Skincare Saturday: New Sunscreens on the Market

Reviews, Skincare, , ,

New Suncreen

Sunscreen is one of those things that I’m pretty sure most people don’t find that interesting, and there certainly aren’t that many people that love reading about it on beauty blogs. BUT, it’s something we all need to be wearing, and finding the one that works the best for you is a necessity. We all have different needs in our products, and there’s a lot of sunscreen brands out there with a lot to offer. Here are four sunscreens that are new on the market/new to me, and my thoughts on them.

La Spa & Neutrogena
LaSpa & Neutrogena
  • LASPA SPF 30 Moisturizing Mineral Sunscreen for Sensitive Skin (not pictured) & SPF 20 Daily Sun Protection Mineral Sunscreen Lotion: LASPA is a Canadian-made brand that makes mineral sunscreen – a product I was a complete newbie to this year. In essence, mineral sunscreen is a physical protectant rather than a chemical one, and therefore nicer and healthier on you skin (huge thanks to Lindsey at Sustainably Savvy for helping me understand mineral sunscreen better!). It’s chemical, fragrance, paraben, gluten and nut free and has UVA/UVB broad spectrum protection. The downside to mineral sunscreens is that they don’t sink into your skin – leaving you with a somewhat sticky/moisturizing film on your skin. Out of the mineral sunscreen I’ve tried this summer, LASPA makes the best one I’ve tried as it creates the least amount of white reflect – there is still some, but it’s not as hugely apparent as some mineral ones I’ve tried. Unfortunately, I really need/want my sunscreens to fully sink in, and mineral sunscreens just don’t have that ability, so I’m afraid one with a mineral base just won’t be able to suit my needs. However, there is one huge benefit from this one- there’s no scent! No scent is a total rarity in sunscreen as far as I’m concerned! Please be sure to check out Lindsey’s review of this product on her blog – she does a much better job of explaining physical versus chemical and why physical sunscreens are better for the more green-conscious consumer.)
  • Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel Sunscreen SPF 50: I have raved on and on about how much I love the Neutrogena Hydro Boost range of skincare products, so it should come as no surprise that I was fairly excited to see them add an SPF into that range this year as well. I use this sunscreen predominantly on my face because I know that my face has always reacted well to the Hydro Boost gels in the past. I find this sunscreen to be quite moisturizing, and it leaves a bit of a dewy sheen on my face (not unexpected for sunscreen really) but it never felt greasy. I did find that this one had a bit more slip to the product, so you may not need to apply as much as you may be used to with other brands (while still remaining protected).
Aveeno & Coppertone
Aveeno & Coppertone
  • Aveeno Protect + Hydrate Sunscreen Lotion SPF 60: Much like Neutrogena, Aveeno is one of those brands that I come back to time and time again. They make some of my favourite skincare EVER (I’ve been using their daily moisturizer for about 16 years!). Sadly, this sunscreen didn’t work out as well as I had hoped. I found it didn’t sink in as much as I wanted it to, and it felt a bit greasy. I was honestly quite surprised – Aveeno’s never really let me down before, but I also don’t have a ton of experience with their sunscreens.
  • Coppertone Clearly Sheer Whipped Sunscreen SPF 50: Coppertone makes some of my FAVOURITE sunscreens on the market. I’ve been going back to their Sport Sunscreen for decades because it’s one of the few that won’t drip into my eyes when I’m out for a run or playing soccer. So, suffice to say,  I’m always up for trying out a new Coppertone sunscreen! And I have to say… this whipped formula may be the most fun I’ve ever had with my sunscreen before (yes… really!). It comes out of the can like shaving cream and feels totally luxurious on application. It’s actually a real pleasure to apply this sunscreen – which is not a sentence I ever thought I would say! Who knew sunscreen could be fun?

So those are the latest sunscreens I’ve been trying out lately. Do you have a favourite brand for sunscreen? Tell me!

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration.

Fitness Friday: 2018 Pride & Remembrance Run

Fitness, Running,

2018 Pride and Remembrance Run

The 2018 Pride and Remembrance Run (my sixth year running this race) was a soggy, SOGGY race.

2018 Pride and Remembrance Run
2018 Pride and Remembrance Run

The day of the race I woke up and I knew it was going to be unpleasant just because there were storms forecasted for the entire weekend (which always sucks during Pride). On the plus side… this was only a 5K race, which meant I wasn’t going to be outside soaking wet for very long. I dread the day I have to do a half marathon in weather like this. Although I’ve done a damp half marathon in Reykjavik, I’ve never fully run a race in flat out rain.

2018 Pride and Remembrance Run
2018 Pride and Remembrance Run

I hadn’t done that well at the Rat Race 1.5 weeks prior, so I was a little anxious about this race. I had hoped that the Rat Race had been a terrible fluke, but in the back of my mind I knew I was pretty much lying to myself. While I’m still chasing that under 26 minute 5K, I figured that I was probably better trained for longer distances at the moment and not so much a 5K.

2018 Pride and Remembrance Run
2018 Pride and Remembrance Run

While I love the vibe of this race, I actually hate the course. I love celebrating everything to do with Pride, but this 5K race feels like a constant uphill battle when you’re looping around Queen’s Park. The downhills don’t make up for the uphills, and I’m constantly catching my breath on this course. (They also moved the damn water station this year and it’s NOT where it’s marked on the map!)

Spotting my husband near the finish line.
Spotting my husband near the finish line.

I did push hard throughout this race – and fundamentally I know I couldn’t have run harder. I did my best in the circumstances with the rain – making sure my foot was connecting solidly with the ground and not slipping or tripping on water soaked road markers (those paint stripes are SUPER slippery when they’re wet!) – but alas this has never been one of my faster races.

2018 Pride and Remembrance Run finish line
2018 Pride and Remembrance Run finish line

I clocked in with a time of 26:41 – which thankfully was nowhere near my over 27 minute mishap at the Rat Race.  I’d also like to point out that last year, during the 2017 run, I clocked in OVER 30 minutes, which is by far my worst race to date. I was quite sick, we had gotten stopped by an ambulance that had to go through (which I actually think I forgot to mention in last year’s race recap) and I wore the wrong shoes! So really, my 2018 race felt like a dream in comparison to 2017!

And in looking back on previous Pride Runs, this is actually my second fastest time I’ve completed this particular race! (I managed 26:29 in 2015.). So you know what? That ain’t half bad!

2018 Pride and Remembrance Run - course map
2018 Pride and Remembrance Run – course map

Race Results

  • Finish Time: 26:41
  • Pace: 5:20 per kilometer
  • Overall placement: 365/1320
  • Age group placement (Female 30-39 years): 44/228
  • Gender placement (F): 93/628

Maybelline Master Chrome in Molten Rose Gold (Review & Swatches)

Makeup, Reviews, Swatches

Maybelline Master Chrome Metallic Highlighter in Molten Rose Gold

There’s a LOT of highlighters on the market, not only at the higher end stores like Sephora and Ulta, but we’re seeing them filter down into the drugstore more and more as well. Which is honestly kind of a relief. For ages it felt like the only way you could get a face highlighter was to go spend a lot of money because (often) you were never really sure if the drugstore ones were going to be able to perform just like the higher end ones.

Maybelline Master Chrome Metallic Highlighter in Molten Rose Gold
Maybelline Master Chrome Metallic Highlighter in Molten Rose Gold

Well, you may not have to look any further than the Maybelline Master Chromes. I’ve only recently just started trying out the shade featured in this post (Molten Rose Gold) and I may have to swear fealty to the Maybelline highlighter brand because this product is INCREDIBLE.

Maybelline Master Chrome Metallic Highlighter in Molten Rose Gold
Maybelline Master Chrome Metallic Highlighter in Molten Rose Gold

I don’t really have a good reason as to why I haven’t tried out the Master Chromes till now – other than maybe I’ve been too saturated with highlighters and just wanted to stick to the usual suspects, but this has got to be the best ones I’ve tried at the drugstore… and dare I say it rivals the higher end ones as well? (Because it really does.)

The Maybelline Master Chrome Metallic Highlighter comes with 6.7 grams of product, and will only set you back about $13 CAD/$8 USD, which makes it one of the cheaper options at the drugstore. The product itself is picked up easily by a brush, although you  may get a bit of kick up. Alternatively, if you dip your paws into the pan you can feel just how soft, smooth and buttery the formula feels under your finger tips.

Maybelline Master Chrome Metallic Highlighter in Molten Rose Gold - swatched
Maybelline Master Chrome Metallic Highlighter in Molten Rose Gold – swatched

A heavy swatch made Molten Rose Gold look like it might potentially be too deep of a shade on my (roughly) NW20 skin, however I found that in practice the colour in the pan isn’t as obvious on the face.

Wearing Molten Rose Gold
Wearing Molten Rose Gold

The reflect of Molten Rose Gold is beautiful – soft, ethereal and glorious. I’m wearing the product lightly above, but you can buff it in and/or use the product wet to get more of a metallic sheen. I was quite pleased (and surprised) with just how much I liked the softer look on myself. It looked beautiful all day and I found myself quite enchanted with my own appearance whenever I caught a glance of my cheekbones in a reflection (yes, really!). It’s just got that really healthy glow to it!

Final Thoughts

Why oh WHY did I not try these out sooner?? The Maybelline Master Chrome Highlighter in Molten Rose Gold is absolutely beautiful and now it has me curious about the other ones that Maybelline has out on the market. Two massive thumbs up!

The product featured in this post was sent to me for consideration. Post contains affiliate links.