Beauty LAT: Clarins UV Plus HP Day Screen SPF 40- Initial Thoughts

Via www.sephora.com

I’ve had the Clarins UV Plus HP Day Screen on my lust list for so so long… but I’ve always stopped short of actually buying it. Mainly it was the price, a pretty hefty (to me) £29.99 for a 30ml bottle. Not only was it an initial purchase price (what if I don’t like it etc) but also the repurchase price (if I do like it I’ll have to buy it again). Eventually (412 other sunscreens later) I decided to get a sample off eBay and see whether it was actually any good. And…

I’m a bit split. On the first day, I wrote half a rapturous review declaring my love… and then went back a bit over the next 2 days. So this (more balanced effort) is what I decided:

I do really really like this. It’s not quite HG standard yet, but it’s one of the best face sunscreens for me in terms of what I want from a product. My main concerns are: does it work over a moisturiser? Is it light and non-greasy (as in actually non-greasy, not just claiming it is)? Does it work well under make-up and keep it on? Does it work with a primer on top?

Does it work with a moisturiser? Yes, very well! It does differ a little from moisturiser to moisturiser, but it seemed to layer very well.

Is it light and non-greasy? Within 5 minutes of being applied this was so matte it was practically dry, although it does alter slightly (a tiny tiny bit) with different moisturisers. My skin wasn’t dried out though, although I don’t have really dry skin so it might react differently if you do.

Does it work well under make-up? It depends. The first foundation I tried looked amazing. It lasted very well, with little shine, and went on beautifully. The second day with a different foundation… I didn’t like it so much. I would say generally yes, I didn’t get any greasiness and my make-up seemed to last well, but it wasn’t perfect with all foundations (although expecting it to be is maybe a bit unrealistic).

Does it work well with a primer? Kind of. I used my Witch primer on top and got no greasiness, but the primer didn’t feel smooth like it normally does. Maybe they cancelled each other out a bit? I’d mostly be happy to use this as a primer in its own right.

Other things to note: it does have a pink tint to it, although I don’t feel it made my neutral skin any pinker than normal, I thought it evened it out nicely as it's very sheer. A little goes a long way with this, my sample lasted 3 days and there is still some left! It’s very runny, so it spreads very easily. It also claims to have anti-pollution effects which appeals to me as a city dweller, although I haven’t obviously seen any effects after such a short time. I also believe it is 100% physical rather than a chemical sunscreen, with little white cast which is always a winner!

So is this a repurchase for me? I think so yes! Although it’s not perfect, I did enjoy using it and thought it worked well within my routine. It is expensive, but I think the runny texture means it should last a long time even with a small bottle. I like this as a whole package, with the priming and anti-pollution effect thrown in. Not to say I don’t have my eye on a few others though, and will use up my other older ones on lazy days when I don’t need to look as good. This for me though seems like an amazing sunscreen and primer for days when I want to be sure of my sunscreen, and that’s worth splashing out a little more cash for.