bought this sunscreen when I went home to Venda for a weekend and I realised I had forgotten my sunscreen. I was in a near panic because in Limpopo the sun doesn’t play – it gets as hot as 40deg in the summer. Even the cold water comes out hot in the afternoons! Anyways so I popped into Edgars to look for sunscreen and amongst the choices I saw a small yellow tube with the famous phrase ’8 Hour Cream’ and price sticker of R195 (US$20) and I thought well this is a great find.

What I love about this sunscreen is that it is quite rich and that meant that I could go without moisturiser. I simply put on my serum then followed with the sunscreen; fewer layers in the Limpopo heat was a godsend. I also liked that it has a high Sun Protection Factor(SPF) of 50, which is ideal if you are correcting skin problems. The sunscreen is a light yellow colour with a thick texture. Being quite dark the sunscreen left me with a pasty, whitish look which meant that I had to put on powder if I didn’t want to be mistaken for Casper the Ghost. So the advantage of being able to forgo moisturiser is cancelled out by having to brush on powder to maintain your skin tone. Nevertheless, the product did it job. I spent hours in the sun, duly reapplying the sunscreen every 2/3 hours and I didn’t get a heat rash or breakout or any tanning like I normally would. The downside to this product is that is its colour which is due to the fact that sun protection ingredients like zinc oxide are white but also because it is not designed for African skin. The Casper effect is not the worst I’ve come across but it does lose the product some points.

Nevertheless, its job is to moisturise and protect from the sun and it does that exceedingly well.

I recently bought this sun-cream @ Foschini stores , I needed one desperately as I spend most of my work week on the road exposed to the Durban suun . R200 I thought was not bad ,sincing it is EA . It left me hot , redder on the cheeks than normal and with a rash on my temples and itchy .
Definitly not recommended for sensitive skin .

Now, ever since I attended the Cosmo Elizabeth Arden event I’ve become somewhat engrossed in all things EA! I can’t help but boast whenever I hear someone mention their products and have to try and refrain myself from passing their products at the beauty counters.

The Eight Hour Cream is such a world-wide phenomenon from Elizabeth Arden that I was sure their Sun Defence Face cream would be perfect for me. It did after all have a really high SPF and would protect my skin from the harsh outdoors. I was lucky to have received this sample from the Elizabeth Arden counter at Edgars Pavillion a while back and only recently had the privilege of using it. On a blistering hot, dry day spent with family at the Oribi Gorge and Lake Eland Nature Reserve.

After about 3 hours my face was environmentally scarred; the heat, dehydration and very very very long hike had taken its toll (my lungs stood no chance either after those darn 800steps). I finally spotted the rest room once we completed the ascend and had to clean myself up That’s when I noticed the bright yellow sachet with its many white figured 8’s gleaming up at me from my bag.

The full-sized product is yellow with a white flip-top lid. The tube also has white figure 8’s all over.

I was ecstatic that this “beauty-saver” was in my reach and quickly pulled and tugged at the slit until it was torn apart. The cream was a whitish/yellow colour and took some time to apply. It has a consistency very similar to sunblock, with its high SPF50 and non-creamy texture. It also took some time to absorb but once did left my skin very hydrated and supple. The moisture was clearly locked in but so was a very oily and shiny looking after-glow. My skin had this very un-pleasant sheen to it which made me feel more like I would’ve been better off with actual sunblock.

Its powerful SPF50 PA+++ offers maximum protection against UVA/UVB rays that can cause sunburn, surface skin cell damage and pre-mature signs of aging.

The one absolute criticism I have of this cream is its odour! OMG, I smelt of ginger for the rest of the day! At first I was quite infatuated with the scent and the laughs it brought but after the next hour the thrill had worn off. I was left smelling like a pizza and having a shiny forehead, definitely not how I wanted to be remembered when we look through the snaps of that day.

The cream really has amazing qualities and properties, like its high SPF which makes it perfect for the budding outdoorsman…HHmmmm maybe the odour helps in repelling insects whilst in the great outdoors. . I wonder?! It is moisturizing and offers amazing hydration and suppleness to skin, locking in all the goodness. I’m not sure it is an Elizabeth Arden product I would purchase and would instead stay with my tried, trusted and loved ORIGINAL eight hour cream by this beauty brand instead.

I have used soo many sunscreens I've lost count. They all had one thing in common, the SHINE after a while. Eeeuww.

That was until I tried EA ss. I can safely say I am finally happy and sticking(no pun) with this one. It gets absorbed in my skin and doesn't leave me shiny all day long. Even the powder I had been using for a while now to combat the daily shine, I find that I dont need it much lately.

I received a sample of this sun defense for face and I am so glad I got to try it out.
I is such a lightweight lotion that doesn't make your skin feel like it's suffocating. It has a high SPF which puts my mind at ease because I know my skin if protected.
I has Elizabeth Arden's infamous 8 hour skin protectant in, so your skin is getting much needed moisturising and caring properties.
The full size retails for R185 which is really worth it!