Temple Spa Life Defence SPF30 Protecting Moisturiser

Now it’s summer, there’s a lot of focus on products containing SPF but we should all wearing sun protection every single day of the year to protect ourselves from the sun regardless of how hot the temperature is. I used to naively believe that the sun could only damage the skin during the summer, but that’s totally not the case. Even when it’s cold or the rain is pouring, you have to wear SPF as the suns ultraviolet rays are prevalent regardless of the weather as the suns rays can even penetrate through the clouds. Sun damage can cause premature aging with upto 90% of premature aging is said to be caused by the sun. It can also cause hyperpigmentation, sun allergies and skin cancers so it’s imperative to wear an SPF even when wearing makeup. I was kindly sent the new Temple Spa Life Defence SPF30 Protecting Moisturiser £38 to try, and I’ve been testing it over the last few weeks. 

Temple Spa UV Facts:

UVA rays are 30 to 50 times stronger than UVB rays. They are known to cause damage at all levels of the epidermis resulting in premature skin ageing and are a cause of deep lines and wrinkles. The UVA filter in LIFE DEFENCE is Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane.

UVB rays do not penetrate the skin as deeply as UVA rays. The intense energy from UVB rays is spread over the upper layers of the skin and can cause more damage. UVB rays are
the primary cause of skin reddening, sunburn and photoaging. The UVB filters in LIFE DEFENCE are Octyocrylene, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate & Ethylhexyl Salicylate.

This summer I’ve been using the Riemann P20 Once a Day Sun Protection SPF50 on my body as it’s my favourite sun protection. However I’ve been hunting for the perfect facial SPF product as it’s much too greasy for applying to the face, especially as my skin’s so sensitive and prone to breakouts. I’ve purchased a couple of different facial sun protection products recently so I can test them all out but I was particularly looking forward to trying this offering from Temple Spa as it’s already won a Pure Beauty Global Awards award even though it’s a brand new launch. 

“This feather-light moisturiser provides an environmental skin filter for your face. With UVA/UVB broad-spectrum protection SPF 30, plus a potent antioxidant complex of rocket, ginseng root, vitamin E and hyaluronic acid.

These clever ingredients create a barrier against the sun and skin-damaging free radicals, city pollution, air con, high energy visible blue light from digital devices and daily skin stress. LIFE DEFENCE safeguards your skin leaving it comfortable, radiant and healthy, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.“

Suitable For:

• All skin types, even sensitive

• Great as a moisturiser for those with normal skin types

• Men and women

• City dwellers

• Sports lovers

• The outdoorsy types

• The digital obsessed

Blue light defence seems like a somewhat buzzword right now with many skincare products being launched claiming to protect against blue light technology. Blue light is seen as being both beneficial and harmful on the skin and this article does a really great job at explaining what blue light is, how it is emitted and the way it can effect the skin and eyes. I have a blue light protective shield on my glasses which was recommended by my ophthalmologist but I hadn’t really thought about the damage blue light could be causing my skin. 

The Temple Spa Life Defence SPF30 Protecting Moisturiser 50ml is packaged within a white, plastic tube which you can squeeze product out of. The Life Defence Moisturiser used to come with a pump and had an SPF of 25, but the formula has been revamped and improved. I never tried the old formula but I think I’d prefer a squeezy tube for an SPF as it’s quick and easy to use.

The moisturiser is white in colour and has a lotion consistency which I warm up between my fingers before smoothing over my face, neck and decolletage. It has a very light formula which is ideal for the face as it doesn’t effect your makeup when applied over the top. It doesn’t make my skin look greasy or shiny, nor does it make my makeup separate when applied over the top. Some facial SPF products cause makeup to move around almost as if it never fully dried on the skin, but the Temple Spa Life Defence dries down in under a minute.

Temple Spa say that it can be applied alone, but you could apply over the top of your moisturiser should you want to. I think this would be good for the winter months when I need a really rich moisturiser for my dry skin, so I could layer Life Defence over the top. Life Defence is a light moisturiser but it’s absolutely fine for me on its own during the spring and summer, and leaves my skin feeling hydrated and soft.

I like that this product is broad spectrum protecting against both UVA and UVB rays, and is an ‘absorber’ so it’ll absorb some of the rays that come from external pollution, sun and light, but this new reformulated version can absorb the blue light rays to protect the skin. It has a nice pleasant, subtle skincare scent and it doesn’t have the typical SPF sunscreen kind of scent, and it doesn’t feel like a sun protection product either.

Temple Spa recommend applying every two hours if you’re exposed to the sun, but that’s not something I have done. I never ever sunbathe and try and keep my sun exposure to the absolute minimum due to how pale I am, and due to a couple of problematic moles. If you wear this alone without makeup, it’d be easier to reapply but obviously once you’ve put makeup on over the top, it wouldn’t be possible to reapply although some brands do offer spray SPF products.

Overall this is definitely one of the best non-SPF feeling SPFs which I massively appreciate as I’m all about the lighter formulas especially in the summer months and I like that my skin’s protected both indoors with blue light and outside with harmful UVA and UVB rays.

*Disclaimer: as of May 2020, I’ll no longer be featuring any Multi-Level Marketing brands on my blog, so whilst I still stand by my review, I won’t be promoting any MLM brands going forward*

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