summer

Sephora Sun Safety Kit, $32

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Not allergy season, because that part sucks thank-you-very-much-itchy-watery-eyes, but Sephora Sun Safety Kit time. Aka it is warm (finally) in most parts of the states, aka I don’t feel like hibernating constantly. My area in particular had a day reach 90+ a week or so ago, which is kind of uncharacteristic for May (especially considering how cold it was for so long). Warm weather makes it easier to spend time outdoors doing whatever – exercising, barbecuing, gardening, swimming once pools do not feel miserable, just going for a walk to gorge yourself on petit fours at the local bakery…ahem. Recently announced and ALREADY sold out online at Sephora.com, the Sun Safety kit runs $32. Though they will surely restock as they have in previous years, the sun safety kit is still available in some stores (maybe yours, use their little store locator on the right of the product page to see).

If you would like to approach sun exposure with more caution but do not know where to start, try to get your hands on one of these Sephora Sun Safety kits. It has a multitude of sunscreens, bronzers, sunless tanners, and other fun beauty goop. The Sephora Sun Safety Kit contains:

•  0.06 oz Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Daily Glow Moisture
•  0.5 oz Peter Thomas Roth Max Sheer All Day Moisture Defense Lotion
•  0.14 oz Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Medium/Deep Matte Bronzer (note: I own this one and have tried it! It is pretty on many skintones, easily blended if you overdo it, and smells like cocoa!)
•  0.3 oz Clarins UV Plus HP Multi-Purpose SPF 40 Sunscreen
•  0.33 oz Murad Oil-Control Mattifier SPF 15 PA++
•  0.5 oz Tarte Brazilliance Skin Rejuvenating Maracuja Self Tanner (note: Brazillance makes me laugh every.single.time. Haven’t tried it, though!)
•  0.23 oz Stila Stay All Day 10-in-1 HD Bronzing Beauty Balm SPF 30
•  Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Glow Pad
•  0.15 oz bareMinerals READY Touch Up Veil SPF 15 in Translucent (note: bareMinerals does make a solid translucent powder!)
•  1.69 oz St. Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Mousse (note: I have not tried St. Tropez products, but many consider this sunless tanner to be the sunless tanner.)
•  0.5 oz Origins A Perfect World SPF 25 Age-Defense Moisturizer
•  1 oz Supergoop! Sun-Defying Sunscreen Oil SPF 50
•  0.64 oz Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream SPF 50+ For Face
•  0.5 oz Algenist Regenerative Anti-Aging Moisturizer SPF 20
•  0.08 oz Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment Sunscreen SPF 15 (note: A holy grail item for many, Fresh Sugar lip treatments are awesome, especially chilled. Take advantage of not paying full price!)
•  0.5 oz Ole Henriksen Protect the Truth SPF 50+ UV Protection

And of course, it also comes with a little travel bag to store all your loot in. The five products that I added notes to make the Sephora Sun Safety Kit well-worth the $32 price tag, and that doesn’t even touch anything else. It is no wonder why it sells out quickly – kits like this are a nice way to find something you like rather than shelling out for a handful of full-sized products that you don’t end up loving. In addition to only being $32, if it becomes available online again soon, eBates if offering 15% Cash Back at Sephora right now!

Though I used to, I do not tan any longer – on top of being expensive, time-consuming, and incompatible with my schedule, my mother had a melanoma diagnosis last year. To show support for mom (who is OK now!) and take better care of myself, I stopped, introduced a decent sunscreen to my routine, and will now only use sunless tanning products to ward away my pastiness. Though I did feel better (mood-wise) while I was tanning and my KP had chilled out, the benefits do not outweigh the risks for me, as far as I am concerned.