Battle of the sunscreens

I have been a competitive swimmer since the age of 4 and now I am a swim coach so I know a good bit about the importance of a good sunscreen. I am in the sun every single day so I make sure I wear sunscreen. I've tested so many and almost every one of them has broken me out. My skin HATES it. In fact my skin almost always looks worse in the summer because of the constant sunscreen and chlorine. I reek of it during the summer months and I've been on the hunt for a good sunscreen that doesn't break me out.

(L to R)

1. Zatik Argan and Yarrow Sunscreen Moisturizer- this sunscreen has a great texture, it's very lightweight and sinks into the skin quickly. I love that I'm not left with that yuck greasy feeling. This doesn't leave a white cast which is such a plus! It has zinc as the active ingredient and it doesn't break me out! Because it does have that zinc/sunscreen type smell, the longer I wear it I start to smell it. I don't love that smell, but thats probably because I've constantly been in a pool with sunscreen on since the age of 4, so it brings that chlorine drenched smell to mind. Not that this smells like gross chlorine, that's just what I associate the zinc smell with. Overall this product does a great job, it has great protection and doesn't break me out. I use this one if I know I will be outside for longer periods of time, I don't use it as an everyday sunscreen although you can do that. It has such a great texture that it can be used in place of moisturizer or along with another moisturizer and can be worn under makeup. This one is also a GREAT price! It's the least expensive of the three. Definitely a winner.

2. MOSS Halo- I love love love my halo sunscreen powder. This one uses zinc as well. I mix this with either one of my facial oils or one of my moss oils. I recently ran out of Clear Res so now I mix it with one of my newer oils. Depending on how much powder you mix in with the oil will determine if there's a white cast or not. When I went to the beach I ran out of clear res and only had about 4 drops of it left to mix with this and I was PASTY white. On a normal day I wouldn't have used as much powder and would use a drop or 2 extra of oil. This one is my every day go-to sunscreen with my oil in the morning. Love this stuff!

3. Coola mineral sunscreen- I got a sample of the tinted version of this sunscreen and liked it enough to buy the full size. I ended up getting the full size of the cucumber one, not really sure why. Just a heads up I like the tinted one better. This sunscreen feels good on the skin but I'm not sure how I feel about the smell of it (the cucumber one that is). The active ingredients in this one are both titanium dioxide and zinc so this one MAY cause slight irritation. It does leave a slight white cast which is part of the reason I like the slightly tinted version better. Not sure how well this would work on darker skin tones because the tint is quite light. I used this one a good bit on my beach trip and my skin didn't come back in the best condition. I'm not saying that this was the problem, I honestly think that being outside, getting sweaty, and having any sunscreen on ALL DAY doesn't make my skin happy. I like that this sunscreen leaves a matte finish on the skin and doesn't feel greasy. I would definitely use a moisturizer before this one as it doesn't really add any moisture to the skin and will accentuate any dry patches. This one is also great to wear under makeup. This is a good one, but not my favorite.

Hope this helps!

xx