The Ordinary UV Filters SPF 45 Serum: a Guru Score of 61%

What the experts use it for.

The concerns the experts tie this product to, in their own words. Paid and founder takes don't count.

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored

Mad About Skin

735k subs

~Nay

"It's greasy. It's shiny. It's really expensive for what you're getting. And in comparison to The Ordinary product pricing in general, you get 60 mil and it's like £16. Way overpriced for what you're getting. And it uses old style filters. I know why they do that. It's for the US market because of the outdated regulations from the FDA. I get that. But for anyone watching this from outside the US, we don't need this in our lives. We have so many better options on the market, we don't need this."

All 6 takes from Mad About Skin

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"If you're a US consumer and you're working with the FDA's outdated regulations around sunscreens, I think this is probably one of the best sunscreens you'll be able to buy over the counter, so that's nice. If you're watching from anywhere else in the world, it's nothing groundbreaking, and I think the newer generation filters are still better. So I'm kind of in two minds. I think it'll work really well for some people and less so for others. The finish is very dewy, like very dewy."

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"This sunscreen did genuinely leave a truly weightless finish on the skin. There was no heaviness to it. It did disappear really nicely. I found that it applied really well in terms of being able to massage it in without it peeling, balling up or budging, which if you remember the original sunscreen from The Ordinary, the peeling was unreal. Well, no peeling whatsoever here. There was no noticeable white cast either, and that's to be expected because this after all is a chemical sunscreen."

5⭐ SKIN FIRMING ROUTINE (Ultimate Anti Aging Skincare Routine)

"For the rest of the world that isn't the US, I think there's better options. It has [...] a really lightweight texture to it. [...] I don't mind this sunscreen, but I do find it's a little bit dewy for what I would actually want. [...] It doesn't distort the skin, you don't get any ashiness or discoloration from it, which I like. It's quite calming and soothing, but I just feel it's a little bit on the dewy side."

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"The sunscreen, I agree, it's nothing special. It's not a particularly great formulation. It hasn't got a great finish on the skin, and it's also not that affordable. When you look at the amount of product you're getting, it's actually not that cheap when it comes to sunscreens. And I would say to people, don't rush out and buy it. I don't think there's anything special there."

SKINCARE LIVESTREAM - Skincare Chat, Giveaways, Skincare Gossip and more

"This has got a dewy finish which a lot of people love. I don't, which is why I'm going to give that away unopened. I've already tried one. [...] It's nice if you like a dewy finish on a sunscreen, this is good."

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"It's greasy. It's shiny. It's really expensive for what you're getting. And in comparison to The Ordinary product pricing in general, you get 60 mil and it's like £16. Way overpriced for what you're getting. And it uses old style filters. I know why they do that. It's for the US market because of the outdated regulations from the FDA. I get that. But for anyone watching this from outside the US, we don't need this in our lives. We have so many better options on the market, we don't need this."

Abbey Yung

888k subs

~Mixed

"It made for a really nice makeup primer. But outside of that as a sunscreen by itself, [...] there's nothing amazing about it, it's good but not outstanding. If you're launching a $19 sunscreen in 2025, [...] I feel like this is just more of what we already have, which doesn't make it bad, [...] it's just not something that stands out to me as a remarkable new sunscreen launch."

Dr Dray

2.69M subs

~Nay

"The Ordinary's newest sunscreen is super dewy and shiny, and if a sunscreen is like that, I won't use it. [...] What a flop."

All 2 takes from Dr Dray

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"I don't know how it is that The Ordinary managed to mess it up because they took a chemical sunscreen and somehow made it just as uncomfortable to wear as the mineral counterparts. This UV Filters SPF 45 Serum, because this thing is so oily. Many mineral sunscreens feel more comfortable than this. It's so oily. It's like, did I just put cleansing balm all over my face? When you put it on, there's no white cast. [...] Great. We expect that with a chemical sunscreen. But it feels heavy."

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"The Ordinary's newest sunscreen is super dewy and shiny, and if a sunscreen is like that, I won't use it. [...] What a flop."

Nipun Kapur

413k subs

~Yay

"Overall I think this is a really really good product. And if you are someone who generally has trust issues. Right? And you are wondering if there is acne-prone production or not. Now you have an international brand which is put it out there. It's an SPF 45, a true SPF 45, giving you 98% protection."

Translated from the guru's original language.

Dr. Shereene Idriss

1.74M subs

~Yay

"The Ordinary UV Filters SPF 45 Serum. It's a brand new launch for $19. It's pretty incredible. It is very lightweight. It is serum-like and it is fragrance free and it is great for the person who hates sunscreen."

Top Pick: sunscreen for sunscreen haters

No BS Beauty

89k subs

~Nay

"The Ordinary UV filter serum, which is 19 bucks. It's a bummer to sell this in the US, but they use US-based filters. It sucks because otherwise I'd be really, really excited about it. Now I'm like, is it gonna be greasy? Is it gonna have that chemical smell? Probably. Probably on both of those accounts. So, they could make one and not have to abide by the US sunscreen standards. It would be so much better."

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Sunscreen filters

Sun protection is the best evidenced way to slow visible ageing, and the filters are what does the work. Mineral and chemical filters both protect when a product is applied thickly enough and often enough, which is where most people fall short rather than on the choice of filter.

Source: DermNet

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an antioxidant, and it is often in a formula to keep the other ingredients stable rather than as the active itself. It pairs well with vitamin C, though on its own the evidence for visible change is limited.

Source: NIH, National Library of Medicine

Frequently asked.

What is The Ordinary UV Filters SPF 45 Serum?

A lightweight, fragrance-free SPF 45 chemical sunscreen serum from The Ordinary using FDA-approved UV filters for broad-spectrum protection.

Is The Ordinary UV Filters SPF 45 Serum worth it?

The gurus are split. 2 of the 6 gurus give it their stamp of approval while 3 would skip it, which lands it in the middle at a Guru Score of 61%.

What is The Ordinary UV Filters SPF 45 Serum's Guru Score?

The Ordinary UV Filters SPF 45 Serum holds a Guru Score of 61%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 6 expert reviewers we have collected. At least one expert has named it a Top Pick in its category.