Supergoop made sunscreen feel like something you’d genuinely want to put on, and that’s a big deal for a product that only works if you wear it daily. What surprises a lot of fans is that the sunscreen filters inside are the same ones you’ll find in drugstore bottles. The closest match we found is Sun Bum Original SPF 50 as a stand-in for PLAY, with the same SPF, the same four filters and the same 80 minutes of water resistance at under half the price per ounce. The other five are close in type and finish rather than identical, and two of them are looser matches, which we’ll point out as we go.
Prices move around a lot, so treat these as ballpark figures.
PLAY lotion and Sun Bum, nearly twins
PLAY Everyday Lotion SPF 50 is Supergoop’s original face and body lotion. Its filters are avobenzone 3%, homosalate 10%, octisalate 5% and octocrylene 7.5%, it stays water resistant for 80 minutes, and the 5.5-ounce tube runs about $28.
Sun Bum Original SPF 50 matches the SPF, the 80-minute water resistance and all four filters. Three are at the same strength, and the octocrylene sits a little higher at 10%. It’s scented, with fragrance and vitamin E, and the bottle is bigger, 8 ounces for about $19, so you pay less than half as much per ounce. That matters more than it sounds, because the most common sunscreen mistake is simply using too little. Our guide to how much sunscreen to apply shows what a proper amount looks like.
Swapping Every. Single. Face. for Hydro Boost
Every. Single. Face. Watery Lotion SPF 50 is a thin, water-based face sunscreen that feels refreshing and cool going on. The filters are avobenzone 3%, homosalate 9%, octisalate 5% and octocrylene 9%. It’s water resistant for 40 minutes, there’s no fragrance in the ingredients, and a 1.7-ounce bottle costs about $34.
Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel Sunscreen SPF 50 is a water-based lotion with the same SPF and the same four filters, though with more homosalate, at 15%. It adds hyaluronic acid and lasts twice as long in water, a full 80 minutes. It also contains fragrance and a blue dye, which is worth knowing if your skin reacts easily. The tube holds 3 ounces for about $12, so you get nearly twice the product at a fraction of the cost.
The clear gel everyone asks about
Unseen Sunscreen SPF 50 is the clear gel that made Supergoop famous, and it has its own full review here. There’s no water in it at all. It’s made mostly of silicones and a light, fast-drying oil called isododecane, which is where that dry, primer-like slip comes from. The filters are avobenzone 3%, homosalate 7%, octisalate 5% and octocrylene 9%, it’s water resistant for 40 minutes, and the ingredients list no fragrance.
e.l.f. Suntouchable Invisible SPF 35 is built the same way, clear and water-free with isododecane and silicone, and it doubles as a makeup primer. Three of its four filters match Unseen’s strength, and the octocrylene is one point lower at 8%. It’s water resistant for 80 minutes, has no fragrance in the ingredients, and comes in the same 50 ml size for about $15.
The one real difference is the number on the front, SPF 35 next to Unseen’s 50. That number comes from lab testing, so trust it over any guess based on ingredient percentages. Our SPF 30 vs. SPF 50 guide explains what the gap means on an ordinary day. If the clear finish is what you love, this is the closer swap of the two gels.
Getting a Glowscreen kind of dewiness from Naturium
Glowscreen SPF 40 is a tinted, pearly sunscreen that also works as a primer, and it comes in four glow shades from champagne to deep bronze. Under the shimmer, it’s a chemical sunscreen lotion with niacinamide and hyaluronic acid, and it isn’t water resistant. Our link goes to Dawn, the pink pearl shade.
Naturium Dew-Glow Moisturizer SPF 50 gets its glow from the moisturizer side instead. It uses three of Glowscreen’s four filters, avobenzone, homosalate and octisalate, at a higher SPF, and it shares the niacinamide and hyaluronic acid. It’s dewy and fragrance-free, comes in the same 1.7-ounce size for about $22, and isn’t water resistant either. What it can’t give you is color. Dew-Glow has no tint, so your skin looks fresh and dewy rather than champagne or bronze, and if the tint is the reason you buy Glowscreen, nothing on this list replaces it.
A mineral-only skin tint in place of Protec(tint)
Protec(tint) Daily Skin Tint SPF 50 is Supergoop’s blend of makeup and sunscreen, with light, buildable coverage and a natural finish in 14 shades. It mixes 13.58% zinc oxide with two chemical filters, homosalate and octisalate, isn’t water resistant, and costs about $44 for 1.18 ounces.
e.l.f. Halo Glow Skin Tint SPF 50 is the same kind of product with the same SPF at a much friendlier price. Its filters are different, which makes it the loosest match here. It relies on 12% zinc oxide and nothing else, so it’s a natural pick if you prefer mineral-only. It also lasts 80 minutes in water and includes niacinamide. Our chemical versus physical sunscreen explainer covers how that changes the way it feels. Both links open on a light shade, so choose your own once you’re there.
A brush-on powder for touch-ups, for half the price
(Re)setting Mineral Powder SPF 35 is a loose sunscreen powder in a tube with a built-in brush, made for touching up over makeup in the middle of the day. Its only filter is zinc oxide at 24.7%. The tube holds 0.15 ounces, the finish is matte, and you can choose from four shades, Translucent, Light, Medium and Deep.
Hawaiian Tropic Mineral Powder Sunscreen Brush is the same idea at about half the price, a brush-on powder with 24.5% zinc oxide in the same 0.15-ounce size. The SPF is 30, five points lower, it only comes in translucent, and it has added fragrance where Supergoop’s doesn’t. Neither one is water resistant. If you love a tinted powder, Supergoop is still the one to buy. Either way, brush it on over your regular sunscreen rather than in place of it, since it’s hard to tell how much powder lands on your face. Our roundup of sunscreens for reapplying has more ideas for that afternoon top-up.
Times Supergoop is worth the splurge
Pay for the original when the SPF number is the reason you bought it. Unseen is SPF 50 and its partner is SPF 35, which is a fair trade for a commute and a day at your desk, but for a full day outdoors the higher number is worth having.
Color is the other reason. Glowscreen’s tint and the three tinted shades of the (Re)setting powder have no match in their cheaper partners, which are clear or translucent. Fragrance matters too. Every. Single. Face. has none in its ingredients, while the Neutrogena that replaces it is scented, and a sunscreen you happily wear every morning beats a cheaper one sitting in a drawer.
Picking your first Supergoop swap
Swapping just one bottle? Start with PLAY for Sun Bum. It’s the closest match here, and body sunscreen is the bottle you’ll empty fastest. If you wear makeup most days and spend them indoors, e.l.f. Suntouchable Invisible can stand in for Unseen, with SPF 50 saved for weekends outside.
For skin that doesn’t like fragrance, look at e.l.f. Suntouchable Invisible and Naturium Dew-Glow, since Sun Bum, the Neutrogena and the Hawaiian Tropic powder all contain it. If you get stinging or a rash that won’t settle, check in with a dermatologist. Fans of mineral-only sunscreen can lean on the Hawaiian Tropic powder for touch-ups and Halo Glow as a tinted base, because the others here use chemical filters.
And if you’ll be swimming or sweating, stick to the 80-minute formulas, which are PLAY, Sun Bum, the Neutrogena, e.l.f. Suntouchable Invisible and Halo Glow. Glowscreen, Dew-Glow, Protec(tint) and both powders aren’t water resistant.
SPF means the same thing on a $12 tube as on a $34 one, and what really changes your protection is how much you put on and reapplying every two hours, sooner after swimming or sweating. Our Unseen review covers who’s better off with the original, our roundup of sunscreens under makeup has more base-friendly picks, and the skin care archive covers the rest of your morning routine. Whatever you pick, spend some of the savings on a second tube, because the sunscreen that protects you best is the one you use plenty of.
