Review: Kiss My Face - Face Factor SPF 30 For Face & Neck

To contact us Click HERE
This summer I was looking or a good sunscreen (SPF30 or higher) that could double as a daytime moisturizer for my super-oily skin. As those with oily skin know, the less layers the better in summertime and, after extensive research, I decided to order this product from drugstore.com (apologies for the horrible photo of this tube, but the bright orange + teal freaked out my camera and made everything look blurry):
 Kiss My Face - Face Factor SPF 30 For Face & Neck(retail: $12.95, 2.0 oz)From kissmyface.com:

Face Factor is the ultimate in natural sun protection for your face. Now enriched with Hydresia for ultra-moisturizing. Face Factor is rich in antioxidant Green Tea and Licorice extracts to help fight damaging free radicals. Anti-aging peptides help reduce wrinkles and a remarkably effective Linoleic Acid helps decrease sensitivity to sunscreens, naturally. Natural Hyaluronic acid, Hydresia oleosomes, Aloe and Cucumber extract hydrate and soothe for beautiful skin every day. This fragrance free formula is water resistant and works great as a base under make-up.

    Attributes:
    biodegradable
    gluten free
    paraben free
    phthalate free
    sls free
    vegan friendly
    no animal testing
    no artificial fragrances

Active Ingredients: Octinoxate 7.50% Zinc Oxide 3.00% Octisalate 3.00% Other ingredients: Aqua, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Acrylates Copolymer, Polysorbate-20, Stearyl Alcohol, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower Oil) Seed Oil, Dimethicone, Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Oleosomes, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Cetyl Alcohol, Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, a-Lipoic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate (Hyaluronic Acid), Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Glycrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Extract, Ascorbyl Palmitate (Vitamin-C), Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin-E), Sodium Chloride, Linoleic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin

My full review, after the jump...
On paper, this looks like a dream product. Natural, hydrating ingredients, SPF30 and it "works great as a base under make-up."

Not only does this product have great reviews from users on retail sites, message boards, etc., but Paula Begoun also loves it (a huge plus for me personally). From her Beautypedia website:

Face Factor Face + Neck SPF 30 is a truly outstanding product in the Kiss My Face line! This in-part zinc oxide sunscreen for normal to dry skin contains a very good array of antioxidants, soothing agents, emollients, and the cell-communicating ingredients. Well done, and it’s fragrance-free, too! That is a great change of pace! This formula should be suitable for those struggling with dry skin and occasional breakouts; however, as with any skin-care product, it takes experimentation to discover what works best for you.

With all of these great things working in its favor, I chose to "ignore" the part about this being for "normal to dry skin". I figured, since KMF said this product works well as a base under makeup, maybe...just maybe...I could get it work for me. Worth a shot, right?



So here's the deal: this product is wonderful, but it's too heavy for me. My skin is just far too oily for this to function as a sunscreen + moisturizer in the summertime. I tested this product for six weeks and every time I used it, I waited a minimum of ten minutes to allow this product to sink into my skin before applying my makeup. No matter what I did, I just couldn't stop this product from making my makeup slide around my face after a few hours, and my face always had a lot of break-though shine an hour or two after makeup application. By the end of the day, I felt like my makeup was melting off my face.
You may be wondering why I started the above paragraph with "this product is wonderful". Well, that's because the one thing I absolutely, without a doubt, LOVE about this product is that it is extremely moisturizing. And when I say moisturizing, I don't just mean that my skin feels soft to the touch when I wear this product. I mean, my skin continues to feel smooth and hydrated, long after this product has faded away (or after I've cleansed my face). I love its hydrating properties so much that when my skin starts to feel a little parched (which it's prone to do when the season change) I find myself wearing this product at nighttime (which is a little weird considering it has SPF but I don't care!). If I apply it at night, my skin feels so hydrated in the morning--it's a like a great shot of moisturizer whenever I need it.
I've also found another use for this product since it didn't work for my face: I apply it to the tops of my hands when I know I'm going to be out in the sun for any period of time. If you're under 40, you probably don't have this concern (yet!) but as we age, the tops of our hands can start to look "mature". The best way to combat this is with a good sunscreen, and why not make it a hydrating one to boot? This stuff is perfect for that.
FINAL VERDICT: Too heavy for my oily skin, but I can completely understand why Paula Begoun and others gives this product rave reviews. It hydrates the skin beautifully, contains some great ingredients and it's also SPF30. If you have normal to dry skin, this might be an ideal sunscreen for you, or even a moisturizer/sunscreen hybrid. For my fellow oily-skinned readers out there, this might be worth a shot for cooler months (the weather here in San Diego is still pretty warm as of the time of this post, so I haven't had a chance to try it in cooler weather yet). I love it for the tops of my hands, which is a nice alternative if this doesn't work for your face.
You can find this product on the Kiss My Face website, drugstore.com, iherb.com, vitacost.com and other online retailers.
Do you own any Kiss My Face products? Have you tried this sunscreen? I'd love to hear from you!