Let’s Just Get to the Point:
Sunscreen should be simple, effective and pleasant to use. Hint Grapefruit Sunscreen Spray ($15), a fruit-scented spray-on option checks all those boxes and more.
If You Want to Know More:
Certain things just make sense together. Peanut butter and jelly. Carrie and Big. Flavored water and SPF 30.
Okay, so that last pair might not be the most obvious, but it’s a real one. Hint, the beverage company whose unsweetened flavored waters are popular among wellness aficionados, has branched into sun protection. Like the waters, hint sunscreen is infused with fruit essences (grapefruit, pear or pineapple) that, in this case, lend a fresh and light scent.
In an already-crowded sunscreen market, what makes hint stand out? For starters, the nonsticky formula is free of parabens and oxybenzone, two ingredients whose safety has been called into question. What it does have is broad-spectrum SPF 30 protection, plus extracts such as aloe vera juice and karanja oil. (They don’t do anything to boost sun protection, but they may soothe sensitive skin.) And, as you might expect from a body sunscreen, it’s water-resistant for 80 minutes.
What’s more, this spray is easy to use. Hint boasts of its bag-on-valve technology, which allows for smooth application without using propellant chemicals that can irritate skin. This might sound like nerdy packaging innovation—and it is!—but the proof is in the pushin’. Press down on the can and a smooth, fine mist comes forth to uniformly coat skin in SPF 30. The can sprays evenly at any angle, making it easy to coat even hard-to-reach spots like the backs of the knees. Given its simplicity, effectiveness and pleasant scent, hint sunscreen may be as much of a beach essential as, well, water.