Product Description
What it is: A tinted, broad spectrum sunscreen with a dewy finish.
Price/Quantity: $46 for 1 fl oz / 30 ml
Shade Range: 18 Shades
Packaging: Heavy duty plastic bottle that actually feels more like glass or ceramic with a glass dropper. Dropper-style packaging can sometimes have issues with product gathering around the neck of the bottle. I didn’t find that this was a problem with this product.
Smell/Fragrance: Smells a bit like honey with a hint of clay to me. The smell dissipates soon after application.
Expires After: 12 Months
Ingredients (from Ilia’s website):
Active Ingredients: Zinc Oxide 12.0%. Aqua/Water/Eau, Squalane, Shea Butter Ethyl Esters, Isoamyl Laurate, Polyglyceryl-3 Ricinoleate, Butyloctyl Salicylate, Propanediol, Isopropyl Isostearate, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Methylpropanediol, Niacinamide, Sodium Chloride, Lecithin, Caprylyl Glycol, Silica, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder, Bisabolol, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Allantoin, Phenylpropanol, Sodium Myristoyl Glutamate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Aluminum Hydroxide, Polyhydroxystearic Acid. May Contain/Peut Contenir (±): CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 (Iron Oxides), CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide).
Performance
Shade: I chose shade number 3 called “Balos”. The color is lighter than I expected for the third lightest and as I blend it out, it lightens even further. It almost causes a white cast on me. I would suggest going darker than you think you need if you are interested in picking this up.
Application: I have tried applying this with my fingers, with a damp sponge, and with a brush. All three ways work for me, with some slight variations. Using my fingers and spending a sufficient amount of time blending results in the best finish. This gives me to the most coverage and smoothness. A damp sponge gives me a similar result with slightly less coverage. A brush gives me a bit more coverage but can cause the product to cling a little bit more to texture if my skin isn’t in the best condition.
Texture and Finish: The product looks fairly thin and runny when I drop it onto the back of my hand but once I apply it to my face, it feels heavy and difficult to spread over the skin with any kind of speed. I definitely need to take my time massaging it over the skin to get it evenly distributed and blended in. I really don’t enjoy how this feels on my hands if I use my fingers to apply it, though that could just be my own sensitivity to the way things feel. It has a thick, emollient feel, which potentially might be good for somebody with truly dry skin. The finish can be described as either very dewy (for those that enjoy a glow) or greasy-looking (for those familiar with oily skin). I’m in the latter camp and I don’t particularly enjoy the finish on myself. It leaves behind a tacky feel to the skin and remains that way all day. It doesn’t sink into my skin.
Coverage: Very light coverage. Attempting to build it up really doesn’t result in much more coverage. I have also found that this doesn’t play super well with other makeup applied on top. If I attempt to use concealer in conjunction with this, my base makeup ends up looking more “makeup-y” than I prefer.
Longevity: Surprisingly, the finish doesn’t really get that much shinier on the skin as my skin gets a bit oilier throughout the day. Nor do I see the product begin to look cakey or separated later in the day. These things only hold true, however, if I don’t apply powder, concealer, or other makeup on top. Once I do that, all bets are off. That is when I see caking and separating in the second half of the day.
Final Thoughts
In theory, this ticks all the right boxes for me but in practice, I found it wasn’t really the best fit for my skin type and preferences.
This could probably work well for a very specific customer: one with a true dry skin type that takes good care of their skin, doesn’t wear much makeup and isn’t very sensitive about the way things feel. Normal skin could probably get away with it just fine if you’re okay with the texture and finish of it. I wouldn’t recommend it to somebody with dehydrated skin as it can emphasize texture and flaking.
I’m a person that tends to be somewhat sensitive to the way things feel. I can definitely tolerate a certain level of discomfort if I’m looking for a particular outcome but for a product like sunscreen that I will wear all day everyday, it is especially important to me that the product feel comfortable on the skin. The thick, tacky, heavy feel is just too much for me to use this on the daily.