We tested the viral, color-changing Colorescience sunscreen and love that it doubles as makeup
Content is created by CNN Underscored’s team of editors who work independently from the CNN newsroom. When you buy through links on our site, CNN and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Learn more
I’ve tested and written about tons of sunscreens but none like this. The Colorescience Sunforgettable Total Protection Face Shield Flex SPF 50 features a unique formula that changes colors before your eyes, turning from white to a flexible shade to match your skin tone. After seeing it go viral on TikTok, I had to try it.
Enlisting the help of a few other editors, we put the sunscreen to the test in front of the camera. We were pleasantly surprised with the product, watching it transform from white to each of our skin tones. As I continued to use the sunscreen, it became an effortless step in my beauty routine. I’ve now been using it for a month and the novelty still hasn’t worn off — I look forward to seeing it melt into my shade every time I apply it.
Colorescience Sunforgettable Total Protection Face Shield Flex SPF 50
Available in four color-shifting shades, this face sunscreen protects the skin from UVA and UVB rays, blue light and pollution while also serving as a complexion product with medium coverage. It’s skin care and makeup all in one — which is something Colorescience excels at.
$54 at Dermstore
$54 at Amazon
$54 at Colorescience
What we liked about it
The hybrid makeup-skin care formula
Nowadays, most makeup is expected to have skin care benefits. The Colorescience’s Face Shield Flex shows that the opposite can be true too: This skin care product is a worthy alternative to traditional foundation, thanks to its unique color-shifting formula. While it comes out of the bottle white, the iron oxide pigments activate as you blend it in, and the result is a medium-coverage finish. It evened my skin tone, covering up redness and discoloration and even camouflaged some of my blemishes. The tester that tried the Fair shade liked that it balanced her skin tone but still let her freckles show through. It’s comparable to a tinted moisturizer but with a more serum-like consistency.
As someone who prefers the no-makeup makeup look, I thought this was easy to incorporate into my routine, and I used it as my main complexion product. It’s best applied with the fingers since this helps activate the encapsulated pigments. According to the brand, you should let it set for one to two minutes to allow the shade to fully develop on your skin. If you want more coverage, you can follow with another layer of the Face Shield Flex.
It gives a natural, dewy finish to the skin and works well layered with other liquid or cream makeup products. I wore it underneath the Jones Road Neutralizer Pencil and Tower 28 Swipe Serum Concealer for color correcting my dark under-eye circles and it was a seamless base. On my cheeks, I layered Merit’s Flush Balm on top of the Face Shield Flex, and it easily blended. The brand even suggests using Face Shield Flex underneath traditional foundation for those who want a full-coverage finish.
It’s a mineral sunscreen
With 12% zinc oxide as its active ingredient, Face Shield Flex is a 100% mineral sunscreen formula. That means it uses zinc oxide as a physical barrier between UV rays and your skin. Mineral sunscreens are generally safe for sensitive skin and unlike chemical sunscreens, don’t run the risk of being absorbed into the bloodstream. The formula is rated broad-spectrum SPF 50 PA++++, which indicates protection against UVA and UVB rays. It is also water-resistant up to 40 minutes. Along with sun protection, Face Shield Flex is infused with niacinamide, vitamin E and antioxidants to nourish the skin and guard against blue light and pollution.
While mineral sunscreens have a reputation for leaving a white cast, there’s no worry of that with this formula, thanks to its shade-matching pigments. In order to get a full dose of SPF 50 protection, it’s recommended to use a nickel-sized amount of product for the whole face. This felt like a lot at first, but looked better when applied in two layers.
What we didn’t like about it
Limited shade range
Face Shield Flex comes in four shades (Fair, Medium, Tan and Deep), and we found that the shade-matching looked best in person but showed up slightly different on camera (which you can see in the Instagram Reel above). For the Fair color, it looked slightly chalky on camera but once the shade fully “developed” on the skin, it looked natural in person. For the Deep shade, it appeared a bit orange at first but then blended to match her skin tone. This tester noted that she would have preferred a darker finish. It was also clear that the Deep shade wouldn’t have worked on darker skin tones than hers. This limitation is noted in the FAQs for the product, and the brand explains that working with opaque zinc oxide and the iron oxide pigments presents a threshold for the shade range they’re currently able to offer. However, the brand is continuing to develop and expand the Flex shade range and aims to offer products that work with a wide range of skin tones.
It’s also worth mentioning that the brand says you can mix and match any Face Shield products for a custom color match if you’re in between shades.
Not the best for oily skin
I have combination skin that gets oily in my T-zone by the end of the day and found that this product makes me look even shinier. It claims to have a “demi-matte” finish, which was true for our tester with dry skin, but it looked satin and dewy on me and got a bit greasy looking with longer wear. Although it has an oil-free formula, it sits on top of the skin like any mineral sunscreen. So as my skin gets oily, the coverage begins to decrease and look less blended in. (Although, this is an issue I face with traditional foundations too.)
Using a face primer helped to a degree, but I found that the best way to nix the shine with Face Shield Flex was to use the Colorescience Brush-On Sunscreen Mineral Powder as the finishing touch on my T-zone and reapply as necessary throughout the day. The face powder adds another layer of mineral SPF 50 protection, is travel-friendly and super easy to reapply, and helps reduce oiliness and shine.
How it compares
As mentioned before, Face Shield Flex is most akin to a tinted moisturizer. While there are plenty of other tinted moisturizers with SPF on the market, this one succeeds in offering a higher SPF 50 level of protection (most of our other favorites have SPF 30) and true medium coverage. Other tinted moisturizers with SPF I’ve tried feel less like makeup and more like sunscreen. For example, the CeraVe Tinted Sunscreen with SPF 30 is a popular and affordable mineral sunscreen with a sheer tint, but it first and foremost feels like an SPF product and only has a touch of a color to combat the white cast. On the other hand, the It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream is closer in price and a full-coverage, color-correcting tinted moisturizer that feels like foundation. It has SPF 50, but it’s best applied with a brush and requires some intermediate makeup skills as the formula can be drying.
Face Shield Flex finds the perfect balance between these two examples, offering a fuss-free and beginner-friendly application, ample coverage and full SPF 50 protection. While $54 seems steep for a sunscreen, I feel the price is justified since it does the job of two products.
Bottom line
Beauty product innovation can often feel lacking or gimmicky, which is why it’s like striking gold when you find a unique product that actually delivers on all its claims. Colorescience’s Face Shield Flex feels like magic as its color-shifting formula does its thing, and the impressive makeup-like results prove that it’s a true hybrid product, bridging your skin care and makeup routines in one quick step. And the best part? You’ll never forget to put sunscreen on again.
Note: The prices above reflect the retailers' listed price at the time of publication.
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
