A sunscreen oil may seem a bit counterintuitive for some, especially those who hear “oil” and are immediately transported to the ’80s when baby oil sun-bathing was a not-yet-taboo ritual. However, a new indie brand called Vacation—beauty editors quickly went googly-eyed over it; I’ve been using the lotion all summer—is spinning this concept on its head with the launch of its new Chardonnay Oil SPF 30 ($22).
Hitting the sunscreen scene today, the vegan, clear oil—it works on all skin tones—is unlike any of its kind that I’ve tried personally, and has this addictive scent you’ll want to keep sniffing. “This one is our baby,” says Dakota Green, cofounder of Vacation (under the Poolsuite FM umbrella). “We wanted the scent to feel celebratory, like when you pop champagne. We call it Grand Cru ’86.”
The key ingredient is chardonnay grape seed oil, which is sourced from chardonnay seeds. “It feels lightweight and refreshing on skin, and it helps to nourish and protect skin as well,” says Green. “It also contains jojoba, shea, marula and passion fruit oils, and rubs in super quick—no oil-slick feeling here. It adds a little bit of enviable shine though, so hopefully it will deter people from using tanning oil.”
The broad-spectrum 30 SPF comes from a mixture of UV filters commonly used to formulate chemical sunscreen—avobenzone, homosalate, octisalate and octocrylene—without oxybenzone or octinoxate, so it’s also reef-friendly. And as a bonus, the retro-inspired packaging is made from recycled materials.
“I always tell my patients that the best sunscreen is the one you’ll actually wear, which is why I’m so excited about this SPF,” says New York dermatologist Elizabeth Hale, MD. “I know people will eagerly reach for the bottle to apply and reapply liberally because it feels so good on the skin. The formulation makes for a sunscreen that’s actually ‘fun’ to use, and it’s perfect for all skin tones because it’s truly transparent.”
