Hello Sunday full shield drops SPF45 review

New brand alert! Sunscreen only brand Hello Sunday just launched in April 2021, and already is in every magazine and every skinfluencer pic. Their marketing and PR seems to be on point, but are the products really worth it? I bought a few, and will review them over the next few weeks. First up: “the one that’s a serum”, the Hello Sunday full shield drops. Here’s my Hello Sunday sunscreen drops review, including our patented checklist (scroll down!) for your convenience.

The Brand

Hello Sundays belongs to Crea Cosmetics that already have Crayola beauty and a vitamin brand under their umbrella. I tend to be snarky about lifestyle brands and their millennial pinks aesthetics. But the thing is, Hello Sunday does a lot of things right and won me over when they said things like that on their site:

“We know that most skin damage happens day-to-day, not just on the beach and not just when the sky is blue. (…) Because we want it to be easy for you to use these products every day, we’ve created combination formulas in convenient formats you can use around the clock. Sheer featherlight formulas that work even when you’re not.”

Hello Sunday

They then lose that goodwill from me when they’re sprouting nonsense about “nasty chemicals” their products are free from. Sigh.

Their USP seems to be “free from Oxybenzone and Octinoxate”, which I don’t really care about because I personally think that studies showing harmful effects of both filters aren’t conclusive.

Supposedly their small lineup of products (8, including body and lip SPF) are better than the ones already on the market:

Dissatisfied with heavy, hard-to-rub-in textures, unflattering white casts and ingredients that compromise marine life, this vegan-friendly line prides itself on lightweight, purse-friendly formulas that work for all skin types and tones.

We’ll test that, shall we?!

Hello Sunday sunscreen drops review: Description

An alternative approach to sun protection, this light textured, moisturising SPF45 serum is built to protect against UVA/UVB and Infrared rays. Not only is it designed to shield you against sun damage and prevent ageing, but it also protects you from other daily aggressors such as blue light and pollution.
Enriched with hyaluronic acid and vitamin C, this fragrance-free serum is best used as the last step within your skincare routine.  You can also add a few drops in to your daily moisturiser or foundation for added protection.
Fast absorbing, the non-sticky formula leaves skin feeling fresh and radiant and acts as the perfect base before makeup.

Hello Sunday

Ingredients

I’m confused. This packs everything and the kitchen sink, claims to be for absolutely everybody and has a kind of pick and mix mentality that makes me wonder who’s it actually for?! Sure, there’re anti-aging ingredients like antioxidants, a Vitamin C derivative and a form of hyaluronic acid that’re nearly staples in a sunscreen. Then, we have soothing ingredients: sure, the sun can make your skin more sensitive, so, nice idea! Panthenol, Aloe, Jojoba esters and allantoin are great. PHA Gluconolactone threw me a bit, though: why is there an exfoliant in my sunscreen? (Full ingredient list at Incidecoder.)

What it doesn’t include: fragrance, essential oils and alcohol.

In the end, it’s a rather lotion-y type of sunscreen that’s not at all serum-like, and far from lightweight. (/spoiler)

Filters

So, when a brand tells me that they’re concerned about everyday sunscreen wear and want to create SPF to address that, I’d expect concentration on UVA rays, because that’s where signs of preliminary aging mainly come from. Looking at the filters, I don’t see that reflected, because I see ONE UVA filter in there, and that’s Avobenzone. Tinosorb S protects from both UVA and UVB rays, but can I say – DISAPPOINTING? Also, what’s going on with the SPF45 rating?!

Sustainability

(We) follow a sustainability strategy, working to reduce the impact associated with water and energy consumption, the use of plastics and emissions and zero discharges. Hello Sunday’s manufacturing facility generates energy through its own solar panels and from suppliers with renewable energy certificates.

Hello Sunday

Their products are also recyclable, and claim to be vegan- and reef-friendly. Reef-friendly is a highly contested claim, and I’d suggest for you to look into that here.

Application

I usually don’t comment on packaging as I mostly find it irrelevant. Here, though, we’re dealing with a stopper bottle, which isn’t ideal because of the texture of the sunscreen, the nature of the product (it’s sunscreen) and the ability of sunscreen filters (especially chemical ones) to degrade when they come into contact with heat, moisture and sunlight. When filters come into contact with air, they will start to oxidise and degrade over time. With a dropper bottle, that absolutely will happen. Also, countless selfie pics will encourage people to directly bring the dropper into contact with their skin – promoting bacterial contamination of the dropper and the sunscreen fluid.

The dropper also makes it rather hard to gauge the amount of sunscreen you need for a full application. Remember, only using a sufficient amount will lead to full protection.

For that reason alone I’d advise against using the drops as a “SPF booster” in your foundation or moisturizer – you’ll never know how much protection you’ll have.

How much I use

The website advises to use at least  ½ teaspoon. Yes, indeed. This lead me to googling sunscreen amount recommendations AGAIN, and indeed, you’ll find any amount between 1/3, ½ and ¼ teaspoons on the interwebs. I always try to use scales, and indeed, two and a half droppers yield 1.4g – the amount I always try to go for. Around the same amount fill up my little ¼ teaspoon gadget.

Six to eight (!) fill up the ½ teaspoon. So, where does that leave you? I’d go for about three full droppers – keep in mind that the dropper is somewhat temperamental and doesn’t always hold the same amount.

I’m happy to report though that no matter of two, three, four or FIVE droppers result in the same finish for me (yes, I’m doing this so you don’t have to).

I’m using this mainly just over my cosrx toner – everything else will be absolute overkill on me, as you’ll see below.

Finish

This has a shiny, sticky finish on me that doesn’t absorb properly and is NOT a great makeup base. So, this already has a 0/4 for claims. Also: everyone has a different threshold of when “glow” turns into a sticky, oily mess. For me it’s when you just can’t apply anything over a glowy product. And that’s what we have here.

I can make it work if I blot it, which is not ideal because we do know that it effects the performance of film formers and filters. Then, though, it gives me a nice base for all kinds of foundations. I don’t want to imagine how this one would actually apply over a moisturizer.

For my combination skin this truly doesn’t work on its own. There’re people with dry skin on the interwebs who claim it works for them, though, so ymmv.

Positives: while it does creep into my eyes and makes them water, at least this has zero white cast (you will look scary during application, though) and no pilling.

Comparison

This has a similarly shiny finish as Isntree’s Watery Sun Gel (review), which still has a nicer texture. It’s maybe closest to Sunozon’s Sun Fluid (review).

Checklist

Hello Sunday sunscreen drops review: Rating

For a “lifestyle brand”, their pricing is actually rather reasonable. What let me down here, though, are the absolutely over the top claims they can’t meet. This isn’t either lightweight nor fast-absorbing nor non-sticky. On top of that I’m absolutely thrown by their claim to be a “daily” sunscreen, nor one exactly designed for vacations and beach outings (as it’s usually the norm for Western Europeans and Americans). Then, please, why does it mainly relies on UVB filters and has a UVA protection of 15? I don’t understand.

Availability and Price

Available (for example) at Flaconi, Niche Beauty, Beauty Bay and Cult Beauty. You’ll get 30ml/1.1 fl.oz. for around 23€.

Please note that this post is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods or money for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.