You'll Actually Look Forward To Applying This Brand-New Sunscreen Each Morning

Can skin care be simple, affordable, and genuinely exciting — all at once? It's a question that the beauty brand Versed has effectively tackled since its launch in May of 2019; and one brought up once again by the debut of Versed's new Guards Up Daily Mineral Sunscreen on May 6. And it seems like the answer to that age-old beauty question is a resounding yes. Retailing at $21.99 a pop, the just-dropped SPF 35 launch is formulated to impress, but priced to stay easy on your wallet. Oh, and it won't leave behind a white cast. (Really.)

You can thank the sunscreen's warm color for that. "There is a bit of a peachy hue to the lotion, but once it is rubbed into skin, it disappears," Deven Hopp, head of brand and education at Versed, says over email. "That peachy hue helps eliminate that white, or even purplish, cast zinc oxide is known to leave behind, particularly on darker skin tones."

It's a surprisingly lightweight formula you'll actually look forward to applying to your skin, too, courtesy of sea fennel and moringa seed extracts. "Moringa seed extract is a pollution-fighting, anti-inflammatory antioxidant that protects skin against damaging free radicals," Hopp explains. Which makes sense — but how, exactly, does one little ingredient do all that? "It works by preventing pollution particles from adhering to the skin, thus preventing them from entering our cells," Hopp continues. "Think of it like non-stick cooking spray for your skin."

Then there is the SPF active itself, a non-nano zinc oxide; another ingredient that performs the complicated task of safeguarding your skin from the outside world. Hopp notes that zinc oxide falls into the mineral sunscreen category, physically protecting skin from UVA and UVB rays, and blocking HEV light (also known as High Energy Visible light, or blue light).

"That's why with physical sunscreens there's no 20-minute wait period between applying and sun exposure — they act like a shield right away. The non-nano part refers to the size of the particles," says Hopp. "When particles are smaller than 100-billionth of a meter, making them nano, they can enter your bloodstream and damage coral reefs."

So, when you eventually wear this SPF while you're frolicking on a far-flung island vacation, you can rest easy knowing it's protecting your skin and the environment. Below, Versed's Guards Up Daily Mineral Sunscreen.

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