Clear Face Liquid Lotion Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 55

10 Reviews

1. 

   ashamedMacaw7

   Reply

   I have oily, breakout prone skin and my face does not appreciate this at all.

   CONS
   1. It burns the skin
   2. Finishes shiny
   3. Makes makeup a greasy mess by late morning (as opposed to end of day)
   4. Aggravates acne a bit
   5. Makes skin greasy and oily at the same time??
   6. Irritates the skin and worsens discoloration
   7. Not that cheap?

   PROS:
   1. Good sun protection. Solid for a day at the beach
   2. If you use it once in a blue moon, won’t break you out terribly. (Daily is another story)
   3. Not THAT expensive compared to high end lines. But we shouldn’t be awarding companies for not flat-out stealing from consumers. This product can still be cheaper for how well it performs.

   I used this daily for a week with the onset of summer and all it did was irritate my skin, make my makeup look like shit, and aggravate my acne. Neutrogena is one of the more expensive drugstore brands, and they claim to create high quality products. Personally, I think Neutrogena is just good at marketing- their products are full of a bunch of cheap shit, and like any other skincare line, they have their stand out products and their throwaways. This product is a throwaway in my opinion. I don’t see this product catering to oily or dry skin. Maybe normal skinned people.

2. 

   sincereEggs9

   Reply

   – Note: SPF 55 and SPF 30 result in similar reactions on my skin, these reviews are for both. I imagine the company has changed/tweaked the formulations over the years so I’m posting all reviews here –

   Update July 2019: Did they change the formula? After taking a year long break from this I had to use it on vacation. Still broke me out (mildly), but seemed greasier looking (even in cold weather). The amount of white residue it left on my clothes was insane. It wouldn’t come off with scrubbing and my clean dark clothing I put in the dryer (stuff that I had not worn while using this spf) had white marks all over them. So this stuff didn’t come off my clothes in the washer, and left a residue in my dryer to boot. I was never crazy about this sunscreen but used it for years without having issues with my laundry. Yech.

   Late 2018 and onto Jan 2019…
   Jeez, I have had a love/hate relationship with this stuff over the past years (since 2014). I STILL can’t get this near my undereyes/lids and have to use a separate mineral sunscreen for that, which I’ve gotten used to. I only use this chemical sunscreen because it’s fast (mostly I use this when rushed). Mineral sunscreens are gentle, and less reactive with my skin, but it takes a lot of work (and powder) to mask the ghostly white caste they leave. I had an upped amount of (closed comedone, with the occasional zit) breakouts while using the SPF 55 of this sunscreen, so I switched to the SPF 30. The SPF 30 had a better finish but I did notice a correlation between its use and a larger number of smaller closed comedones (vs the medium size ones this seems to produce, but fewer…ugh). Also noticed some sun damage, for the first time in years, with the SPF 30. I have tried other chemical sunscreens like Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch (shiny, burns like hellfire), La Roche (too pricey, burns), Banana Boat Sheer (sparkly/shiny/overfragranced) and two different Walgreens spfs (greasy, staining, disgusting). So…. while I search for a better chemical sunscreen it’s back to the spf 55 version of this. I have been washing it off as soon as the sun goes down and using an aha/bha (both from the Ordinary) to ward off closed comedone breakouts.
   *As of 2/2019, Beautypedia (which I only sort of trust), gave this a 1 of 5 rating (!). They wrote “..the company added two fragrant plant extracts (cinnamon and cedar bark) that are known irritants.” Their website doesn’t date reviews, so it’s hard to tell when this change happened. I cross checked this with Neutrogena’s website and indeed, those two ingredients are in the current version. I doubt that’s what causes my particular reaction, only because I’ve been using this for 5 years.

   Mid-Late 2018: I have been keeping a skin care diary for a few months and every time I get a breakout of closed comedones it correlates to this. It’s too bad, because the spf 30 version of this sunscreen has had the best finish (very little white cast, fairly low on greasiness) of all the broad spectrum sunscreens i have tried.

   Early 2018: I realized I was making a mistake by buying and using the SPF 55 version of this for my particular skin type over the past year (pretty sure all the reviews below were for that, or perhaps a mixture of the two). The spf 55 caused a lot of clogging and some breakouts and stinging. After switching to the SPF 30 version, I noticed a sharp decrease in stinging and skin greasiness.

   According to skincancer.org, spf 30 sunscreen blocks an estimated 97 percent of uvb rays, while with sunscreen “above SPF 50 (which blocks an estimated 98 percent of UVB rays), the increase in UVB protection is minimal.” According to Web MD: “SPF is not a consumer-friendly number,” says Florida dermatologist James M. Spencer, MD. “It is logical for someone to think that an SPF of 30 is twice as good as an SPF of 15 and so on. But that is not how it works.” “According to Spencer, an SPF 15 product blocks about 94% of UVB rays; an SPF 30 product blocks 97% of UVB rays; and an SPF 45 product blocks about 98% of rays.”

   Summer 2017:
   I’d been really taking care of my skin for a few months (cleansing/treating daily) and wearing all-mineral sunscreen all the while (Neutrogena Clear and Pure baby, which is an awful, greasy white mess, but gentle). Anyway, I was getting tired of taking so much time blending in my sunscreen and trying to cover the white cast, so I switched back to this for my face and neck (my eyes can’t handle this stuff so that’s the only place I used the mineral spf instead). In short order, I got clogged pores, blackheads, bumps, and (new this time around) tiny white pimples. The only good thing about this stuff is that it’s pretty easy/fast to rub in the white cast. Also, it’s still a little greasy but now that I use face powder, it’s less of a problem.

   Update 1 (winter): Now that the weather has cooled off, i haven’t had any issues with this product getting greasy. i still like how liquidy/fluid it is- it applies quickly and easily. They’ve either changed the formula or i’ve gotten used to the scent. Can’t give it a top rating because it burns my eyes and eyelids a little.

   Original review, 2014:
   I bought this to use on my face and so far I kind of hate it.
   Pros:
   – Formula feels light coming out of the tube (it’s a liquidy lotion)
   – Does not leave a noticeable white cast (it is very slight, and the least obvious of the three subscreens i bought this season)

   Cons:
   – Smells like alcohol
   – Leaves me with uncomfortable, low-level burning sensation, as if I’ve applied rubbing alcohol to my face and eyelids
   – Dries shiny on skin
   – Gets very greasy. An hour after applying and matte-ing down the shiny finish, I had an oil slick all over my face. It was in moderate weather, and I usually have combo (not excessively oily) skin
   – Rubs off easily (see above)

   Active Ingredients (all chemical sunscreens):
   Avobenzone (2.5%),
   Homosalate (5%),
   Octisalate (4%),
   Octocrylene (3%),
   Oxybenzone (4%)

3. 

   sugaryPepper1

   Reply

   This is so promising! It really is. It does what it says it does and does it remarkably well. Better than any sunscreens I’ve tried at this point. And it really doesn’t break me out and doesn’t contain ANY ACNEGENIC INGREDIENTS. A rare feat for an American sunscreen, since more often than not they say noncomodogenic but have 2-3 trigger Ingredients. The texture is akin to cream, instead of being off white in color this is purely white. It is also a chemical sunscreen. I have historically preferred physical sunscreens, especially for tropical vacations but the white cast they leave is not only obvious but quite unflattering. Harsh. This leaves a subtle white screen but my coloring pulls through. It doesn’t look harsh.

   I’ve been using it since August and I’m truly in love. My skin care seems to work much better too since it prevents further pigments from forming. Seriously, any pigmentation I’ve gotten has been from residual hormonal acne marks. Not marks induced by the sun, aka freckles. My skin loves this product. I use high levels of retinol and when I say my skin doesn’t sting or flare at the feel of the sun I mean it. It would’ve been perfect if not for the pilling quality. It pills and rolls after a while, whether I apply a moisturizer or not. Which is a bit of a pain. You can forgo moisturizer with this also if you choose as it is quite quenching. If you have very dry skin I imagine you might depending on the quenching power you prefer. Not only is it inexpensive at about $13 but easily found anywhere and a great size (3 oz). I will still buy it, since it’s the best sunscreen I’ve found at this point. I’ll try to test some Japanese sunscreens to see if my luck could be better. If not, this is quite likely as close to HG as I can get at the present.

4. 

   obsessedPlover0

   Reply

   My go-to SS for years! I have sensitive skin, but surprisingly this doesn’t irritate it. Can’t beat that price, either!

   I apply 1/4 tsp to face and neck, let dry, then apply the other 1/4 tsp. Not super sweat proof, but I just reapply more frequently if i’m In water or sweating a lot.

5. 

   superiorSeagull5

   Reply

   This is a good sunscreen to wear alone or under makeup. The fragrance is ultra light/not too noticeable but I can still smell it.

6. 

   solemnCamel1

   Reply

   GREAT if you have acne!! I have acne prone skin and this doesn’t break me out while still getting the job done! Doesn’t feel too greasy either and doesn’t leave a super white finish either. Only complaint is that over time it does turn a bit too liquidy and watery for my liking, however I do lots of traveling and do not wear it every day so after a year or more I can understand why this would happen. Would reccomend to acne prone skin types though!

7. 

   wingedCardinal8

   Reply

   So this stuff would be perfect if not for the fact that they’ve added CINNAMON BARK to it. Why they felt the need to do such thing I couldn’t tell you but there you go. That’s why you’ll see that a lot of people are complaining about this stuff burning or causing redness.

   Other than the cinnamon though, it’s pretty awesome so it might be worth trying if you’ve got acne prone skin and want a higher spf but you have trouble finding ones that work. Just make sure you save the receipt… Personally, I think it’s worth trying bc it doesn’t cost loads of $$$ and you don’t have to order it online.

   As for the actual finish it’s like a cross between a regular spf and a liquid spf, which I like. It’s not matte, but it’s not shiny either. I have pretty sensitive skin but for whatever reason, I don’t find this stuff nearly as irritating as the Neutrogena liquid spf and I think it gives me way better protection than the liquid stuff (that stuff seems to rub right off me). It’s also not as thick and occlusive as Neutrogena’s lotion spf so it doesn’t break me out or feel disgusting. I DO occasionally feel a burning sensation from it though and i suspect it’s due to my occasional use of retina a (my skin can get even more sensitive when I use it).

   UPDATE: Lowered the sticks from 3 to 1 because I used this for a long time but recently stopped and realized just how irritating it was to my skin! It made my skin sensitive and prone to redness (all my old acne marks appeared much more noticeable too) and I think it inflamed any acne I had when i used it. I also noticed that when i stopped wearing this I could use 2% BHA without my skin looking and feeling all raw and red the next day (i thought it was just the BHA that did that but apparently using this stuff the next day made the irritation MUCH worse).

8. 

   grumpyEland9

   Reply

   I used this product when I had really bad acne, but it did not seem to have an effect on breakouts. At least it did not cause me to have additional breakouts, for which I am eternally grateful. I noticed my face was more matte when I used this, which at the time was a plus. The high protection is great but I am not a big fan of chemical sunscreens so I have since stopped using this product. Additionally, I have no idea what half the ingredients are, which does not entice me to buy.

9. 

   amusedViper4

   Reply

   I love this product! Where other sunscreens make my skin oily and give my pimples, this doesn’t. For summer, it is perfect! It sits imediately in my skin, I just use it as a moisturizer and out my make-up over. It even dries out the small pimples if they come up hormonally related. No burning here, even not around the eyes, what the majority of prducts does. The spf works well for my fair skin, protecting my skin well, usually all day long (ofcourse depending of the sun exposure). This product isn’t sold in Europe (as far as I now) unfortunately.

10. 

    innocentKitten8

    Reply

    This was a big fat fail for me. I have oily, sensitive, acne prone skin. I tried wearing this under my makeup a few times and it never worked. First of all, it BURNS like hell! It burned on my eyes and all over my face. It eventually died down and I applied my makeup as usual to find that my entire face was bright red because it was so irritated! It looked like I had a sunburn (I am very fair). It didn’t leave a white cast but was greasy and irritated my skin horribly. I would not recommend this to anyone with oily/sensitive skin.