La Roche-Posay Anthelios 50 Tinted Mineral Ultra Fluid Sunscreen

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.

After a dermatologic procedure, my doctor had recommended that I use a mineral sunscreen until my skin healed. I tried a few others, but ended up with the dreaded chalky ghost-like look until I tried LRP Anthelios TINTED sunscreen. I'm really glad that I discovered this!

My first impressions: it smelled a bit like dirt, and the color was way darker than any TM or foundation that I use (I'm NW15 for reference). When I applied it, it took a bit of blending to get it to look natural, but once it was blended, it was very natural looking--it even covered some of my flaws as well as a foundation. After a few hours, I looked in the mirror and was surprised how good my skin looked--it looked even and flawless. I was floored.

As far as the effectiveness of the sunscreen goes, I know this has gotten some rave reviews, and I can personally attest to not having been sunburned while wearing it. I'm not great about reapplying (to be totally honest), but I like that this is a physical sunscreen and I can tell it's there by how great my skin looks.

Why is this a 4/5 instead of a 5/5? Well, if you don't blend it well it sits on your skin and leaves an orange-ish cast, and it still smells like dirt. It will also transfer pretty easily, so be careful when wearing it with light colored clothing. That said, I took this on vacation instead of foundation and was very pleased with it. I'm on my second bottle and have every intention of repurchasing this when I run out.

I love this sunscreen - it has a high SPF, it dries to a matte finish which lasts all day (I have oily-combination skin and one of my pet peeves is sunscreen which leaves my face looking greasy) and it doesn't irritate my sensitive skin. I only wear it during the summer, though, because it does give my light skin some color the way a bronzer or a light suntan would, and it would really look odd during the winter months since I live in a cold climate,

I'm probably an NW20. The tint looks a little dark as it comes out of the bottle, but it's surprisingly okay on me. Maybe it turns me just a TAD darker than I'd like to be (in some lights), but it is also the lightest feeling mineral sunscreen that I have found. It doesn't make me hot or greasy. So I'm sticking with it, unless it causes breakouts!

UPDATE: Okay, maybe the color is a bit much on NW20. Some people might not notice or mind it at all, but I do find myself doing a double take in various mirrors. "Am I turning orange? Or is it just the lighting?" I'm never comfortable going darker, for whatever reason. No fake tans, no bronzers...

RECONSIDERING: If I have no flakes for it to cling to, the color blends in pretty well. And I do like the texture quite a bit.

So I've always had a problem with sunscreen. I generally hate the way the traditional kinds feel, I hate the smell of something (is it avobenzone?) that always seems to be in them, and I hate the way my sensitive skin reacts to them. Then when I started using mineral sunscreens, I found that they just whitened up my skin too much. My skin isn't even dark, but the white opacity of so many of them leaves me looking ghastly. And not in a good way. Plus the waxy bases that a lot of the water-resistant natural brands have wound up actually trapping the heat in my skin or something and I wound up with terrible heat exhaustion. (My friend probably should have taken me to the hospital now that I think back on the situation).
Anyway, this looked promising, and indeed there is much I love about it! For starters, the tint is just right. I seriously compared it to my foundation and the difference was that this looked a little bit more olive-toned, so HALLELUJAH! I've found that a lot of tinted products skew more orange or peach which ends up looking fake and weird.
The texture is good and light, and it doesn't make me feel like I have a bunch of greasy crap on my face. There is a slight grittiness I notice now and then as I massage it in, and since I'm on the first bottle I don't know if that is normal or if there's something off with mine. But it doesn't smell weird or irritate my skin.
The non-irritating-ness of this is my favorite part! It doesn't irritate my skin in any way, and my skin is incredibly irritable. It doesn't irritate my sensitive snowflake nostrils, and almost EVERYTHING irritates my sensitive snowflake nostrils. And it doesn't irritate my eyeballs when I see myself in the mirror because the effect is that it's just invisible, but evens things out a tad on no-makeup days.

My biggest complaint is this: it is really hard to remove! It's a double-edged sword, of course, because its sheer persistence on skin is what makes it useful for, say, a day at the waterpark. But every night when I wash my face I have to go through several steps to get it off. And according to my googles this doesn't seem to be something a lot of people are noticing or commenting on.

My normal face wash, the Cerave hydrating whatever whatever, doesn't touch it.

It comes off with micellar water, if I go through enough cloths or cotton pads or whatever. But that brings me several steps closer to needing to do laundry or take out the trash or buy new cotton pads and I'm also not really keen on doing that much MESSING with my face.

It comes off with oils if I scrub the oil off with a microfiber cloth. This is the same problem as above. I don't want to be doing so much physical abrasion of my sensitive and ever-older facial skin.

I went mad-science on it, and mixed up a cleansing oil (10% Polysorbate 80 + 90% carrier oil--I used fractionated coconut because I had it lying around) because, under normal circumstances, that will dissolve the oil-soluble things and then rinse away with water. Nope! (It worked fine if i wore makeup and no sunscreen though, but not wearing sunscreen is FORBIDDEN).

I bought the bullet at bought a cleansing oil at Ulta because I thought, hey, professionally formulated products sometimes work better! It did not! This sunscreen makes rinse-off products NOT RINSE OFF.

I don't want to have to use a harsher facewash to just detergent this mess away, because, again, my skin is irritable. It's even more irritable than I am, and I have to leave the room if I think someone is chewing a little too much.

So there it is. It feels good. It doesn't cause heat exhaustion. It probably prevents skin cancer. And it's a good thing it matches my skin because it will never come off.

This product unfortunately broke me out across my t-zone. Stuck with it for 3 months and then reverted to my Neostrata SPF 50 and the spots went away. I liked this as it was much sheerer and has a warmer tint to the Neostrata however it didn't work for my skin type that is sensitive and prone to small breakouts (I always have at least one active spot on my face). It also irritated my eyes and I personally didn't like the faint smell of alcohol when I applied it. Very blendable and can imagine this would be the perfect spf for someone else though!

Great sunscreen for face, particularly if you're oily or prone to a shiny t-zone. This tinted mineral sunscreen is liquidy and thin and dries quickly to a matte finish. The tint is supposed to be universal and though you see a tint when applying it, it pretty much disappears (on me anyways, NC30) to a sheer matte finish. I love that it also works very well under longwear foundation. I've tried it under L'Oreal Infallible Pro Matte and MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing and it never balls up or shortens the wear of my foundation. Works well under powder foundation too, since it has a smooth matte finish, it doesn't grab at powders. My only wish is that it came in a bigger bottle and cost less because it's good but not cheap!

From the Canadian La Roche Posay website:
"Contains a filter of 100% mineral origin and has been rigorously formulated to provide excellent protection against sun’s harmful UVA and UVB rays. Tested under dermatological control.

Breakthrough texture: This weightless texture quickly penetrates, leaving skin matte. Tinted for a natural glow. Universal tint matches most every skin tone for a uniform complexion.

Suitable for daily use."

I really wanted to like this, but it didn't work for me at all. First of all my skin started burning intensely when I applied this sunscreen and my face turned red. There must be some ingredients that are not good for sensitive skin. The burning stopped eventually. Sort of. But meh.Not crazy about very liquid texture too, hard to apply enough for proper protection.
Also, the tint is too dark and orangey, won't work for someone with light skin.
Yes, this is sort of a cult product, but there are much better and gentler sunscreens out there for fraction of the price.

YOU GUYS.

I think this one is here to stay! For me, sunscreens tend to disrupt my skin and make it oily and give me cystic acne. A friend of mine raved about this one by La Roche Possay has not disappointed me at all. I love the fact that it's mineral based and is SPF 50. The tinted version is pretty neutral and i find it blends well with my NW25 skin tone. What surprised me the most is how it sits on my face. The formula is super thin and not thick and gross like most sunscreens. I'm able to apply primer and foundation very evenly. I'm really impressed by this sunscreen (not to mention, it provides excellent sun protection)!

Agree with Carybears review below. I really like this and use it in the summer when I tend to be darker. I am normally NC 30-35, olive skin, yellow undertones. This shade works on my skin, but It would not work on those with lighter complexions. When I want to look polished but don't need to cover imperfections, it's nice on its own. On my combination skin, tending towards dry, this is not shiny, but rather it's velvety and sheer. I found an older tube among my stuff, and tried it. To my surprise, it was thicker than I remembered and dried somewhat Demi matte. No separation of ingredients no wateriness. On me, it's a match, so there is no bronzer or tan effect. I find that if I do a nice brow and this sunscreen on the face, I can even get away with balm or something light on the lips and still look somewhat finished.

I am prone to hives and milia and this does not irritate. I like its fluid consistency. When I want a sunscreen without color, I use RP in the big squeeze tube.