $26 (regular 35), so it is a bit pricey but when it's on sale it's not bad. The tint is actually quite subtle and blends in great. Very easy to apply and sinks in very quickly. Will continue to repurchase unless anything changes.

Hated everything about this sunscreen. The formula is is a brownish tint and feels heavy on my combination skin.Made me feel like I was wearing a mask. Left my face super shiny looking. Caused massive breakouts. Switched back to Cerave spf 50.

I used the non-tinted version of this for a year or so. It was fine, but then it became sold out wherever I bought it from the next year (I usually buy sunscreen once a year) so I got the tinted version. For some reason it totally turned me off of this product. It seems very dry and I have very dry skin. And I could not stand getting the tint on my hand. I am almost cringing when I think about putting it on. I have moved on!

I'd gone through a few bottles of this and liked that it didn't give me a white cast like so many mineral sunscreens. However, I no longer buy it after the last two bottles I bought had a weird gritty, sand-like texture. It was like rubbing exfoliator on my face. La Roche Posay customer service acknowledged the problem but said it didn't affect the effectiveness of the sunscreen (it kind of does if I can't put it on) and didn't replace it. Given the price I'm not gambling with getting a good bottle and I'm looking for another product instead.

Sadly, another sunscreen that doesn't work for me. I started by wearing it every few days off and on, because I've had bad experiences with sunscreens causing reactions. It seemed okay, then I wore it daily for a week and developed a really bad rash on one side of my face. I got the same rash when I was wearing the Tarte bb primer, which used to be fine and causes a rash. I don't know if it was this for sure, but it's the only thing that changed in my routine, and hasn't happened again since I returned it. Also it's pricy, and watery and on my oily skin I couldn't wear it alone, needed to wear under oil control fdtn or with powder.