Can lashes really get sunburnt?

Make-up with added sun protection is the trend of the moment but, asks beauty expert ALICE HART-DAVIS...

There’s no escaping the fact that we need to pile on the sun screen in order to protect our skin. Ask any dermatologist and, as well as the skin cancer risk, they will warn about the ageing effects — sun spots, skin sagging and wrinkles — of UV rays.

The good news for anyone still resistant to using sun protection on a daily basis is that this year has seen a surge in sPF cosmetics — not just foundations, but lipsticks, blushers and mascaras. even if you use factor 50 religiously, many of us miss patches and few of us remember our lips. so, in theory, this is a Very Good Thing.

however, as I put the lastest ones to the test, one expert sounded a note of caution. Consultant dermatologist Dr Anjali Mahto was keen to point out that the term ‘sPF’ means there is protection from UVB rays — the ones that cause burning on the surface of the skin.

Yet much of the damage comes from the longer wavelength UVA rays, which penetrate deeper, provoke wrinkles and accelerate skin ageing. You can’t be certain your make-up is protecting you from those unless it is specified on the packaging and labelled as ‘broad spectrum’.

Moreover, most of us hugely underapply products containing sunscreen. You need to use significantly more makeup than you’d expect if you are to get the sPF rating on the product.

When a dedicated sunscreen product is tested, it is at a thickness of 2mg per square centimetre — the equivalent of using a whole teaspoon of product to cover your face and neck. That’s a lot of foundation to smear on your face.

so is sPF make-up just a good added extra? ‘Yes,’ says Dr Mahto. ‘It is an extra bonus, but in terms of skin cancer risk protection and from an anti-ageing point of view, you’re much better off applying a proper sunscreen product first, then your sPF make-up on top.’

Also, be aware that if you have a sunscreen with sPF30 and make-up with sPF20, that doesn’t give you sPF50 protection. You only get the sPF of the highest sPF-value product you have.

FIRST BASE: LOVELY LIPS

YSL Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick SPF15, £29, yslbeauty.co.uk sPF lipstick is one of the best sun protection developments in recent years for the simple reason most of us don’t put sun protection on our lips — we just don’t remember to invest in, and use, a lip balm with sPF.

Now, thanks to advances in makeup technology, Yves saint Laurent has developed a top-class lipstick with not just a lovely feel and finish but staying power, too.

VERDICT: Lovely stuff, and I reckon a good coat of this will provide the promised protection. After all, lipstick needs to be laid on thickly enough that you can’t see through it. Try the best- selling and very wearable Beige Tribute if the brighter shades scare you. 8/10

THE SUNSEEKER’S MASCARA

Eyeko Beach Mascara, £19, eyeko.co.uk For me, sunscreen in mascara is the point at which warning bells start to ring. Dr Mahto is dubious, too. ‘That sounds like a bit of a gimmick,’ she says. ‘ We do under-utilise sunscreen on our eyelids — it is a commonly missed area — but putting sPF mascara on our eyelashes? I’m not sure there’s any real value in that.’

VERDICT: Notwithstanding Dr Mahto’s comments, I quite like the idea of giving lashes — so often overlooked — a smidgen of protection. There are plenty of hair products with sPF — the sun bleaches hair and makes it more fragile — so the idea of protecting your eyelashes is plausible. But there’s no indication of what kind of protection this product offers; it only says ‘sunscreen factors’ on the packaging.

In bright sun, I always shield my eyes with sunglasses, and I don’t apply mascara if I’m heading to the beach. It’s a great stay-put, lashlengthening mascara but the sPF isn’t a selling point for me. 3/10

MAGIC BLUSHER

Perricone MD No Blush Blush, £29, perriconemd.co.uk ThIs small bottle of liquid blusher is made with mineral pigments in rosy-pink. In some cunning way, its chemistry allows it to develop, while on your face, into a flattering shade for any skin tone. The product reassuringly uses ‘broad spectrum sPF30’.

VERDICT: The broad spectrum protection is a good thing for my cheekbones at any rate. It’s no bad thing to have extra protection on an area which automatically catches the sun. But make sure you have enough separate protective sunscreen on your whole face. 5/10

POWER PRIMER

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer Protect SPF30, £30.50, spacenk.com PrIMers are salvation for the older face. They moisturise, fill in the cracks, bounce light from the face more evenly and provide a smooth base so make-up can sit flawlessly on top. A lightweight cream with a peachy tint and broadspectrum protection sPF 30.

VERDICT: It spreads nicely and sinks in beautifully and makes my skin look like itself but better, so that I barely need to put foundation on top. And, as I have fairly plastered my face and neck with the stuff, and it’s easy to top up, I am more confident I’m getting decent UV protection from it. 7/10

WINNING TINT CREAM

Trinny London BFF Cream Skin Perfector SPF30, £35, trinnylondon. com TINTeD moisturisers were one of the first cosmetics to incorporate sPF, but the challenge has always been in keeping the liquids lightweight, while at the same time offering enough protection.

style guru Trinny Woodall’s addition to her beauty range not only manages to be wonderfully sheer, but offers the favoured ‘broad-spectrum’ sPF.

I have to say that I was a touch alarmed when it came out faintly grey in colour, rather than the sunkissed glow I was after, but the formula contains special ‘ microsphere’ particles of pigment that burst when the cream is massaged into the skin and adapt to your skin tone, giving the face a welcome boost.

It’s not as pigmented a cover as foundation, but it’s enough that when I look back in the mirror I think, ‘oh yes, that’s better!’

VERDICT: I’m now addicted to this and have two tubes of it on the go. It makes it so easy to freshen up your face and your sun protection without it looking cakey. Piling on as much of this as I do, I am sure that my skin is well protected. 8/10

LIGHT FOUNDATION

Clarins Everlasting Youth Fluid Foundation SPF15, £35, clarins.com ThIs new offering from Clarins, on- counter in August, is a lightweight, creamy blend of skincare and cosmetics with skintightening oat sugars and nourishing argan oil. It’s available in 24 shades and has broad- spectrum sun protection from UVA as well as UVB rays.

VERDICT: It blends beautifully and gives great colour coverage, making my skin look radiant. But because it provides such good lightweight coverage, I really don’t feel I have applied enough of it — certainly not the required teaspoon — to give me the basic sPF 15 protection this offers. 6/10

FINE MAKE-UP SPRAY

Setting Spray UncompliKated SPF 50 Soft Focus Makeup Setting Spray, £32, katesomerville.co.uk ThIs product is designed to stop your make-up melting in the heat and its blurring particles give a soft focus effect that’s kind to the midlife face. simply shake the can well, then spray one firm swirl around your face.

VERDICT: The spray is so fine it’s hard to believe it is there on my skin until I see it has brought a lovely soft-focus blur to my wrinkles. It’s a clear liquid so I wouldn’t feel secure relying solely on this for sun protection. But it makes my make-up last and last and I can take the can with me for top-ups. 7/10