Coppertone Clearly Sheer: A Review

 

I received an invite from BzzAgent to participate in a Coppertone campaign. I'm all over that because honestly we go through sunscreen in this house like its going out of style. For reals. I'm a pasty Irish girl who needs her sunscreen and I have two kidlets who must have sunscreen on for daycare. So what does a campaign mean? It means I get the opportunity to sample the product for free and then get to share my honest opinion.

Can I tell you that I honestly signed up because you can never have too much suncreen? Well, I did. I have a poor attitude that "sunscreen is sunscreen". However, I had an incident before my Coppertone arrived that changed my whole feelings on sunscreen. Last year had been using Banana Boat kid and this year I tried Banana Boat sport on my son. He had a terrible reaction. The rash on his face was so bad it almost made me want to take him to the doctor. We didn't realize right away that it was the suncreen either. After we figured it out I was talking to other people and it turns out it is not uncommon to have issues with sunscreen. Yikes! 

I've also been having mixed emotion in slathering my kids in this greasy gross product day in and day out. I mean preventing skin cancer is clearly a priority, but sometimes I get sick of sunscreen. I was excited to have the sunscreen from Coppertone, but truly wasn't putting much faith in finding something I like. Also I was bit nervous to even try something new on my son's skin!

So what's the deal with this new Coppertone anyway? Apparently it is built for every day wear. The "Clearly Sheer" line won't clog pores, feels lighter, and it supposed to leave your skin soft. My husband won't even wear sunscreen because he hates feeling greasy. He is in the sun the most because he does a lot of the yard work. He was excited at the idea of something he could wear mowing the lawn. Now, if I can get him to follow-through. (If he does, I'll post his opinion too!) 

Along with the Clearly Sheer for Sunny Days I also received a travel size continous spray. I've never used a spray on sunscreen as I didn't think they would work that well. Now that I have squirmy kids I don't think its a bad idea. I tried this right away on the kidlets. It was fast absorbing which was a great bonus. However, I DO NOT recommend using this inside. I left a nice sunscreen slick by our back door on the laminate.... My husband jokes that this can be used as floor polish as a second use. (He nearly slipped opening the back door... ooops!) I think this will be handy at the splash parks this summer. Fast absorbing and easy to put on. Perfect. Also, no skin reactions! 

Since my children don't really have an opinion other than a bit of whining about the "cold" feeling of the spray I figured I better get to trying this out myself. Plus I wanted to see if this "Clearly Sheer" was all it was cracked up to be. Most of the time my facial products have SPF so I don't require sunscreen on my face. However I do have the occasional product that doesn't and I don't always wear my BB creams or moisturizers with SPF. I decided the best test was on my face. I used the Coppertone Clearly Sheer under my foundation. MUCH to my surprise it absorbed well and did not leave my skin feeling greasy. You can see in this picture a few areas of shine but I've been wearing it all day and I think it has absorbed more because looking in the mirror I don't see those spots. I am not required to have a positive review but Coppertone, you have a fan. It really does not feel like I'm wearing sunscreen.

I have sensitive skin so I will update you to any breakouts, but Coppertone's website says they have done testing on both sensitive and acne prone skin. Hopefully my skin agrees but so far so good!

The part I'm not so sure about is that it is lightly scented. Why? It has a light citrus scent that at first I was put off by. The second time I used it I expected the scent and it didn't bother me. It doesn't smell gross like some sunscreen so that is a bonus, and perhaps without the light scent it would smell gross? Not sure. 

Also tried the Clearly Sheer on my boys. No rashes for the Clearly Sheer either! Two Coppertone sunscreens, no issues. Wahoo! I loved how it made their skin feel. Not like little greasy gross boys but just moisturized. I honestly don't feel as horrible about making them wear it every day. The Sunny Days that I am sampling is for every day and is an SPF of 30. They also make a Beach & Pool with a 50 SPF. Both Clearly Sheer lines have a variety of products both lotions and continuous spray. They both also have a face lotion but you can totally use the regular on your face. 

I have to say I will buy this again. I even went and scoped out pricing at Target today. A couponer at heart, I go for the cheapest. It seems to be not a whole lot more than the Up and Up brand but I didn't compare sizes. I would purchase this again at full price, and for me that's saying something. I just really like that feels like a lotion not a sunscreen! I'm definitely more likely to wear something for everyday that feels good on. 

Just a random end note- they specifically have a sunscreen spray for people with Tattoo's. Not something I need, but interesting to know it exists.  

Foundation Favorite: Maybelline Dream SMOOTH Mousse

Do NOT confuse this with the Dream Matte Mousse. Not the same. Not nearly as amazing. Think SMOOTH like butter...

I hate foundation. Have you ever noticed I hate a lot of makeup? The reason is there are too many choices, too many colors, too many finishes... it can be very frustrating. I had given up on any kind of liquid foundation, imagining my tween/teen years with poorly matched cheapy foundations. I had give up on drugstore foundation and became a mineral foundation girl. Then I became a couponer it made it easier for me to try many different types of makeup at low out of pocket cost. I also started becoming a pinterest junkie. Finding leads on great foundations was easier.

Then I found it. THE one. I can not tell you how amazed I am by this makeup. 

If this tells you anything, the one on the right was the wrong shade but I kept mixing it with a lighter foundation because I loved the coverage and texture!




Creamy Natural on the left, Nude Beige on the right

You can see that it really is a full coverage but it feels so weightless.

Let me tell you what I'm up against
-Large pores
-combination oily and dry skin
-pale but not ivory skin
-rosacea

I'm lucky because it was a couponing item I picked up on a whim during a Maybelline sale. I had tried the Maybelline regular Mousse foundation and I was neither here nor there on the product, so I decided to try something new. There were two ivory colors (110 porcelain ivory and 150 classic ivory) followed by 180 Nude Beige. I assumed I would be the next step up from ivory. (I don't want to be eagle face: white face, darker body) Unfortunately it was too warm for my complexion. I got it in the summer and it wasn't as bad, but in the winter it just wasn't working... I lightened it up by mixing it with another lighter foundation. (Frugal me couldn't throw it out!) So I just went to purchase another during a 40% off sale at Ulta. I went a step up with Creamy Natural 200 which is a different tone than the Nude Beige. For color concerns I would shop at Ulta or someone specializing in makeup with a good return policy on open makeup items.

This product provides amazing coverage. It is smooth and hydrating. It is super soft and creamy and doesn't feel thick. It doesn't cake up in my large pores and dry patches. It covers the red areas of my skin.

Before

After

After