Goldenface Cosplay: Supergoop Glow Screen Review
Are you a fan of The Office? Have you always wanted to cosplay as Jim Halpert as Goldenface in Threat Level Midnight? Well you’re in luck because Supergoop’s newest Glow Screen sunscreen is perfect if you would like to paint your face in a thin layer of gold. Of course, if you’re looking for a sunscreen with a natural glow… you’re sh*t out of luck (in my humble opinion.) The brand claims this is “makeup-gripping primer” with a “pearlescent finish to leave skin luminous with an instant glow.” Let’s see how that pans out 👀
I received this sunscreen in a PR mailer, but all thoughts are most assuredly my own.
Price & Availability
$17.00 - $36.00 for 0.5 fl oz - 1.7 fl oz via Sephora, Urban Outfitters, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, Bluemercury, & Supergoop
Ingredients
Active Ingredients: Avobenzone 3%, Octisalate 5%, Octocrylene 10%; Inactive Ingredients: Water, Propanediol, Butyloctyl Salicylate, Glycerin, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Niacinamide, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Bismuth Oxychloride, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Lauryl Lactate, Isododecane, Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Glyceryl Stearate, Diisopropyl Sebacate, Cetyl Phosphate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Coco-Caprylate, Ethylhexyl Hydroxystearate, Butylene Glycol, Arginine, Hydroxyacetophenone, Caprylyl Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Iron Oxides, Sodium Hyaluronate, Chlorphenesin, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Phospholipids, Limonium Gerberi Extract, Leuconostoc/ Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Extract, Pantothenic Acid, Tocopherol, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Ferulic Acid
Packaging
It comes in classic Supergoop packaging— a plastic, squeeze tube with a screw on cap. It’s easy to pop into your bag for reapplication.
Texture
Liquidy and runny, but also kind of thick. I find it difficult to blend in and absorb into my skin.
Scent
It is free of synthetic fragrance and essential oils aaaand it doesn’t really smell like anything.
Finish & Application
If you read the intro for this post, you won’t be surprised to hear that I hated this. The finish of this is unreal, in the worst way possible. There is way too much golden pigment in this sunscreen for it to be flattering on the skin. It highlights every little nook, cranny, hair, zit, and wrinkle on my face. It’s the first skincare product I’ve tried that instantly ages me by a few decades. You may think I was being facetious when I compared myself to Goldenface while wearing this sunscreen, but I’m not that far off. I’m almost embarrassed to upload this photo of myself because of how bad it looks!
When blended in with my fingers, it takes a long time for streaks to be blended away for for my skin to absorb this. In the hideous selfie above, I blended the sunscreen in with my fingers and then let it sink into my skin for about 3 minutes. The only way for this to look wearable on my skin is too blend it in with my fingers and then follow up with a sponge. But that leads to another issue— the sponge soaks up some of the product which in turn reduces the amount of sun protection I’m receiving.
Also, it irritates my eyes (but full disclosure: about 75% of sunscreens irritate my eyes.)
Sunscreen PSAs
This seems like the opportune moment to remind everyone of two important sunscreen PSAs:
The amount of sunscreen you apply matters. To receive the level of sun protection advertised, you need to apply 2 mg per cm², which roughly translates to 1/4 tsp sunscreen to cover your face.
Do not mix other sunscreens, skincare, or makeup into your sunscreen!!!
If you’re like me, you probably don’t care to measure out 1/4 tsp every single day. A quick shortcut I picked up from Fiddy Snails is to apply three fingers worth of sunscreen (she has a demo in the blog post I linked. She does blend it out with a sponge but I’m lazy and simply use my fingers.) Even though Supergoop recommends applying 1/4 tsp as well (or 1/2 tsp to face + neck), none of their advertising for this sunscreen properly shows that. On their instagram they have models applying Glow Screen to show how it wears… but none of them apply enough!! A teeny dot of sunscreen does not provide sufficient protection! It’s frustrating to see a brand which reminds consumers to apply sunscreen every 👏 single 👏 day 👏 misrepresent how much sunscreen is needed.
Onto the second point, I had a few people ask me if I could mix this in with another sunscreen to improve its wearability. This is also NOT RECOMMENDED. Dermatologists and chemists agree that mixing other products into your sunscreen is a no-no because you no longer know what sort of protection, if any, you’re receiving from the sunscreen. Michelle at Lab Muffin also has more information on why it’s a bad idea to mix products into your sunscreen.
Final Thoughts
I feel a little bit bad for being super harsh on this review, but this was one of the worst beauty products I’ve tried in 2020. I do generally like Supergoop’s other chemical sunscreens— they’re lightweight and wear well under most products. Some are pretty siliconey, but most of my skincare is silicone free so I face minimal issues with pilling. I’ve been wearing their PLAY everyday sunscreen which leaves a more natural looking dew to my skin (it’s free of the golden pigments found in the Glow Screen sunscreen.)
