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No BS Beauty's Sunscreen Guide: Favorites, Safety Flags, and Three Named Winners

She has reviewed 37 sunscreens and lands at a Guru Score of 65%, approving most but skipping nearly a third of what she tested.

No BS Beauty · 37 products reviewed · 126 mentions analyzed · Last reviewed 9 September 2026
65%Guru Score
24 Approved2 Mixed11 Skip

No BS Beauty has put 37 sunscreens through her channel and approved 24 of them, earning a Guru Score of 65%. She skipped nearly one in three, and her reasons are specific and worth knowing. She named three products her outright winners, so there is a short list if that is what you came for.

What does No BS Beauty recommend in sunscreen?

Tinted sunscreens come up often in her approvals. She praised EltaMD UV Daily Tinted for working across a wide range of skin tones. However, she flagged that people on the very fair side might find some shades run a little dark. She has also gone back to certain picks more than once. She finished a bottle of Klairs All Day Airy Sunscreen and bought a second, and her Geek & Gorgeous Zero Feel SPF 50 is nearly done too. She called the Skin Aqua Tone Up UV Essence one of the very few tone-up sunscreens she actually liked. She also noted it uses both mineral and chemical filters.

In their words

"Geek and Gorgeous came out with a sunscreen and I've been using this one a lot too, it's almost finished."
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"Neutrogena has a really nice tinted sunscreen."
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"Klairs All Day Airy Sunscreen. Loved this. Finished a bottle of it. Repurchased it."
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"Ulta MD, most of the sunscreens they make are great. They're tinted sunscreens are really wonderful. They're pretty much even enough where if you have fair skin, it'll work, or if you have deeper skin tone, it'll generally work. [...] The one thing that some of these Ulta MD ones don't have is a lot of shade options, but a lot of them, for the most part, unless you're extremely fair, will work well. And for deeper skin tones, a lot of times they just kind of melt in. But sometimes when you're super pale or fair, on the very fair side, they can look a little too dark."
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"They say it's your first line of attack against breakouts, blackheads and dark marks, it helps to reduce redness, spot size and minimizes future breakouts and it's actively hydrating so it's kind of for your skin barrier. It won't flake or peel so it works seamlessly under makeup. I agree with most of that. I wouldn't use it under makeup if you can help it, I'd more use it in your evening routine, that's because of some of the ingredients. [...] In terms of drying types of alcohol it does not contain any of those. In terms of fragrance there's no fragrance ingredients. It has almost like a little bit of a licorice scent when you apply it and then it dissipates."
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"This is one of the very few tone-up sunscreens I actually liked. I have probably tried at least a dozen tone-up sunscreens and I've hated them all, but this one actually did a nice job. It gives you a little bit of a purplish color that kind of helps brighten up your skin tone a little bit. [...] This tone-up slightly tinted sunscreen lotion evens skin [...] tone for a glowing finish and can also act as a waterproof makeup base. It's got titanium dioxide so it's got a mineral filter and then it's got a ton of chemical filters: Tinosurb S, Juvénat Plus, Tinosurb M."
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How many sunscreens has No BS Beauty reviewed?

No BS Beauty has reviewed 37 sunscreens, for a Guru Score of 65%. 24 approved, 2 mixed, and 11 skipped.

What has No BS Beauty skipped in sunscreen?

She skipped 11 of the 37 she tested. Safety issues drove several of those calls. She flagged the Banana Boat Sunscreen after reading reports of people getting burned while using it. She skipped the Ultra Violette Mineral Sunscreen after it tested at only 4 to 7 SPF instead of the SPF 50 on the label. That was part of a recall that covered more than 30 brands. She also skipped the ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 after finding hers had expired. She noted that zinc-based mineral sunscreens in particular may stop working entirely once they are past their date.

What should you take from No BS Beauty's picks?

The thing that stands out in No BS Beauty's sunscreen record is that she names a reason for every skip. She leaned toward tinted formulas that work across a range of skin tones, went back to her favorites, and did not hold back when she spotted a safety issue. Her three named winners are Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment SPF 30, Kinship Self Reflect Mineral Sunscreen, and Skin Aqua Tone Up UV Essence.

Watch No BS Beauty say it

Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.

About this expert

No BS Beauty

See everything No BS Beauty has reviewed

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This guide reflects what No BS Beauty said across their videos about 37 products in sunscreen, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The Guru Score is our read on how warmly they talk about them. It is general information, not medical advice.