Once upon a time, not too long ago, SPF sat in a tricky spot in the beauty-space. Dermatologists and skincare experts were unequivocal that we must wear it day in, day out, come rain or shine. But although we knew we should, very few of us actually wanted to. So sunscreen remained something we mostly bought from pharmacy aisles and saved for holidays and heatwaves.
There is still much to do to get SPF compliance to where it should be. Daily sunscreen use is still inconsistent, as many of us continue to associate it with sunshine rather than cumulative, year-round exposure. But the tide is turning. Walk through any good beauty retailer now and you’ll find row upon row of perfectly packaged SPF bottles vying for space and attention. No longer solely functional, sunscreen is becoming one of beauty’s most desirable and dynamic categories.
Part of the change reflects rising consumer expectations, shaped by Korean beauty culture in particular. In this market, where sunscreen has long been treated as daily skincare, formulas are well ahead of the game. You’ll find sophisticated filters, skincare-led innovation and tactile, featherlight textures. The arrival of Beauty of Joseon’s Relief Sun Aqua Fresh Rice + B5 SPF50+ in the UK a few years ago helped establish a new benchmark for what sunscreen could feel like.
Best sunscreens as a beauty status symbol
A few of my SPF picks for your pleasure...
- Merit The Uniform tinted mineral sunscreen SPF50, £34, meritbeauty.com
- Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun Aqua-Fresh Rice + B5 SPF50+, £15.50, boots.com
- Airyday Golden Glow SPF50+ £39, airyday.co.uk
- Darling Milky hair screen £27, libertylondon.com
- Augustinus Bader The Sunscreen SPF50 £110, lookfantastic.com
- Mimétique Everyday50 invisible face fluid SPF50 £45, spacenk.com
- Tatcha The Milky sunscreen SPF50+, £49, spacenk.com
- Alta Marea La Seta sheer sun silk for body SPF50, £36, altamareaskin.com
- Caudalie Vinosun very high protection sun water SPF 50+ , £22, lookfantastic.com
- Rationale The Brilliance tinted serum SPF50, £78, uk.rationale.com
- Ultra Violette Disco Queen luminous body oil SPF50. £38, boots.com
- CeraVe Invisible hydrating fluid sunscreen SPF50, £17.90, boots.com
As awareness and access have grown, so has demand. The latest, most sophisticated sunscreen launches promise not only protection but also hydration, radiance, smoother-looking skin, seamless make-up compatibility and more. They are designed not solely to perform, but also to give pleasure — integrating effortlessly into our regimes and competing on experience as much as efficacy. “SPF is now firmly embedded across skincare, make-up and hybrid beauty categories,” explains Natalie Bell, category manager for suncare at Boots. “We’re seeing SPF integrated into skin tints, serums, moisturisers, lip and complexion products, blurring the line between beauty and protection, the most successful brands balancing beauty appeal with credible protection.”
With these changes come options. Many of us no longer want or expect a single sunscreen to do it all, so SPF wardrobing is now commonplace. A sheer, daily facial SPF might have a tinted counterpart, or be topped up with a mist or stick on-the-go. There are limb-enhancing body formulas, options for sport, hair and scalps, and gleaming, glistening, beautifully scented incarnations for holidays. Like fragrance wardrobing, it’s a change that implies ritual and enjoyment as well as performance.
Also relevant is the rapid rise of prevention across health, beauty and wellness. While these industries were once built on correction, repairing or reversing damage after the event, attention is now firmly on optimisation and maintenance. This shift is especially relevant to suncare, which for years struggled to inspire the investment that beauty consumers saved for categories considered more glamorous or transformative. But as longevity and prevention have earned new cachet, luxury is increasingly associated with having the foresight to preserve existing vitality, rather than recovering what has been lost.
Indeed, ask any forward-thinking, advanced-treatment-delivering skin expert for their single, non-negotiable recommendation for preserving the health and youthful look of your skin and they will still consistently point to sunscreen. Because while breakthrough ingredients and high tech interventions generate buzz, SPF remains one of, if not the most effective investment that we can make in our skin health and appearance.
So I’m going to conclude that the ultimate beauty status symbol isn’t the new headline treatment that everyone wants to try, but the habit that keeps you healthy and protected and means you will need far fewer of those treatments later. In other words — wear your sunscreen. With all these beautiful formulas now available, there’s very little reason not to.
