Want a sunscreen that works under make-up? I’ve found the answer

You know how people say “I am often asked …” about something or other, and it’s clear they’re not often asked at all but just want to tell you the thing anyway? I swear I really am often asked about sunscreen. I am also often asked about mascara and foundation, but at this time of year it’s always sunscreen, specifically sunscreen that doesn’t feel disgusting on the face and that doesn’t cause make-up to slide off. People are also often confused about types of sunscreen, so let’s have a quick recap (there’s a whole chapter about this in my beauty book, by the way).
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There are two types of rays for our purposes: UVA and UVB. UVAs have a longer wavelength and cause damage deeper down, plus they can travel through glass, like your car windscreen; 95 per cent of the rays that reach the Earth’s surface are UVAs. UVBs have a shorter wavelength, don’t go as deep and cause damage “only” to the surface of the skin.
Then there are two kinds of sunscreen: mineral and chemical. Mineral sunscreen reflects the rays — it bounces them off, like a mini-shield. Chemical sunscreen soaks them up like tiny sponges. Some of the chemicals in chemical sunscreens can damage coral and sea life when they leach into the sea, plus they’re not always great on sensitive skin.
There are lots of great sunscreens out there. La Roche-Posay’s Anthelios range has one for every imaginable need, including a very good anti-ageing one called Anthelios Age Correct (£32.50, boots.com) — which is a mineral sunscreen. But the one I use every day without fail is Heliocare 360 Gel Oil-Free SPF 50 (£31, lookfantastic.com), because it is perfect, or at least perfect for my skin. It isn’t in any way gunky. I can’t feel it once it’s on — it is super, super light. It’s matte, not a given, lots of otherwise excellent sunscreens leave a sheen. You can get it in a very lightly tinted, called Heliocare 360 Color (£33, lookfantastic.com). The tint isn’t anywhere close to my skin colour, but the lack of whiteness is a plus in my book.
Not only does it sit brilliantly under make-up, being matte and unslippery, but also it doesn’t look weird if it’s all you’re wearing. By the way, you need two fingers of this (or any) sunscreen for one face — I don’t think people put enough on. And obviously if you’re sitting in the sun all day, you need to reapply it every couple of hours.
Some sunscreens can make you feel as if your skin is sort of trapped underneath them, like it can’t breathe — probably because this is not completely untrue. But this has never given me that trapped, sweaty, “too much stuff on my face” feeling that makes you want to wash everything off. I have combination skin and it adds zero extra shine. I should say that it contains a combination of mineral and chemical filters. If you want mineral-only, say if you’re going swimming in the sea, then you want Heliocare 360 Mineral Tolerance Fluid (£31, lookfantastic.com), which is very good but not quite as good as the normal 360.
Buy Coality Dog Paw Cleaner (about £7 from pet shops) and similar — lots of brands do them — is a little tube with very soft silicone bristles in it. You stick your dog’s paws in one at a time, gently twist the tube, and all the mud stays inside. It comes with a microfibre cloth to make sure every last bit is gone. I have three dogs, meaning it’s too much of a performance unless the mud situation is extreme, but if you have just the one dog it’s amazingly effective and may save your sofas.