SPECIALIST testing GARNIER AMBRE SOLAIRE ANTI AGE SUPER UV SPF 50 SUNSCREEN: Review

In today’s post, I’m going to review this Garnier Super UV Anti-age Sunscreen that I got while I was in Germany.

CLAIMS

Here’s what Garnier says about this sunscreen.

It reduces the appearance of wrinkles
It reduces dark spots
Leaves your skin hydrated but without a greasy finish

Their website also has one claim that says it’s safe to use around the eye area. But then when you scroll down on that same page you can find the instruction to avoid the eye area. I’m not sure what’s going on with their website. Maybe Garnier should update it. Just in case, I avoided using it around my eye area.

In their promotional picture, an older lady is holding the sunscreen, which might make you think that this product is only for women over 40. But right off the bat, I’ll say that there’s no reason for younger people to avoid using it as well. So you can even use it in your 20s.

One more thing, on the website it says that it’s broad-spectrum, but neither the packaging nor the box in which it came in says anything. I’m not sure what’s going on. It does have a high UVB protection —it’s SPF 50. And the packaging says that it protects against the long UVA rays. But is it broad-spectrum? I hope it is. For it to be broad-spectrum the UVA protection has to be at least ⅓ of the claimed UVB (SPF) protection. The packaging doesn’t say anything but maybe we can trust the website.

I’d say that the claims are pretty big, so let’s see if the ingredients can back up those claims.

INGREDIENTS

The main active ingredients here are Niacinamide, Phenylethyl Resorcinol, and Hyaluronic Acid.

There’s another sunscreen that has those exact ingredients —the Anthelios Age-Correct by La Roche Posay. This sunscreen is much more expensive than the one by Garnier. That’s why I decided to compare them side by side to see if there’s a difference in the effect they have on the skin. You can check the video where I compare them below.

Back to the ingredients, Niacinamide is a very good anti-aging ingredient. It fades dark spots and it can help in various skin conditions like Rosacea, Atopic Dermatitis, and Acne.

Then we have low molecular Hyaluronic Acid, which is amazing because it can penetrate deeper layers of the skin and reduce the appearance of wrinkles. And it’s also hydrating on the skin.

The final active ingredient here is Phenylethyl Resorcinol. This is an ingredient that shows moderate results in fading dark spots.

There’s one more ingredient I would like to mention, and that is Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate. This is an oil-absorbing agent that prevents you from becoming shiny throughout the day. It was also included in the Age-Correct sunscreen by La Roche Posayand the Vichy Dry-Touch sun cream. I also have a review on the latter, so if you are interested you can watch it in the video below.

As we can see, we do have the ingredients that are backing up the claims. So let’s move on to the UV filters.

UV FILTERS

We have Octocrylene, Avobenzone, EthylhexylTriazone, Mexoryl XL, and Mexoryl SX. And guess what, these are the exact UV filters that were included in the Age-Correct sunscreen by La Roche-Posay.

Octocrylene is not that strong but it’s helping to stabilize the Avobenzone. Avobenzone is a very good UVA filter. Then there’s EthylhexylTriazone, which is an amazing UVB filter. And then we have the L’Oreal Group exclusive agents, Mexoryl XL and Mexoryl SX, which are great photostable UV filters.

CONTROVERSIAL INGREDIENTS

This one, believe it or not, has no controversial ingredients. No Fragrance, no Alcohol, nothing. So you’ll definitely be able to use this one, even if you have sensitive skin.

DEMO APPLICATION

Let’s see how this product performs on the skin and how it layers. You can watch the demo application in the video below.

Starting off with a bare face, I first apply the Shaka Fluid sunscreen by La Roche Posay to protect the under-eye area. I advise you to do the same because the Age-Correct has the same ingredients as the AmbreSolaire and it can’t be applied around the eye. So I’m pretty sure the AmbreSolaire cannot be applied around the eye area either.

After that, I apply the AmbreSolaire to the rest of my face. It has a very light formulation. At first, it looks a bit whitish on the skin, but the cast disappears very quickly as you blend it into the skin. It immediately moisturizes and hydrates your skin very well. It gives you a subtle glow, but not a greasy finish, even 15 minutes after the application.

LAYERING

I didn’t have any problems with layering the product. The only problem that I experienced with this sunscreen was that it was peeling a bit throughout the day. But that didn’t depend on how many layers I had on since it would peel just the same with only one layer.

The second layer gave me even more glow, but that’s perfectly fine for me because I have dry skin. 15 minutes later my skin is still very well moisturized and hydrated, and not greasy looking.

MAKEUP APPLICATION

The foundations that I used on top of the sunscreen mattified the sunscreen so much that I didn’t even need powder.

I think this sunscreen is a pretty good base for makeup. I applied heavy makeup on top of it and it looked flawless!

FINAL VERDICT

I love this product!

It has amazing ingredients. It feels great on the skin. It hydrates so well and it gives me a lovely glow, which I happen to love because I have dry skin.

The second layer does look a bit shinier, so it might be a problem if you have oily skin. However, you can set it with a little bit of face powder, and you’ll be good to go.

I love that it doesn’t have fragrances. I love that it doesn’t leave a white cast. I love the anti-aging ingredients. I love that it has all the same ingredients as the Age-Correct which I also love, but this one is a lot cheaper.

The only con that I can mention is that it does peel, even after just one layer. For me it’s not a huge problem, to be honest. It wasn’t intensively peeling; it would just peel on the areas where I would touch my face accidentally.

Overall, do I recommend it? Yes. I can definitely recommend this sunscreen. I just wish it was available in Serbia. But if you live anywhere else in Europe and you can get it, don’t hesitate!

Text adapted from Pharmacy&Makeup’s Youtube Video by Sofia Gioiosa