The best sunscreens for your face, selected by the Wallpaper* beauty editors

When it comes to sunscreen, Korean beauty brands are always one step ahead of the game, creating SPFs with a thinner and more absorbent consistency than most. Korean manufacturers often use up-to-the-moment technology before it becomes unavailable elsewhere in the world. (K-beauty pioneers were the first to develop the BB cream and the CC cream, which infuse lightweight and natural-looking make-up with skincare and high-level SPF protection). Beauty of Joseon's new 'Dayscreen Moisturiser SPF 30' is designed to be the perfect addition to your morning routine with the hydrating power of a classic moisturiser, boosted with SPF protection and green tea extracts to help skin absorb and retain hydration.

Emma Lewisham’s Sunceutical SPF 50 Mineral Face Crème has been formulated with brightening niacinamide and Palmitoyl tripeptide-1 to reinforce proteins that help reduce signs of ageing. We’re already fans of the natural skincare brand, which was founded in 2019 (including products such as ‘The Skin Reset’ and ‘The Supernatural Vitale Skin Elixir’). And this SPF product– which comes in a refillable jar – doesn’t disappoint either, with a deeply hydrating and nourishing formula.

If you prefer your sunscreen in a stick format, the new 'Face and Sensitive Areas Sunscreen Stick' from Horace is the best option you'll find. The French brand is designed with men in mind, but this sunscreen works for anyone looking for a non-irritating option that can be used on the face, lips and body. Ideal for outdoor sports, the stick is sweat-resistant and compact enough to fit in your pocket.

Since launching this year, Alta Marea has quickly become one of our favourite sunscreen brands. Inspired by the summer's brand founder, Nico Morga Alden, spent along the Italian coast, the brand blends Italian craftsmanship (each batch is freshly made in Italy) with cutting-edge science (a biomimetic peptide complex is designed to help reduce signs of past sun exposure while the SPF 50 protects from new ones).

Hermès Beauty’s ‘Plein Air Complexion Balm’ is a lightweight, tinted make-up base in a wide range of shades. But it’s packed with enough sunscreen protection that it can be used every day to absorb harmful rays. (As we noted when the product launched in 2022, this breathable balm makes skin look airbrushed to perfection). Formulated with nourishing hyaluronic acid and evening primrose oil, ‘Plein Air Complexion Balm’ is a great option for those who want natural-looking coverage and SPF in one.

Hard Sun is a mineral SPF formulation designed for athletes, but we love it as an everyday option since its tinted, mattifying formulation has a seemingly miraculous ability to eliminate pores. Designed by two NYC-based professionals in graphic design and advertising, the aesthetically packaged sunscreen has 80 minutes of sweat- and water-resistance, and is breathable enough that it doesn't leave a mask-like layer on the face, unlike many mineral sunscreens.

Dr. Barbara Sturm’s ‘Sun Drops SPF 50’ is a hybrid sunscreen and skincare serum that utilises high-performance molecular ingredients. ‘Sun Drops’ contain the intensely hydrating ingredients glycerin and vitamin E, which help to prove a subtle glow without being shiny or greasy. (This product is also great for mixing with make-up to create a tinted SPF).

We have long been fans of Herbar, the Berlin-based brand that channels the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the power of adaptogens into natural, restorative skincare. Its first sunscreen has a milky texture that melts into skin and is formulated with ectoin, probiotics, and allantoin to strengthen the skin barrier, making it a perfect sunscreen option for city dwellers who want added pollution protection.

This tinted sunscreen from New Zealand brand Raeso is designed to give a subtle glow and even out skin tone while its barely perceptible SPF protects from future sun damage. All of the brand's products are designed to work with the body's natural 24 hour circadian rhythm to deliver ingredients exactly when your skin needs them. An ideal addition to your morning routine, the 'Sun Milk Drops' also has a milky feel on application that turns into a matte finish, making it a perfect primer for foundation.

Try the ‘All-Physical Lightweight Wrinkle Defense SPF 30’ by Dr. Dennis Gross and you’ll quickly understand why it’s one of the most beloved SPF products out there. Both oil and fragrance-free, it’s light on the skin but packed with nourishing sea buckthorn and lingonberry, plus the brand's signature ferulic acid. It’s also coral reef-safe and ideal for sensitive or allergy-prone skin types.

Australian brand Mecca Cosmetica’s ‘To Save Face SPF 50+ Superscreen’ is one of the country’s most beloved SPF products, which says a lot for a nation full of sun care connoisseurs. Providing UVA and UVB protection with a weightless finish designed to accommodate make-up wearers, it is also formulated with powerful antioxidants vitamin E and maritime pine bark extract, plus moisturising glycerin and sodium PCA to improve the appearance of skin whilst protecting it.

Supergoop!’s viral ‘Unseen Sunscreen SPF 30’ lives up to the hype. It also lives up to its name, as the transparent, broad-spectrum, gel formula is completely unperceptable on the skin. In addition, it is oil-free, meaning that skin prone to clogging and breakouts is rendered safe from harm. (For those who are tech addicted, it also has infrared protection to filter out blue light from digital devices).

Dulcie (the brand formally known as Haeckels) has always taken an unconventional approach to skincare, so it’s no surprise that its sunscreen, Seaweed Solar Protect, is different from most.

The central ingredient is hand-harvested dulse, a seaweed that helps skin retain moisture and fight the visible effects of pollutants (making it a great option for those who live in congested urban areas). It also contains the brand’s patented ‘Palmless Torula Oil’, which leverages moisturisation without leaving any greasy residue on the skin. More similar in texture to an oil than a cream, this light-weight, fast-absorbing sunscreen leaves skin with a healthy shine without clogging pores.

Always ecologically-minded, Dulcie has designed the sunscreen to be 100 per cent compostable, including the dropper.

Rationale’s unassuming packaging belies a brand that has spent over thirty years researching sun protection.

For one of its best-selling products, The Brilliance Tinted Serum, the brand worked with a team of Japanese pigmint producers who specialise in the pigments for sunglasses, in order to ensure they hit on a formula that refracted light and protected the skin from the sun as best as possible.

It is ‘tinted’ with a universal tone-correcting shade that goes on transluently but leaves behind a noticeably more even skin tone. Even better, because it is formulated as a skincare product as much as a sunscreen, it improves skin tone with continued use, even when you’re not wearing it. 

La Prairie’s ‘Cellular Swiss UV Protection Veil SPF 50’ is one of the most luxurious sunscreens ever made. The brand began selling skincare in 1978, but its roots can be traced back to Clinique La Prairie, which opened in 1931 in Geneva. (The Swiss wellness retreat, which stands to this day, has offered rejuvenation treatments to clients ranging from Pope Pius XII to Marlene Dietrich). It is La Prairie’s unique ‘Exclusive Cellular Complex’ – present in all of its products – that makes the ‘Cellular Swiss UV Protection Veil’ a treatment and SPF in one, working to protect, brighten and smooth skin all at once.