Hey, children of the '80s: Remember Zinka? Amazingly, it's still around. Its primary ingredient is zinc oxide, and it comes in seven day-glo colors that are both a) tubular and b) awesome. It's waterproof and deliberately opaque so you can see where you need to reapply — I remember it being pretty tenacious and staying on until you wipe it off. This tenacity makes Zinka perfect for extreme sport conditions like all-day surfing, jet skiing and bikini-ogling. About $6 for a bitsy .6 oz tube. The company refers to it as a "nosecoat," and if that's all you're using it on, it's a fine value.


If you're looking for something a little less noticeable, check out Alba Botanicals Sport Sunscreen SPF 30+. While this is marketed as an all-over product, I have been using it on my face under a powder foundation (Milani Minerals Compact Makeup in Nude Buff, should you be curious.), and it's not breaking me out the way other facial sunblocks tend to. It has a mild chemical-ish non-smell, absorbs easily and seems to work just fine. Active ingredients: Octinoxate, Oxybenzone, Homosalate (yes!), Octisalate, Avobenzone. About $10 for a 4 oz tube.

DHC Suncut Q10 is another good idea for those of you seeking physical and chemical sunscreens in one product — it has Octinoxate, Oxybenzone, Titanium Dioxide and a hefty dose of Zinc Oxide (20.0%). The Suncut comes in a plain formula and a glimmery Lamé one for when you're feeling fancy. It's $15 for a 1 oz bottle. One of the best things about DHC is that they use high quality olive oil in most of their products as a gentle moisturizer. They also sell high quality olive oil for the eating, fyi.

Speaking of moisturizing, Cosmedix Protect (Zinc Oxide) is hands down the best, not to mention the priciest, facial sunblock I've ever tried. At $40-something for a 1 oz bottle, it definitely falls into the "beg, borrow or steal" category. But oh, wow — even with the moisturizer, it gives the loveliest non-greasy finish ever, plus it smells faintly and lusciously of vanilla. All of Cosmedix's products are chirally corrected, meaning the ingredients are selected to work as well as possible with your skin on a molecular level. More on this in a future column for all of you fellow armchair chem geeks out there.

Are you seeking a tinted moisturizer with sunblock? The mild shimmer of BECCA Luminous Skin Color SPF 25+ (Homosalate, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate) offers a fresh-faced, just-got-some/what-crow's-feet? glow. While the texture is light, the effect might be a bit much for those of you who adequately self-moisturize. At $42 for a 1.7 oz pump container, this stuff isn't at all cheap; but it does last, and it comes in a pretty respectable color range with consideration for warm, cool and neutral undertones, as well as options for very light to very dark shades.

And finally, if you're looking for full-on foundation makeup with sunblock, the following three lines also offer decent color ranges with variations for different undertones and shades. Bare Minerals, SPF 15 (Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide), has 15 different shades of fine-milled powder that are easily blended with each other to your very own custom specs — perfect for folks with oily-tending skin. L'Oreal True Match, SPF 17 (Titanium Dioxide), offers 18 shades of oil-free, medium-weight liquid that sinks in fast, so if you're using this, blend like the wind. And finally, MAC Select Moistureblend, SPF 15 (Titanium Dioxide) has 17 shades of creamy, dry skin-hugging color, the kind that you apply with a sponge and then spend all day trying not to touch and mess up its satiny finish.


Next week: Sunblocks for the rest of the body.

Stay beautiful,
--Chaia