On Sun Protection

Sale PSA: This adorable knit dress from Sandro, now $300, classic suede sandals from Stuart Weitzman, now $228 with code SAVENOW, and if you watch Succession – here is Shiv’s excellent cream jumpsuit, now 30% off.

Not exactly a sale but Nordstrom has a ton of gift with purchases for beauty – I’ve made some purchases myself, this is how I stock up on travel goodies!

Also! Just realized Everlane has a few cashmere styles on sale for a few days for $100 – I like the classic turtleneck!

So recently I had kind of a scare. A little dark spot appeared on my lip, seemingly out of nowhere. I have not seen a dermatologist in more than a decade (who has the time?? Between all the kid’s stuff??) so put it off until finally I made an appointment for a checkup. The earliest one I could get was two months out. Which I took. Upon which the spot proceeded to get larger and darker, all within a week, and then my husband got freaked out enough to make me make an emergency appointment. Even though I wear sunscreen almost everyday I have ignored my lips and so I was getting worried – luckily, the dermatologist confirmed it was nothing, just a little spot which he could try to get off with lasers (and a lot of extra money). Which so far I have not opted for. Actually, you can see a little bit of the spot here.

However! The derma also lectured me about my sun exposure. I’m constantly in the sun – out with the kids at parks, pushing my daughter in her stroller and and yelling at my son not to go too far into the street. Driving them around blah blah blah. So after this scare I decided to get serious about protecting myself against sun damage (some of this is vanity – wrinkles!). Here are some of my favorite products and ways I’m protecting myself against the harsh, wonderfully warm, rays of the sun:

Sunscreen. Duh. My favorite product right now is the Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen: SPF 40, which I feel is adequate, and the price is high but not too high. A tube also lasts me ages. One new thing I started to do – I slather it on my neck as well. Yeah it uses up the product more but why would I spend so much on clothes and just ignore my neck? Hello Nora Ephron?

PS: I also had previously purchased this Glossier Shield, which I liked but I find the Supergoop seems to last longer. I will say that the Glossier Shield goes on super light and weightless – it reminded me more of Japanese brands.

Lip protection. Because while I’m OK with my current brown spot, I don’t want them all over. So I’m being more careful now. My favorite product remains the Fresh Tinted Sugar SPF: I love these although it is agitating how expensive they are. But I haven’t been able to find a decent dupe! WHY? I’ve heard Kiehls Butterstick suggested but they are only $2 less. Anyone? Do I just have to buy this holiday set?

I also use this Supergoop lip shield, for a clear option. It’s sold out on a bunch of sites so I stocked up. Saks still has them.

Ooh. I also just found these Sun Bum ones, for $6! The only thing holding me back is I have a few plain Sun Bum chapsticks and I don’t really like their scents. Still, I’ve ordered one to try. Maybe I’ll do a round up post later.

Neck protection. Because as I mentioned above, I have been trying to give a little more love to my neck! I realize that I have little freckles along the left side of my neck – super common apparently, because the sun comes through the window when I drive, and I haven’t always used SPF. Even though I use SPF now, I wanted something else to protect it – so I picked up a few of these bandanas from Madewell, very soft, easy to tuck into a bag, and well priced too. I also bought this summerweight scarf from J.Crew, on super sale, which I leave in the car – I just throw it on if I’ve forgotten a shawl or one of my bandanas.

Hats. I am very into hats. I have, no joke, four of these Everlane baseball caps – partially because I wanted to order another black one, and they have free shipping with two items, so I bought yet another one. They are my perfect chic baseball hat and their adjustable elastic means they fit my giant head. The one thing I dislike about the baseball style is it doesn’t give me all around protection – protects my face, yes, but not my neck. For that I use the Scala sun hats I mentioned earlier – these are another option that I keep in my car and have on hand for certain outfits.

Hand protection. Which means gloves, for when I’m driving, because they get shined on too. I will share that I have purchased these quite hideous gloves from Amazon. They actually do a decent job but I do look like a crazy lady in them and my husband flinches whenever he sees them. But who cares if I can have young looking hands!! But now that the weather’s cooling I think I’m going to get a fingerless pair like the cashmere ones above, $45. Way more chic, no? I really like the color of the pair above.

Okay! These are some of the ways I’m protecting myself from the sun! Now I want to hear what you do!