La Roche Posay Hydrating SPF review

What do you do when you can’t find your favorite sunscreen anywhere? You try a different one of course! I bought two different La Roche-Posay SPFs a while ago to try them out based on some recommendations I found on the internet. I ended up trying the much hyped up La Roche Posay Shaka Fluid and their Non-Perfumed Dry Touch Gel Cream. The first one I didn’t love, the second I loved. Small problem: I had used it up completely and couldn’t seem to find it anywhere and online it had been sold out for months on end. So I figured I would try something new and that new thing ended up being today’s review: the La Roche Posay Anthelios UV Mune 400 SPF 50+ Hydrating Cream. How did it go? Let’s find out!

Skincare review: La Roche-Posay Anthelios UVMUNE 400 50+ SPF Hydrating Cream

I ended up buying this, as well as my beloved Dry Touch Gel Cream from a website I had never shopped before yet: Pharma Market. La Roche Posay over here is only available from actual pharmacies and you can’t just walk into most places and buy it. That said, some products are now for sale from the drugstore so that will make this brand a bit easier to buy I hope. It retails for €15.30, but I ended up getting some freebees with my order so that made the deal a bit sweeter.

What does this product have to offer?

As far as I know, this is a new SPF in La Roche Posay’s line up. If I am not mistaken the UVMUNE 400 is their newer formulation for a sunscreen that launched just this year. Maybe that’s why the other one had become harder to find as they are phasing it out? Who knows, I thought that this, because it said ‘hydrating’ might be great for my skin. As with any La Roche Posay sunscreen the claims make this well worth a try. This is suitable for sensitive skin and sun allergies and has even been tested for use around the eye area. It therefore doesn’t irritate the eyes, is water resistant, and while it contains perfume it’s supposedly hypoallergenic.

What are the ingredients like?

With the claims out of the way, let’s look at the ingredient list. As per usual, I would like to point out that I am not a chemist or cosmetic scientist so my knowledge here is limited. This review is mainly aimed at sharing my experiences with the product. In my 10+ years of blogging and testing out skincare and makeup, I have found that an ingredient list can only tell you a bit about what might happen to your skin and never tells the full story.

AQUA / WATER / EAU, DIISOPROPYL SEBACATE, ALCOHOL DENAT., ETHYLHEXYL SALICYLATE, ETHYLHEXYL TRIAZONE, BIS-ETHYLHEXYLOXYPHENOL METHOXYPHENYL TRIAZINE, DIISOPROPYL ADIPATE, PEG-8, DIPROPYLENE GLYCOL, C12-22 ALKYL ACRYLATE/HYDROXYETHYLACRYLATE COPOLYMER, GLYCERIN, DROMETRIZOLE TRISILOXANE, ALUMINUM STARCH OCTENYLSUCCINATE, BUTYL METHOXYDIBENZOYLMETHANE, METHOXYPROPYLAMINO CYCLOHEXENYLIDENE, ETHOXYETHYLCYANOACETATE, SILICA, TOCOPHEROL, DIETHYLAMINO HYDROXYBENZOYL HEXYL BENZOATE, ACRYLATES COPOLYMER, ACRYLATES/C10-30 ALKYL ACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, HYDROXYACETOPHENONE, PENTAERYTHRITYL TETRA-DI-T-BUTYL HYDROXYHYDROCINNAMATE, SODIUM POLYACRYLATE, TEREPHTHALYLIDENE DICAMPHOR SULFONIC ACID, TRIETHANOLAMINE, TRISODIUM ETHYLENEDIAMINE DISUCCINATE, PARFUM / FRAGRANCE.

So yes, right off the bat I have to point out that this contains denatured alcohol. An ingredient that is also in the Shaka Fluid (which is much raved about by dermatolists in the online beauty community despite it) and which may have caused my dislike for that one. As one of my commenters pointed out the very dry feeling that leaves on my skin, may be caused by that ingredients. While this product has the exact same ingredient, I do not experience that drying sensation. Quite the opposite: this feels very hydrating indeed and on days I have used this, I have felt like I could have left out the moisturizer as it is that good.

What is my experience using this product?

As you can see from the swatches here, the texture for this SPF is between the Dry Touch Gel Cream and the Shaka Fluid. It’s not as runny as the fluid, but it is thin while not being too thick and difficult to blend in as the gel cream. It’s the best of both worlds! It has a pleasant scent that was not too noticeable and dissipates instantly. It is easy to blend in and doesn’t leave a white cast, maybe because it looks almost yellow in the swatch? Who knows, but I find this is very easy to work into the skin which means I will also be applying enough. It has quite a glowy finish as well and I love this especially on light makeup days or days where I choose to not wear any makeup at all. That said, I also think it works well under makeup and it doesn’t cause my makeup to break up or look weird at all.

My final thoughts

The La Roche Posay Hydrating Cream SPF is one I really enjoy. I have found another great favorite, but I think moving into winter that this may not be great for me as it is a bit thin. The lightweight texture makes it perfect for the summer time though, so I don’t mind having two favorites! One for summer and one for winter. But I will certainly be using this up before I move on to my next bottle. I mean SPF is simply a staple product and now that I have a few bottles of my favorites around I know it will be much easier to use an SPF everyday.

Would I recommend the La Roche Posay Anthelios Hydrating Cream SPF?

I think this is a great SPF even if you have quite sensitive skin. If the ingredient list however features ingredients you know you can’t deal with, then don’t use this. But my sensitive skin has not had a reaction to this, even though SPF has been THE category of skincare I struggle with. Most break me out, clog my pores, irritate my skin in some way shape or form and when they don’t they either don’t get absorbed by my skin and just sit there or they simply make any makeup look horrible. So far, it’s only been this one and the Dry Touch Gel Cream that have worked for me on all fronts. So I cannot recommend this enough.

What is your favorite spf?