Monday, June 22, 2009

Can't Live Without...Sunscreen

Today I am headed west to California for the week to visit my family and friends, and to escape the rainiest June in New York history (and hopefully to pan for some gold- or rather tan for golden sun-kissed skin. Okay, even I know that was a really bad pun- looks like we both need to up our Pun Protection Factor!) While my illicit love affair with tanning has been well documented on this blog, I have been resistant to offering actual tanning advice, lest I become a bad influence on you people (artery-clogging burgers not withstanding). However, as bad as my bronzing habit can be, even I wear sunscreen when I am at the beach or by a pool. I admit that it's typically SPF 4, but still. In a case of do-as-I-say-not-as-I-tan, I am going to recommend my favorite sunscreen (and over the years I have tried them all)- good old Coppertone. Not the spray kind, or the Sport kind, or the pink kind for kids- the classic that comes in the white or brown bottle ($10, available from any drugstore or drugstore.com). It's light on your skin and rubs in like a really nice moisturizer, not too thick or sticky. And it's not greasy at all, but it's waterproof and will last all day (although you should reapply anyway, she said hypocritically). But the best part of all is the heavenly smell- it doesn't smell like fake bananas or coconut- it just smells exactly like summer. I would bottle it and wear it as perfume, I love it so much. Now, if only it came in SPF 2...

5 comments:

DIEGO DERSCH said...

i hear ya, lil - but, really, why rub all those gross chemicals into your skin? search for some of these on comesticsdatabase.org - eww. try badger, california babies or keys soap (my fave) which all have physical sunscreens rather than chemical.

Anonymous said...

Hopefully you'll be keeping up with your blog from California! We readers have come to expect our daily dose during the week.

Gecko said...

I tend to slather on Coppertone Sport Ultra Sweatproof 30. I sooo wish I could find the spray.

Anonymous said...

Diego, you are right. Coppertone and most sunscreens are highly toxic substances, with Pabas and other nasty chemicals that enter the bloodstream easily via the skin.

Best to use all-natural, chemical free products on ones skin.

Lily said...

Thanks for all the helpful info, gang! Obviously, the goal is to be able to enjoy the summer sunshine without compromising one's health, so all-natural products do seem to be a better choice, if you can find them. Or, I suppose you could always just use it as an excuse to buy a really cute hat.