A Little Something For The Weekend?

By Anne Marie Scanlon

Funny thing that with all of the Bag Ladies interviewed in the Irish Examiner none of them admitted to carrying any protection in their purses. Surely the modern girl knows that there is no shame in being prepared for all eventualities whether it be pepper spray, sun screen or rubber goods (or hopefully a selection of all three). Now you might think that I'm trivializing certain issues by lumping the unwanted advances of a man; wanted advances without precautions and forgetting to use sunscreen. I'm not. The consequences of all three can be serious and indeed devastating in equal amounts. I dealt at length with the subject of skin cancer in this column a fortnight ago so let me just remind you one bad burn is all it takes. So with that in mind let's put together a shopping list for sun protection. (Rubber goods and pepper spray I'll leave to your own devices).

The Sally Hershberger Face Place Face Shield SPF 30 ($36) is an oil and fragrance free sun block which provides skin with full-spectrum sun protection without stripping skin of moisture. Sally Hershberger's Face Place in Hollywood, L.A. has long been considered by those in the know as the place to go for the best in skin care so there was much rejoicing in NY when she opened a Face Place here in May of last year.

Jurlique have a number of products for the faint skinned including the Broad Spectrum SPF 30+ Sun Lotion ($63). This is a complete and balanced non-greasy moisturizer suitable for all skin types which protects against UV-A, UV-B and UV-C. It is specifically designed for use when prolonged exposure o the sun may occur while moisturizing skin at the same time. In case you've been less than careful Jurlique also have a number of after-sun products including Calendula Cream ($32) which not only works to sooth sunburn but will help heal other skin irritations such as insect bites and cuts.

Clinique too, have a full range of sun protection and after care products. Pale skin Celts might want to check out their UV Response 50 Body Cream ($18.50) and the UV Response 50 for Face ($15.50). Clinique also have an After Sun Rescue Balm ($17.50) an ultra moisturizing product developed to help calm and 'repair' post-sun skin. And for those ultra-delicate lip and eye areas Clinique has the Sun-Care Lip/Eye 30 SPF ($16.50) a full-spectrum sunscreen in a convenient stick form.

Clarins recently introduced a Sun Wrinkle Control Eye Contour Care SPF 30 ($24.50) which is oil-free and has an ultra fine texture for easy application. Actually considering that your skin can suffer on even cloudy overcast days this would make a good addition to your make up bag year round. In the better weather use in conjunction with Sun Control Stick Ultra Protection SPF 30 ($24.50) designed for the sun sensitive areas of nose, lips and ears. Finally for the rest of your face Clarins have Sun Wrinkle Control Cream Very High Protection SPF 15 or SPF 30 ($27.50) which has a lightweight non-oily texture for smoothing on easily. This product should be applied to the face and décolleté at least 30 minutes before sun exposure.

I know despite my best efforts there re still plenty of you who will insist on baking yourselves on a beach. Well if you must then at least take along the Hampton Sun SPF 15 Gel ($35) which is designed specifically for those who like to tan. Alternatively you could try out Kiehl's Vital Sun Protection (SPF 15 or 30) ($17.50 - 18.50).