natjtan Welcome to Beauty Finds! This edition features Freshly Cosmetics Healthy Protection Facial Sunscreen SPF50
While I’ve found so far it’s the best mineral sunscreen by the end of the review you’re probably wondering why I still use it. Skip a paragraph for the review or read on for my beauty requirements.
I have a few requirements when it comes to beauty products: cruelty free, natural, clean, vegan better. I do my best to avoid nasty ingredients such as SLSs, parabens, PEGs, silicones, etc. Petrochemicals are the sneakiest with so many derivatives and aliases. I also avoid palm oil and it’s derivatives as I prefer orangutans. Coconut oil marketed as the good oil I’m also cutting down on as it can be just a damaging crop as palm oil. If I do get products containing palm or coconut oil I try to get organic or sustainably sourced. With make up it’s a little harder so I go for cruelty free brands. I prefer products with less plastic and thankfully more brands are aware consumers don’t want unnecessary plastic (or governments are telling them less plastic). My skin type’s oily sensitive, acne prone and now wrinkles. I know nothing stops those lines, but if I can delay them then….
I’ve mentioned in previous posts I have issues with mineral or natural sunscreens for the body. I find they dry my skin out too much to use, making my skin painfully dry. I used the body version of this for a while but had to stop when I noticed it was beginning to dry out my skin. I’ve since found a good body sunscreen, Mimitika Lait Solarie SPF50.
Freshly Cosmetics Healthy Protection Facial Sunscreen SPF 50
Healthy Protection Facial Sunscreen with broad-spectrum SPF 50 will protect you from the cellular damage caused by the sun’s dangerous UVA and UVB rays without leaving any residues on the planet because its natural ingredients are part of it, they just come back to its origin. This sunscreen with physical filters incorporates the powerful polyphenol antioxidants found in lingonberry and astaxanthin that prevent photoageing and reduce the appearance of wrinkles. Its healthy formulation, made of 99.9% of natural ingredients, is enhanced by the properties of vegan hyaluronic acid which increases water retention and non-comedogenic plant-derived oils such as jojoba, avocado and almond oils. Its non-sticky texture and easy application have a matte finish without leaving white tone on the skin. This makes it perfect for everyday use. Enjoy a healthy sunbathing protectingyour skin and the planet with Freshly Cosmetics!
The facial sunscreen I think is very similar to the body version. Both are pink on application, have the same consistency and smell. However I find this doesn’t dry out my skin I think due to the products I use before. Sunscreen being the last step of my day skincare routine. It also gives more of a healthy glow aka shine too so it’s not matte as it claims. I’m okay with this as it’s a good sunscreen. My face hasn’t burnt using it and does work as I get less freckles. Sometimes in the mornings if I’m not showering straight away and think I’ll apply after showering, when it starts to get warmer I get freckles from being on the baloney or working by the window. Once I start to apply it on waking, the freckles are less. I haven’t reacted to it, it hasn’t made my eyes water how some sunscreens can do if it’s windy. I don’t know why but some sunscreens when it’s windy can make up eyes watery and sore 🤷♀️ This is why I stopped using eye creams containing SPF. My skin hasn’t dried out, it’s easy to remove with an oil cleanser. It works okay with my skin, doesn’t feel heavy. It’s fine to apply under the eyes (not above the lower lashes). It give a little glow but it can emphasis oily skin a little more but I roll with that. I try to drink more water to stay hydrated, but to be honest if you have oily skin you just have to work with it and embrace the oil glow.
Just like the body version this sunscreen despite it’s claims it doesn’t leave white cast it does. Pinky white grey. Thankfully it does calm down within 30 minutes to an hour. It’s so bad to apply if anywhere humid. Even in the winter if the bathroom is fogged up. Products are bad enough to apply when it’s humid as they don’t sink into the skin. They just seem to slide over. This can be a nightmare to apply. It isn’t a sunscreen you can apply in a rush. You can end up with pink patches here and there. It gets in eyebrows, in hair. How quickly am I applying it to end up like this?! Sometimes a girl doesn’t have long to get ready! I use a spooly to comb it out my eyebrows when doing my make up later, but you can see there’s a tint of some pink white blue going on. If it’s bad in the eyebrows I use my thumbnail to remove it. For sure I’m not a girl who applies her products with care!
I find I have to time when to apply foundation afterwards. It can make my make up look amazing if applied within an hour. At a cost. It pales me out so even with bb cream or foundation I look pale like I have the wrong shade on. Applied later it’s not so bad. I’m fair pale anyway so I’m not always up for looking like a ghost some more. So if you have time to let it sit on skin before leaving or applying make up it’s okay. Wake up and go, no unless you want to spend 3-4 minutes working it into your skin. As previously mentioned if it’s humid and layered on top of other products it just won’t massage in. Its claim of being matte isn’t matte on my skin.
So why do I still use it? For now it’s the only natural mineral facial sunscreen I can find that is silicone free. I prefer not to use products with silicones in as I find they clog my skin. As this sunscreen doesn’t contain any silicones my skin has been better. I also use a silicone free foundation too and have really noticed the difference in my skin with regards to blocked pores. It’s so much better. I like the ingredients. The list isn’t crazy long and is a mix between sunscreen and skin care. Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide the main active sunscreen ingredients. The skincare ingredients being lingonberry, cranberry, astaxanthin antioxidants to help protect the skin against photoaging caused free radicals generated by UVA, UVB and IR rays.
Ingredients Healthy Protection Facial Sunscreen
*Ingredients from organic farming
**Derived from natural essential oils
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder* , Caprylic / Capric Triglyceride , Zinc Oxide , Coco-Caprylate/Caprate , Dodecane , Propanediol , Glycerin , CI 77891/Titanium Dioxide , Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate , Polyglyceryl-2-dipolydroxystearate , Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil , Aqua , Vaccinium Vitis-Idaea Fruit Extract , Stearic Acid , Sodium Hyaluronate , Persea Gratissima Oil , Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil , Astaxanthin , Chondrus Crispus Powder , Benzyl Alcohol , Alumina , Dehydroacetic Acid , Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil* , Gluconolactone , Citric acid , Xanthan Gum , Sodium Benzoate , Calcium Gluconate
It’s reefy friendly, biodegradable with 99.0% natural ingredients. I swim a lot in the summer in the sea and like a reef friendly sunscreen. I’m also conscious of ingredients when flushed into the water systems at home. I’m an all year round sunscreen girl not just in the winter as sunscreen can also help protect skin for other environmental pollutants. If I’m working at my computer I still apply sunscreen to help protect my skin from whatever the screen throw at me! Okay, I’m just vain. I don’t want to be wrinkly when I’m older.
The only plastic is the pump and lid. The lid I find breaks easily and I don’t think is necessary. Freshly Cosmetics foundation comes in the same bottle sans lid. The pump can be temperamental. Sometimes I find with a new bottle the pump doesn’t work so I switch it for the previous bottle’s pump. The pump has a twist lock. The bottle is glass and is fairly sturdy for falls. It is expensive at €35, 50ml however if you sign up for to be a member at least once a month they have 20-30% off days making it €28/€24.50 . By the design of the bottle you’re not going to use every last drop of the product. I usually when the pump can’t pump as well about 3/4 through start turning the bottle upside down and dispersing the sunscreen as I would a tube. It can go everywhere so careful! Or I use the pump tube to scrap product out. It also is a greasy sunscreen on fingers leaving marks on on phones etc.
I also like that from the start they’ve been cruelty free, vegan, use natural ingredients, avoid micro plastics in their body scrubs and toothpaste and care for the environment by planting trees in areas most affected by deforestation.
Would I recommend? Yes if you’re willing to go silicone free and have a slight pink ‘glowy’ shiny cast. It needs time to work into the skin. No if you have to apply and go. It’s been my go to facial sunscreen for I think about 3 years, but it’s not without it’s faults.
If you’re in Barcelona I recommend stopping by their store in Calle Portaferrissa 34. The staff are friendly, Most speak English (thankfully they’re patience with my Spanish) and you can also if you use their shampoos and conditioners, take the old bottles to be refilled! There’s even a store now in London!
Thank you for stopping by!