Hello Sunday face moisturizer SPF50 review: filters, ingredients, wear test and everything else you need to know. Includes our easy checklist (scroll down!).
The Brand
Hello Sunday is a newly launched (April 2021) “lifestyle brand” in millennial pink packaging. I had high hopes because of soundbites like this one:
“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
Dare I hope for high UVA protection?!??! AND a light formula?!?! Supposedly their small lineup of products (8, including body and lip SPF) is better than everything 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.
Hello Sunday
And then they lose me when they’re sprouting nonsense about “nasty chemicals” their products are free from. Sigh.
Hello Sunday face moisturizer SPF50 review: Description
An everyday essential that works hard to protect your skin. This SPF facial moisturiser contains broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection to prevent sun damage and ageing to the skin, making it the perfect everyday SPF for your face.
Hello Sunday
Not only does this provide a hit of hydration but also defends the skin from blue light and protects from pollution infrared rays.
Fragrance free and suitable for all skin types, this lightweight protection absorbs easily leaving skin feeling super soft.
Ingredients
There’re antioxidants (a lot, which is nice), because they “boost” the sunscreen. Then we’ve got some Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid and some soothing stuff like Allantoin and Panthenol. On top of that antioxidant superstar Carnosine that MIGHT be able have some powerful anti-aging properties. Still baffling me: the inclusion of polyhydroxy acid Gluconolactone, touted to be the next generation AHA. I mean, sure? Fine? (All ingredients at Incidecoder.)
Filters
| Sunscreen Filter | Type | Spectrum | Remarks |
| Octocrylene | chemical / organic | UVB & UVA II with peak at 304 nm | quite photostable (loses 10% protection in 95 mins), used to stabilize other filters (eg Avobenzone), often used to improve water resistance of products |
| Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane (Avobenzone) | chemical / organic | full UVA protection | not photostable |
| Ethylhexyl Salicylate / Octisalate | chemical / organic | UVB (280-320 nm) with peak at 306 nm | not a strong filter, used with other filters to solubilize |
| Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate / Uvinul A Plus | chemical / organic | high UVA protection (320-400nm) with peak protection at 354nm | high photostability, can be used up to 10%, available elsewhere but the US & Canada |
| Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine / Tinosorb S | chemical / organic | broad-spectrum (UVA & UVB, 280-400 nm, peak at 310-345 nm) | very photostable, available everywhere but the US |
| Tinosorb M / Methylene Bis-Benzotriazolyl Tetramethylbutylphenol / Bisoctrizole | chemical / organic | broad-spectrum (UVA & UVB, 280-400 nm, peak at 305nm & 360 nm) | highly photostable, not available in the US, can help stabilize other filters (eg Octinoxate) |
| Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid (Ensulizole) | chemical / organic | strong UVB protection (280-320nm) range with its peak protection at 306 nm | Not oil but water soluble, ideal to create light, oily skin compatible formula. Fairly photostable and can be used to protect other less stable UV filters (eg. avobenzone). Approved worldwide and can be used up to 4% in the US and up to 8% in the EU. |
| Ethylhexyl Triazone (Uvinul T 150) | chemical / organic | photostable UVB filter | oil soluble, odorless & colorless powder, available everywhere except the US & Canada |
I don’t understand these 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 a 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. That’s because I see two UVA filters in there, and that’s Avobenzone and Uvinul A plus. Disappointing.
Their big USP is NOT using Oxybenzone and Octinoxate (and Benzophenone). Why then use Octocrylene, the one sunscreen filter that most people who are allergic to sunscreen have an allergic reaction to? It seems totally random. Performative marketing that just excludes random stuff to make the brand look woke and – clean?!
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, therefore I’d suggest for you to look into that here.
Application
The website advises you to use at least five pumps. I’m the bearer of sad news: depending on the size of your face, that’s not enough.
I’m clinging to my rule of thumb of 1.4g like a barnacle to a ship, and well, SEVEN (or eight, depending) pumps will give me that and also fill up my ¼ teaspoon measuring tool.
I’ve used this over only toner. Then, over my patented summer AM skincare routine of toner and CBD Milk. Finally, over toner and that devil’s tool, Beyer & Soehne Vitamin C Booster. And what can I say? It performs equally dismal over all of them. This one pills like a mofo on me and has to be applied and spread with the lightest of all featherlight touches to prevent that.
Finish
Add insult to injury, while this isn’t as sticky as its sister product, the sunscreen drops, it still is moderately sticky and shiny. “Absorbs easily leaving skin feeling super soft”?! Dream on, Hello Sunday.
Moreover, if I do want to wear any kind of foundation over it, I HAVE to blot it, thus possibly diminishing its filters.
I’d argue that this isn’t great for combination or oily skinned people, no matter what their blurb claims. It’s neither lightweight nor absorbs easily. Aditionally, (yeah, we’re really getting into this one), it has the possibility for white cast on darker skinned people, because they use Tinosorb M.
Comparison
The Garnier Anti-Age Super UV I reviewed a while ago has a similar texture, with better filters, at a drugstore price. It also made my eyes tear like I’ve never experienced before and after, so there’s that.
Compared to Hello Sunday’s own sunscreen drops, the drops are more serum-like, while this one feels like a moisturiser. It’s a bit like choosing between the black death and cholera. (Don’t look at me, that’s a saying in Germany!). Do you want to have a sunscreen that’s so sticky that it’ll turn you into human flypaper (serum) or pill (moisturiser)?
Checklist
Rating
For a “lifestyle brand”, their pricing is actually rather reasonable. But that’s about the only thing to recommend about the face moisturiser SPF50. I’d claim that both oily skintypes and darker skintones should stay away from this one.
Also, while I have to admit that pilling is a highly individual thing, it does on me. On top of that, for my taste it’s neither lightweight enough nor absorbs enough to have a pleasant finish. Also, I REALLY want more UVA protection than the standard one-third-of-SPF50 one, especially from a brand promoting everyday sunscreen wear.
Availability and Price
You’ll get 50ml for around 18€. (Available at Flaconi, Douglas, Beauty Bay, Cult Beauty and Niche Beauty.)
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.
I so wish I had found your reviews earlier, because it would have saved me from some purchases. I hated both this and the Supergoop Unseen and was wondering whether I was just incapable of making it work, since everyone else online seemed to love these sunscreens. Thanks for the honest reviews, much appreciated!
Thank you Katha, and sorry for spending money on – ahem – subpar prroducts! I always secretly assume that people who love that kind of sunscreen either use too little, or just go for the super glowy look, which just isn’t for me!
Thankfully, since then I’ve found products that work much better for me and hope you’ll find some that work for you, too!