Best Sunscreen to Wear Under Makeup this Summer

If you’re spending time outside in the sunshine, you need to be wearing SPF. Wearing sunscreen doesn’t mean you have to skip your makeup routine – this affordable sunscreen can be worn under your makeup, keeping your skin protected! Keep reading to see the best sunscreen to wear under makeup.

Benefits of Wearing Sunscreen

It’s no secret that wearing sunscreen can protect your skin from sunburn, but do you know any specific reasons why you should slather on the SPF?

• Sunscreen protects your skin from UVA and UVB rays

Ultra violet rays, in both forms, can cause serious damage to your skin. Along with sunburn, ultra violet light can cause skin disorders and cancers. Even if you have a deeper skin tone and don’t experience sunburn, you are not exempt from serious skin cancers. Protect yourself!

• Sunscreen keeps your skin looking young

Because the ultra violet rays from the sun can cause skin damage, wearing sunscreen has cosmetics benefits too. Exposure to ultra violet light accelerates the process of fine lines and wrinkles in your skin. An easy way to prevent wrinkles? Sunscreen.

• Sunscreen keeps your skin tone even

Or at least as even as it already is. Exposure to the sun can cause more or darkened freckles, as well as sun spots. Freckles are cute, but sun spots are dark patches of skin that are hard to get rid of. It’s a lot easier to prevent them than try and fix it later!

Sunscreen is affordable and readily available. You truly have no reason NOT to wear it.

The Best Sunscreen to Wear Under Makeup

If you wear makeup on a daily basis but still want to protect your skin, don’t worry – this is totally possible!

Even if you don’t wear makeup, you should still use this sunscreen on its own.

When I was looking for a good sunscreen to wear under makeup, I needed to consider the following things:

• Does it leave a white cast on your skin?
• How does it make your skin feel? Is it greasy?
• How do foundation and other makeup products layer on top of the sunscreen?
• Does the sunscreen cause your makeup to wear off quickly?
• Is the sunscreen safe for your face?
• Does it cause breakouts?

After doing some research (okay, a LOT of research) I settled on the Neutrogena Clear Face Liquid Lotion Sunscreen SPF 55

Purchase at Amazon | Target |  Ulta | Walmart

I chose this sunscreen because it has a higher SPF than similar facial sunscreens (average of 30 SPF) and claims to be breakout-free.

As a bonus, this sunscreen is under $15 and contains 3 oz of product – which is less expensive AND more product than a lot of comparable options.

Keep reading to see how the Neutrogena Clear Face sunscreen held up to my questions!

• Does it leave a white cast on your skin?

This sunscreen is white, just like any others. When you first apply it to your skin, it looks like it will leave a white cast on your skin – but if you spend a minute rubbing it in and making sure it is absorbed into your skin, it goes away!

If you have a prominent white cast with this sunscreen after making sure it’s absorbed, you’re probably using a little too much product.

• How does it make your skin feel? Is it greasy?

It definitely makes my skin look glowy, in a slightly greasy kind of way. However, it doesn’t feel as greasy as normal sunscreen does! Once it sets into my face for a few minutes, it looks better than at first application.

• How do foundation and other makeup products layer on top of the sunscreen?

Overall, pretty great! It is a decent base for makeup (I wore it under primer) and adds a nice glow to your skin. I recommend not using a dewy, glowy primer on top of it unless you want to look very glowy.

My foundation blended out great on top of this sunscreen, as did the rest of my makeup routine.

• Does the sunscreen cause your makeup to wear off quickly?

In short, not really. I didn’t reapply this sunscreen every two hours like recommended (there’s no way I’m taking off this full face of makeup to reapply sunscreen, and no way I will put it on top of my makeup – no matter what sunscreen I use!), but it is important to remember that sunscreen doesn’t last super long on your skin – or under makeup.

The good thing is that it never caused separation, it didn’t cause my makeup to wear off, and actually held up really well while I was in 85-95 degree, humid, sunny weather.

After a few hours I was a bit more oily than normal in my T zone, but this is normal for me in hot temperatures and humid climates. It might have been my location more than the actual sunscreen!

• Is the sunscreen safe for your face?

Yes!

• Does it cause breakouts?

No! At least not for me. I used this sunscreen several days in a row and I don’t think it caused any skin irritation, breakouts, or other issues. If this changes in the future, I’ll update this article to reflect that.

Get it here:

Purchase at Amazon | Target |  Ulta | Walmart

I’m honestly super impressed by this sunscreen so far, and since it’s already June I want to encourage everyone to protect their skin too!

As a side note, you can definitely wear this sunscreen without makeup on top. It performs well with makeup, but if you don’t have makeup on top you can easily reapply every few hours as instructed!

Do you have a favorite facial sunscreen? If not, DEFINITELY try this one out! I really do think it’s the best sunscreen to wear under makeup. It’s cheapest on Amazon, and you can usually find awesome promotions or coupons for Ulta.

What are the other ways you protect your skin for the summer?