I’ve had a nightmare with SPFs over the past few months. I used the Benefit Dream Screen last year but I started to get the feeling it was drying my skin out, so this year I tried a couple of others, and WHAT a mistake. My skin was sore, red and itchy. It was a mess. Luckily, I found an alternative – a really perfect alternative. In fact I’ve started referring to Avene’s Tinted Compact with SPF50 as the ‘BB Cream for super sensitive skin’…

After my reactions to other products, I knew my safest bet would be to find a chemical-free sunscreen. But the problem with these is the awful white cast they leave on your skin. The barrier that protects you from the sun doesn’t sink in obviously, so you’re left looking like you’re about to go play an intense game of cricket. Not a good look. Anyway luckily, I soon learned about the existence of tinted mineral sunscreens…

These sunscreens get around the white-cast problem by combining the sunscreen with a tint that matches your skin colour. Avene’s one blends and adapts to your skin tone really well – if you’re white/olive that is, they only have two shades and neither are suitable for dark skin. This is something I found to be true for every tinted mineral sunscreen I could find, which is kind of rubbish considering I could use a white sunblock a lot more easily than someone with black skin. If you know of any mineral sunscreens that have shades for darker skin, please let me know in the comments so I can post a link!

Anyway, for me this is a fantastic solution to my sunscreen problem. The formula itself, while it looks very thick and creamy, actually leaves your skin perfectly primed for makeup. It doesn’t exactly mattify, but the cream-to-powder formula isn’t heavy at all. It even gives some light coverage, which is perfect in the middle of summer when the last thing you want to do is layer foundation and powders on your face (well, it’s find if you want to of course! But I like to let my skin breathe a bit in the summer).

Here’s how it looks on it’s own, and with a face of makeup over the top:

Avene have saved my skin more than once in my life, and this is definitely another one of those occasions – I don’t know what I would have done about sun protection if it wasn’t for their Tinted Compact! Get it on Look Fantastic for £24 – link