This Buttery Sunscreen Is a Staple in My Daily Routine

There’s no denying that physical sunscreens—the ones that tap zinc oxide and titanium dioxide as their active ingredient—have gotten better and better as summers go by. And yet, even the best of them can still leave a somewhat chalky residue on skin that combats the sunniest months’ envied glow. Enter Good Weather Skin The One Daily Sun Cream, $48, an SPF 30, a mineral formula that launched last spring and has since become a staple in my daily routine (and many other editors as well).

The superior ingredients in this SPF—alongside its slightly golden tint—help it to stand apart from the rest of the solar protection system. After a year of wearing it, I’ve clocked enough hours under the sun to give this formula its first solid performance review, so read on if you’re on the hunt for your daily SPF. And while you’re at it, why not go ahead and check out a handful of the other formulas that we love.

High-quality SPF with the glow of luxury skin care

For a few years I’ve relied on European or Australian chemical sunscreens rather than using what we have here in the U.S. SPFs protect us from the sun’s rays using ingredients called filters and there are two main types: mineral filters (zinc oxide or titanium dioxide) or chemical filters (avobenzone, octinoxate, octocrylene, homosalate). Elsewhere in the world, newer filters like “tinosorb” are tapped for formulas, and many people—myself included—find them to be less sticky and more comfortable to wear on skin all day. (FYI: It’s looking likely that we could get tinosorb in the U.S. soon.) Because the U.S. hasn’t added any new sunscreen filters since 1999, new sunscreen launches haven’t really wow-ed me. A lot of the formulas feel like variations of one another and very few actually bring what feels like new innovation to the table. However, when I saw the buttery formula from Good Weather Skin, I was instantly intrigued—because not only was this formula a zinc-based product, but it also promised to give you the glow of luxury skin care.

I first tested this product when I was looking for the best face sunscreens of 2025 for GQ. When I’m testing products a lot of the time, I’ll use a new formula for a few days to see how it settles into my skin and then move on to the next one. This product was harder to give up; however, because unlike a lot of the formulas that require you to tug to get full coverage, this formula glides right onto skin, an important feature for men with beards who don’t want to wind up with chalky flecks of dried sunscreen later in the day.